Brightening a Deaf Person's Day with McDonald's by Galen

Brightening a Deaf Person's Day with McDonald's by Galen - August 2017 Scholarship Essay

"Hello, welcome to McDonald's. May I take your order?" asks the bored cashier.

Instead of speaking, the young girl looked down and began typing on her phone. A few seconds passed and the cashier's smile began sliding away as the young girl continued to type. Frustrated, the cashier began again, "Welcome to McDonald's. May I take your order?". They young girl didn't pause from typing or even look up. The cashier grew angry and glared at the girl when the girl suddenly looked up and thrust her phone at the cashier. Surprised by the girl's sudden movement, it took the cashier a few seconds to realize that a note was opened on the girl's iPhone. She had typed, "Hello, I would like a Big Mac meal with Dr. Pepper and a small ice cream cone. I will pay with cash." The cashier's face turned apple red with embarrassment as she rang up the young girl's order. The young girl looked up to see the amount and carefully counted out the money before handing it to the embarrassed cashier. The cashier watched as the girl slide over to wait for her food. The young girl was wearing dark skinny jeans with a bright pink tank top that matched her shimmering pink eyeshadow. A silver and pink ponytail holder was her only jewelry. Her face was unmarred except for a few pimples on her chin. There was nothing about her that shouted "I'm deaf". As the cashier gave the young girl her food, she felt ashamed for thinking the girl was purposefully ignoring her. While waiting for her food, the young girl had been typing on her phone. Before she grabbed her food, she smiled and showed the cashier her phone. On her phone, the young girl had typed "thank you". As the young girl walked away, the cashier began to wonder.

If the cashier knew American Sign Language, perhaps she could have tried to communicate with the young girl before making conclusions that the girl was ignoring her. Perhaps the reason why the girl typed on her phone to communicate was because she thought the cashier would not understand her if she tried to sign. This is just one example of how deaf people try to communicate with hearing people, many of whom do not know American Sign Language. What if more hearing people knew sign language?

If I could be a college professor, I would teach American Sign Language. More hearing people would be able to communicate with the deaf, which would be a welcome change. Being deaf in a world of mostly hearing people closely resembles living in a foreign country. The people speak a different language and have different habits. But being deaf is harder. Hearing people don't need to tap someone's shoulder to get their friend's attention; they can simply call out their friend's name. A deaf person may be seen as rude because they might have to touch a stranger to get their attention. Then they have to rely on hand gestures or typing on their phone to ask the stranger for directions. If I could teach more hearing people American Sign Language, I could help make a deaf person's day a little easier. One of my students could come across a deaf person needing directions to the park and sign them the directions or one of my students could be a cashier at McDonald's and give a young girl hope by signing "Hello, welcome to McDonald's! May I take your order?"