Changing Brains

I have two things that have been with me my whole life.

Literally. My whole life.

These "things" aren't material things. They are living, breathing, and amazing. They are the most wonderful and priceless things that I have the joy of living with, and they have always been there for me. Whenever things get rough, or I need to cry, I find them and I let everything out. I could not ask for anything more.

Yet... I have endured endless ridicule for having them.

Well, I guess they had me. They are my parents. And, unfortunately, they don't have a life that people would desire. You see, my parents have a disability. It's not something that can stop them from every day things. It's not a condition, it's not a disorder. It's just that there's a little part of their brain that just doesn't function that prevents them from hearing.

Yes, my parents are deaf.

Yes, they can drive. Yes, you can talk to them. And YES, I know sign language.

"Wow that's really cool! Sign something for me!"

That is one of the phrases I will just have to get used to hearing because I don't think it's going to go away any time soon.

They work at a deaf company that designs, programs, and manufactures video phones for deaf people to be able to communicate. My father is a graphic designer for the company, and my mom is the head trainer (although she does a lot more than asked).

My father graduated from the University of Tampa with a Graphic Design major and an Associate's Degree. Also, my mother graduated from Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. with a Computer Science major and a Bachelor's Degree.

I know. Such an achievement, right?

People fail to understand that deaf people can do anything except hear.

Unfortunately, that is not where the ignorance stops. To this day, I still hear the crude remarks made about my parents from my closest friends. And from people whom I did not even tell that my parents were deaf.

"Did you hear about this new movie that came out? Well I guess your parents didn't!"

Yeah. But does it really shock you?

People love to tear down weaknesses they find in people. Some people do it, and don't mean harm by it. Some people do it to build their confidence.

Some people do it just for the hell of it.

Once you light a match in the forest, the wildfire spreads quickly, and it spreads out of control. You can put out a fire. You can re-plant trees and grow grass, but you can't give back a part of a person's heart. Without them, I wouldn't have a heart to be ripped and torn.

My parents are deaf. 

The thing is... I can't change it.

One part of me wishes my parents weren't deaf. The rest of me wishes that people wouldn't ridicule ME for something that I had no control over. I didn't exist when this happened. But the fact that I wish I didn't exist now is a problem.

Nothing stops parents' love. Absolutely nothing.

My parents are minorities. So, in theory, that's like making fun of me because my parents are African-American. In case you didn't know, Nazis didn't just hate the Jewish race, they hated everything that was different from them. My father had a Nazi grandma who would punish him for using sign language at the table. His hands would be lambasted, and then he was forced to sit on his hands for the remainder of the meal.

My mother was born in Guatemala, and at the age of three, she had to leave Guatemala by herself and live in Florida. Away from her parents. There was no deaf education in Guatemala, so my grandparents sent her to Florida School for the Deaf. Then once my mother was about fourteen, she moved back to Guatemala, only to not be accepted. People called her a whore and slut right to her face, and what was she to do about it. First of all, she could not hear, and second of all, she didn't understand Spanish.

I know, I know. Sob story. Boo hoo. You probably don't give a shit that I have deaf parents.

But you know what? My parents made it. They went through high school, college, and now they have a family that loves them, a son that embraces the culture, and they have jobs where they love what they are doing.

And the thing is... I wouldn't change it.