What Defines Communication?

As many of you know (sticking to the assumption that only about 10 people I know read this) I am currently learning American Sign Language. I often hear it said that languages such as Italian, Spanish, and French are the romance languages and the languages of love. If this is so than I truly feel that ASL is the language of intimacy. What other languages do you know that involve you and another to give your full attention to someone to understand them? What other languages can make someone not simply tell you something, but involve the whole body as well facial and bodily emotion to convey a message properly? Some of the time it can be easy to feel disconnected from a person standing right in front of you when speaking to them. How often when you are speaking to someone are they looking away from you, or only half listening to you only listening enough to get the bare essentials of the message? This is not the case with ASL. Every time I sign to someone I feel as if they are giving me their full attention and are fully invested in the message that I want them to understand. It seems to me that the deprivation of a sense is what makes this so. I can talk to anyone, but who says that they have to listen. When using ASL there is a sense that communication must come from both parties.

One of my goals at some point before I graduate is to live a day without my sense of hearing. I want to experience not only what it is like not to hear, but also the way people react when they are put in the unfamiliar situation of having a common form of communication removed from the situation. Throughout the course of a class I am taking we have been learning about the discrimination the deaf community faces everyday. But as with many things it is hard to fully understand through the means of a simplified explanation. I made a small step toward this goal by briefly experiencing the life of someone suffering from Usher Syndrome. Ushers is a genetic condition that causes one to lose both vision and hearing over the course of their life. I was completely blind and mostly deaf for around 30 minutes. The complete reliance one someone else is something many have never experienced before. Its hard to imagine the amount of trust in others those with this syndrome would need in order to live comfortably. A large amount of trust had to be put into being led around for 30 minutes, imagine the amount of trust needed for a lifetime.

I guess what I want to say is that I really enjoy learning ASL. If anyone of you ever get the chance to learn ASL or to be introduced into the deaf community please take advantage. ASL has taught me that there is more to communicating that simply taking to someone.

In Memory…

  

It’s been awhile since I wrote here so I decided that it was time for an update. My last entry was around the beginning of the Spring 2010 semester, and now the Fall 2010 semester is just starting. I am glad to be going back to school, this time around I feel that I am ready to take school seriously. I say that not because I never took college seriously, but after my dad died I had a really hard time putting school high on my list of priorities. During that time I was having a hard time motivating myself to do anything. When I started the Spring semester I felt that I would be able to put my feelings about dad’s death aside for awhile and be the student that I am used to being, but it turned out to not be so easy. I was rather disappointed in myself for the quality of much of my work last semester. I have even found it hard to play golf and guitar in some instances because those were the two things we did when we spent time together. I think I had such a hard time with him dying because I have not had much experience with death in my life. I think my dad’s funeral was only the fourth funeral that I had been to, and only the second for someone related to me.

    

I felt that this was a good time for me to write about my dad. His birthday just passed, he would have been 43 on the 24th of August. And it is hard for me to believe that it has almost been a year since he died. In a way I am starting to feel “normal” again. I feel that this summer was exactly what I needed to help me in coming to terms with my dad’s death. I got to spend a lot of time with Elizabeth which really helped. Plus spending time together in Europe was amazing. I also got to meet a bunch of new friends that if not for the trip to Europe I probably would not have had the opportunity to get to know.

I guess I wrote this to say thank you. I want to thank those who helped me to move on in life. And if you are in the picture below than you probably helped more than you know. Most importantly I think I want to thank Elizabeth, who helped me so much this summer. And if you are reading this (since I’m relatively certain that only my friends read this) then you more than like me helped me through whether you realize it or not.

I Am...

The new semester just recently started, and in all honesty I am ready to be back in school. I know that going back to school for most people is a time of relative unease due to the uncertainty that comes with starting new classes, but I see the beginning of each new semester as a fresh start. So far I am glad to report that I think the hardest question of the semester is behind me. I know that sounds odd considering that I have been in school for only a week, but I think it's true. During my first class of Theories of Personality my professor gave us one of the hardest questions that maybe a person can be asked. Our assignment was finish the sentence "I am..." with ten different responses. I know in theory this sounds easy, and there are many easy answers to the question, but if you take it to heart and really think it through it may be the hardest question to answer. One or two responses may come easy, but to consider ten things gets difficult. One of the reasons this is so hard is the amount of self-reflection involved. Looking inward isn't always comfortable. Often times there are things that we can say we are that we don't always want to admit to. Many of us usually don't have the courage to list the things that we are not comfortable with, but in order to be better people these are the things that we need to understand we are. This question, although it encourages us to look at what we think we are, also teaches so much after the fact. It is one of the most insightful things to finish the final response and look back to see just exactly how you define yourself. Not only does it allow you to see more clearly who you are, but also allows you to see who and where you come from. It allows you to see who and what has influenced you. Do you define yourself through your spouse and your marriage, maybe your children? Do you define yourself through your culture, or through your hobbies or your job. As an example and a jumping of point, I will share two of my responses that I feel define me best. I am a husband and I am a student. I define myself through my marriage and my relationship for many reasons, but when I thought about it, I have been with my wife for over a quarter of my life and have known her for almost all of it. I am also a student. When I look at my fellow students, I just feel that I am enjoying sitting in that particular classroom a little more than most of them. I also refer to this not only for academic purposes, but I am always trying to learn from those around me.
As a challenge, try to respond to the question "I am..." ten times. If you choose to accept the challenge, take the time to do it right. How will you fair? Will you take the easy way out and answer the obvious such as "I am tall" or "I am skinny". Or will you take this opportunity to teach yourself something about who you really are. Regardless of how you answer, I guarantee that you will learn something about yourself. It may be through what you put down or what you choose to leave out, but it will all be telling of who you are.