I am not special, I am just different. I didn’t ask to be born deaf, I just was. It’s a way of life for me. If you gave make a choice to be either hearing or deaf, I’d choose deaf because I don’t know what it’s like to hear a person speak clearly and I would have to get used to it. I have had enough of getting used to things. When I wear my hearing aids, I can sort of hear but it’s all muffled. People give me a hard time because I’m deaf. I don’t like it.
I live in a hearing community so I don’t really have any deaf friends. I like my school but I wish that I was still at my deaf school in New York City. We had to move a while ago because my father got transferred to a new job in Meadow Pond, Connecticut. Meadow Pond is a small town that is southeast from New Haven. Meadow Pond is so small that it’s off most maps.
At my deaf school, people were nice to me. They knew how it felt to be deaf. I fit in there. In Connecticut, I have only one friend, and that is my brother Darrin. He is probably the best brother in the universe. He is eleven months older than me but he is still in the seventh grade, like I am. People at school call me special because I am in a special ed class, but, I am not special. I don’t need special help.
Sometimes I wondered if I will have a happy ending, or if my life be wasted for nothing. My biggest fear is that I would be made fun of for the rest of my life and die sad, having not lived for any reason, not doing something important, not having any friends who accepted me and didn’t judge me by the fact that I couldn’t hear. That’s why God gave me Darrin. So I wouldn’t be lonely or feel left out.
One Wednesday morning, I woke up. Pretty usual for a morning, but I had no idea that one little thing a person would say to me would change my life. Darrin came into my room, his hair sticking straight up from bed head. He rubbed his eyes and said something. Since I hadn’t put my hearing aids in yet, I couldn’t hear him.
I opened my mouth and tried to say “What did you say?” That was probably the most annoying thing about my deafness. I couldn’t talk or communicate with people that are hearing or can’t sign.
Darrin must’ve seen my confusion and he nudged me arm and signed, “Good morning, Chrissie.”
I nodded and signed “Good morning to you too.”
Darrin signed, “We are going to be late for school.”
Oh, yeah, that reminds me, my name is Chrissie Blake.
After I woke up, I ran into the bathroom and brushed my teeth. I could feel the buzzing vibrations of the electronic toothbrush and I could taste my mint toothpaste. When I was done, I spit out the toothpaste and turned on the water. As I rinsed my mouth, I watched the foam from the toothpaste drain away.
Darrin grabbed my arm and signaled that we had to go. I followed him down the stairs and I pulled my backpack up over my shoulders and ran out the door. When we got to the bus stop, the bus was right there.
Julia Smith was right there too. She saw me and giggled. Then she whispered to a few of her evil sidekicks. They giggled some more. I looked away. Julia Smith is the meanest girl at Meadow River Middle School. Unfortunately, she lives on my block so she is on my bus. Ever since we moved here, Julia has been ridiculing everything about me.
That day, at the bus stop, Darrin crossed his arms. Then he went over to Julia and started saying something. I could sort of hear what he was saying, but barely. I put my hand to my hearing aids and turned up the volume.
“…and you stay away from Chrissie, Julia Smith!” Darrin was shouting. I could tell what he was saying pretty clearly and that means he was shouting. I could see Julia shrinking under Darrin’s intense green gaze. He and I both inherited our emerald green eyes from our mom.
Julia and Darrin had a stare off. Then Julia glared at him, stuck her tongue out at me, then turned around and stalked off in the direction of the bus. As Julia stalked away, all her minions followed her.
Darrin looked at me, Are you okay? he asked
I’m fine. I told him
Are you sure?
Positive, I signed as we boarded the bus. The noise was so loud that I had to turn down my hearing aids. I opened my mouth and must have made an odd noise because Darrin turned to look at me. We sat down in our seats. It felt good to sit down. I looked over at Darrin in the aisle seat and saw that he was talking to a friend. Then they both laughed. I sighed. This was going to be a long bus ride.
