I'll Take That As A Sign by Samantha

I'll Take That As A Sign by Samantha - April 2013 Scholarship Essay

Flashback four years to me in seventh grade: barely five feet tall, a mess of tangled blonde hair, and absolutely freaking out – there was going to be a ‘B’ on my report card. My first class that I got anything besides an ‘A’ was in seventh grade Spanish. After my semester finished, I swore off Spanish class for good; there was no way that I wanted more ‘B’s’ on my transcript. Today, I am extremely grateful for my 89% and my stubbornness.
Thanks to the Spanish class I couldn’t stand, I was introduced to the beautiful, expressive language of the Deaf: American Sign Language. First semester of my junior year, I excitedly jumped into Debbie Henry’s basic ASL class. At first, I was anxious. I had seen the speed and dexterity that Deaf people use when communicating and I felt I would prove to be inadequate.
Class began by learning the manual alphabet. I slowly formed letters on my hands and spent unbelievable amounts of time practicing. I would fingerspell street names into my lap at red lights and sign the menu at restaurants instead of searching for what I wanted to eat. I didn’t know then that starting off with those small letters would lead me to learning so much more than just a language and meeting so many wonderful people.
Through American Sign Language class, I was opened up to a language that hides just under most hearing people’s nose. I learned about Deaf Pride and the challenges that Deaf people constantly face. Learning a new language opened me up to a group of people who I would never have been able to communicate with otherwise. It has opened up my world and made me more accepting and understanding of other people. This course became more than just a foreign language credit that needed to be fulfilled – it was a class I genuinely enjoyed going to and studying for. Because of my passion for this subject I also took ASL 2 and Deaf Culture.
My use of ASL will not end with this semester. I plan on becoming a special education teacher and using signs in the classroom. If a child has issues focusing while I speak to them, signing gives them something to look at to help them understand. I will also use ASL with students who have difficulties communicating verbally, which will help them express themselves and hopefully lessen anger and meltdowns in my future classroom. In addition, I can teach the entire class basic signs so that my students will be open to the amazing language and culture that I am extremely happy to know about.