<p>Title says it all. My life has been really sucky ever since I went deaf. Sure I turned it around in a way..bringing up my GPA above a 4.0, finding 3 clubs at my high school, president of clubs, all that crap. But srsly, what is the point of it?</p>
<p>Ok, I obviously don't want to be titled a loser in life..but people never give me respect. only a select few do. i mean im nice, i can be cool...but my deafness always gets in the way. Sometimes, my implant doesnt work..and people laugh at me. I hate it so much..like last week, this idiot football captain in my AP class who doesn't know crap about the class but still will of course go to a great college because of the stupid sports recruitment. but anyway, he asked me something..i didn't hear..he started laughing and everyone joined in</p>
<p>It made me feel useless and I failed the test in that class that day......</p>
<p>and then, my track coach called my "what are you, a deaf idiot?" (he doesn't know..) because I didn't hear him and when I did, I didn't know from which direction...you know what happened next i suppose..</p>
<p>I'm assertive (dunno if this is right word for "aggressive or w/e") and do stuff to get what I want, but I'm never respected. noone wants me in group projects, because I'm "weird and dont hear"..and pple only talk to me if they have hw questions...gah. and those same pple will amount to something good in life, while the nice people who overload their asses with APs and all that bs end up in the same or a "lower" college (meaning its not as respected)... srsly..what is the point then??</p>
<p>I know its tough but just try to wake up with a smile everyday. I know it sounds lame but I’ve tried it and when your truly happy and cheerful the stupid things that people do won’t affect you much besides p*ssing you off for a bit. </p>
<p>Do stuff that makes you happy, not because you need to take a million APs or have to be President of 5 clubs to make it into college. When you think about it, it doesn’t really matter where you go. Yes, if your friend is going to Harvard and your going to UVM, you might be a little disappointed but who cares what they think.</p>
<p>Remember, the only person that you have to spend the rest of your life with is yourself. Try your best to accept the things you can’t change (deafness) and surround yourself with a few close friends. Even if you’re not very happy, your best friends will get you through high school and help you make the most out of it.</p>
<p>ok thanks for the advice. but seriously, i lost all my best friends. sure, they were actually very helpful with me, always doing stuff, etc…but i lost them due to a misunderstanding. I thought they insulted me when they probably didnt, and I cut them off. I was so stupid…but i’ve moved on. I have friends, but none I can call a best friend. </p>
<p>My current friends are those who use me, sometimes, as last minute entertainment…it hurts i guess…but oh well…</p>
<p>(i’m asian so my parents believe in that horoscope/karma stuff) My parents think I got this because I committed a sin in a past life, that I don’t know about. and in addition, my horoscope says I will not finish college…i try my best in high school to maintain my GPA but i guess I won’t be able to handle it after high school…</p>
<p>Do you have a cochlear? My mother and aunt and cousin have them, but it doesn’t really bother my cousin (who is 12 I think) because she’s always been deaf. Cochlears are weird. You might have thought before you had it that you would be able to hear just the way you did before, but it’s really not like that. But it does improve over time. My mother had had hers for a few years now, maybe 3 or 4, and just this week, she’s become able to know the direction of sounds. It’s great to see her so excited this way. But she was never completely deaf. My aunt was legally deaf, but I don’t know if she can tell direction of sounds yet. So don’t give up hope, it does improve.
I can’t believe people would make fun of you like that. It’s awful. And you won’t necessarily end up in a lesser college. My aunt only became really successful after her hearing loss which began in her late 20s (btw, she went to Hampton). She’s now a best selling author. CBS bought the rights to one of her books for a on of money, and for a time she was getting paid a ridiculous amount for each deal. She still gets a lot, but not as much. Hearing loss didn’t slow the career of my mother, who went to Cornell. Just remember that when they’re writing their app essays, they’ll be writing about something mundane that admissions officers have seen over and over again, but you’ll have something real.</p>
<p>OP: When did you go deaf and what implants? I am deaf as well and I wear Cochlear Implant…I understand what you’re saying and I have experienced those beforehand (mostly in elementary and middle school)…</p>
<p>Seriously, your high school sounds like crap. Those people are so closed-minded. It seems like they can’t accept people who are different form them and that they have what we are missing (and want) and they usually take granted for it. After all the teasing and bullying, I finally stood up for myself and started to fight back…with my “witticism” and they pretty much left me alone. Now, I had attended two high schools, and people seem respectful, tolerant, and considerate at times to me now…esp that I"m the only one in my school to get into any top schools early. </p>
<p>You’re not alone out there. I know what it is like to feel that way. This won’t last long. At least you won’t have to go to school with them anymore for long. You’ll be in college where people will be so much better than the kids in your high school. Seriously, what you will do and what you have struggled for and achieved will command respect in the future, as the posters above me had said. </p>
<p>PM me if you have any questions, or anything. :)</p>
