Thursday, July 2, 2009

Change Major Change Mind

So this week I have had an epiphany.
I mean, a real epiphany, not just an exciting moment.
I have discovered, what I am humanly made to do.
Drum Roll.
Sign.
I have discovered this from my current summer course of Sign Language 1. Back in highschool, I took 3 years of sign language and it was like water running through a faucet, easy and meant to be.
Apparently I am a visual person.
Since highschool, I have revolved around several speech pathology environments and have enjoyed the concept of helping other better express themselves through the freedom of speech, that so many of us take for granted. I have always had a heart for helping others and wanting to better other's lives. However, I never really thought through if it were what the Lord wanted for me. Through a few hands on experiences with speech pathology, not to mention a gruelling course load at USF, I have decided that (because I would have to get my masters in Speech Path), I will not only pursue my bachelor's degree in Speech, but I also plan to get (yet another) associates degree in Sign Language Interpreting. This will allow me to pursue a career in interpreting, rather than being forced to get my masters in speech.
Why you ask.
Why go to MORE school, when I will already be able to work in a field I enjoy?
Because I am PASSIONATE about Sign Language and Deaf Culture.
I enjoy the visual language of ASL and the people that I encounter through such knowledge of the language. Deaf people are really a different breed, a group of people I really love. They are passionate in communication because they have no tone of voice to otherwise express themselves. To them, the world is simpler, not that they are simple minded by any means. Let me expain it to you through this recent quote I heard from the movie titled 'Love is Never Silent.'
"I heard silence for the first time Bill. I saw it. The way the sun came through the window, the grain in the wood of the pews, it wasn't silent at all."
Being an artist at heart, I am passionate about the world and its beauty. Hence my connection with the most visual people on the planet, the Deaf.
So, sigh. Lots of typing.
I am going to get my bachelors in Speech and graduate in the Spring, and then get another degree in Sign Lang. Interpreting, in hopes of being nationally certified by 2012.

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