<p>i’m not totally sure what to say. but if you write a college essay about the hardships you’ve experienced as a deaf person(and it does seem like you’ve been through a lot) you should be cut some slack. but in the meantime, ignore people who make fun of you, because anyone who makes fun of a disability like deafness, blindness, or paralysis is a dbag anyway.</p>
<p>As for those best friends, you should talk with them and make up with them. Admit that you were stupid and didn’t hear/understand. “A man is rich if he has friends”.</p>
<p>yea i have a cochlear. I went deaf (from an accident or a viral infection) during my sophomore year…I am now a junior in high school. Well I guess it is better than not being able to hear anything at all, but I don’t like the size of it, you know? It gets kinda big…</p>
<p>and to wildchartermage, I don’t think anyone knows about it…although they are getting suspicious. more and more people this year are calling me deaf…even my track coach…<strong><em>??? lol, but like a lot of days, you can hardly tell I have a hearing problem. Some days (bad days), I can’t hear for </em></strong> and it annoys me. I mean, I get jealous when I see people talking on cell phones and doing all sorts of stuff, which I can’t do, but I try my best to do those things. And also, I admire your strength, could you give me some advice on the college process, maybe? I would greatly appreciate it, thanks =)</p>
<p>Yea I guess I should…one problem, he has become really popular and talks really gangster…it’s weird…he never used to do that, and it would be awkard if I try to start a conversation with him</p>
<p>Yes, i was thinking about writing that for my essay.</p>
<p>^ it’s hard to expect people to be sensitive to your deafness if you keep it a secret. i think if you put it all out in the open and inform your teachers, they will be willing to help you out.</p>
<p>My teachers all know…its part of the 504 plan. Some kids know (my former best friends), but other than that, they don’t or they are getting suspicious. My friends, right now (well some of em), make fun of disbailities.</p>
<p>Like I went to the movies with them, and there was this disabled (crippled and had some sort of mental defect…i dont know if this is the correct term. if it’s not, i apologize) lady who as collecting the tickets. like after we gave her our tickets, my other friends like exchanged weird faces with each other (like, omg she is disbaled hahaha). if I do that, there is a big chance they would make fun of me behind my back of course.</p>
<p>hey Khaine123, then, what keeps you from telling them that you got a cochlear implant and that you went to deaf because of an accident or virus? Will the teasing get worse if they knew?</p>
<p>I guess you’ll get used to cochlear implant since there is nothing else better than it as of this now, but I had heard that the stanford researchers are looking into using stem cells as a potential source to cure deafness. I’ve had it for my whole life, so I really never know how you guys normally hear. I also get jealous of those people who can talk on cell phones and in a noisy envrionment with ease. </p>
<p>As for college process, I had written my essay about my deafness as well. It was in more of an overview-ish of my whole life as a deaf kid. I even included parts where people had low expectations of me just because I’m deaf, but I went out to defy them, surpass most of my classmates academically, and had been accepted into MIT early action. You should definitely write about your deafness, how you had to cope with your sudden deafness, and how you had to adapt to using technology to help to run your life…so…you’re now a cyborg, like the rest of us. In my essay, I had called myself a “Bionic Girl” and “cyborg girl” as an way to poke fun of myself. lol. </p>
<p>As for your work and classes, you should be talking to teachers to let them know what happened to you, so they are able to help/accomodate you as my teachers does. You are your own self-advocate. Cheer up, I would beat up and half nelson that jock for you if I could. :)</p>
<p>They’ll probably be more sensitive about it if you tell them you’re genuinely deaf. However, I realize it’s embarrassing and they might look at you as “the disabled kid”. It’s a terrible situation; I don’t really know how you could resolve your social life, other than to associate with other deaf individuals who know what it’s like and will be more sympathetic.</p>
<p>Your peers sound like real pricks. Aren’t there any good-hearted people at your school whom you could start hanging out with?</p>
<p>Oh, and keep in mind that a lot of the bullying in middle school and high school usually goes away by college, provided you go to a more academically-minded university where people strive to be more mature. So that’s something to look forward to! :)</p>
<p>lolol nice bionic girl haha. my previous track coach (who I told about this) called me this in a joking way, but the school canned and replcaed him…o well haha</p>
<p>Nice MIT!!! that is awesome, congrats btw. Ok, I was thinking of writing an overview. And yes for the stanford thing, I am going to work there as an intern/volunteer over the summer, every day for about 3 months. I am pretty excited, since I went there and shadowed before. The pre-meds are pretty cool haha</p>
<p>Well, I mean people don’t tease, except for that football jock…who doesn’t know, I think. People have called me deaf before, like in a crowded place where everyone heard. I never felt so scared in my life when that happened but I have gotten over it.</p>
<p>Yea, my teachers know…they help me out with everything haha</p>
<p>lol ok i am looking forward, yawn! hahah…yes there are good hearted people, but I’m afriad if I tell them, they will abandon me as their friend. I can’t risk that, since I’m running out of friends! LOL but srsly tho, yea…haha</p>
<p>Also, wildchartermage, if i may ask, how does the dorms work? Like are your roommates cool and all?</p>