When we finally got to school I looked over the familiar building It was about 350 years old, and was from the colonial period. Meadow River Middle School probably had changed my life, permanently.
My homeroom teacher, Ms. McCartney is the best. She used to teach at a deaf school so she knows sign language. When I entered the room she saw me.
Hi Chrissie, how are you? she signed.
I’m fine, I replied, putting my books down on the smooth desk.
Good. She smiled at me. I turned my hearing aids up a bit more so I could hear her when she was talking to the class.
Chrissie, Ms. McCartney signed. did you hear about the big art contest coming up? This was exciting. I love art.
No, I signed, what is it about?
Well, it is a national contest. You have to submit an original work eight weeks from today. Ms. McCartney signed; I think you have a good chance of winning. There will be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners.
Good idea. I signed. Maybe I will try it.
I thought about what she had said all day and finally, the bell rang, meaning I could get home and tell my family all about this.
…and Ms. McCartney said that I should try it. Well, what do you think? I had finished telling my family about this offer that night. My parents agreed with Ms. McCartney. I would love to try this. It would be a good experience for me. Darrin liked the idea too. After dinner, I did my homework and collapsed on my bed.
What would be a good art project that could win? I fell asleep thinking about it.
When I woke up, the sky was dark. I made a promise to myself right then and there that I would enter this art contest. For all I know, it could be the most important thing that has ever happened to me. But what could I do? That would take some time.
It was on the bus when I got an idea for a project.
I must have said something like, “That’s it!” but it probably came out sounding really odd.
Of course, I couldn’t hear myself but Julia Smith heard me and laughed. I sighed and Darrin put his hand sympathetically on my shoulder.
What’s it? He asked me in sign language,
I know what my art project will be, I signed excitedly.
And I did, I really did. I locked myself in my room working on it all weekend. When I finally showed my parents, they loved it. It was a collage with different inspirational words. I cut the words from a newspaper or I wrote them myself. I put in words like love and peace, hope and imagine, inspire and dream, believe and courage. All those words made me feel strong and happy. Some reminded me of a mother. Mothers are strong but peaceful. They always encourage imagination and they believe in their children. I explained all these things to my mom, my dad and to Darrin. They all loved it and my dad said that he would drive me to Boston, where the contest was taking place.
As we pulled up, I felt an odd feeling in my gut. What if the judges hated my work?
Dad gets out of the car and I picked up my art work. We found my designated spot where I had to put up my art. We wait a bit and finally, the judges come to mine. They look at my dad and say something. Dad started pointing at me and Darrin. The judges went to Darrin and said something. He said something and pointed to me. Then he whispered into the judge’s ear. The judge nodded and started saying something.
I looked at Darrin and signed, What did he say?
Darrin signed, He says that you have very good art work. Darrin was talking while signing so the judge knew what he was saying to me. The judge says that you have to go to the hall where they announce the winners. He thinks you have a good chance of making it. I nodded and repeated the same information to Mom and Dad. The judge said something and Mom picked up my collage. We all followed her into the announcement hall. They had just announced the runners up. They all were adults.
Dad signed to me what they were saying …and now, for the 3rd place prize. The winner isn’t you, it is some person named Gabriella Strategate. I sighed. This was scary. What if I did all this for nothing?
Who won 2nd place? I asked.
Dad smiled. Some girl named Chrissie Blake. Do you know her?
I screamed. It must have been loud because everyone in the hall turned their heads to look at me. I made my feet move to the stage. Darrin followed me. The announcer was saying something. Then he looked at me. I started signing emphatically.
The announcer looked confused. Darrin said something to him and the announcer nodded.
I had seen many people winning awards on television and they all had speeches and said what they were thankful for. I said something like this: thank you all, for supporting me through all the hard times in my life. Thank you especially for my brother, for being beside me while I went through these hard times at our home in Meadow River, Connecticut. I am so happy to win this award, this is a dream come true. Thank you!
I saw Darrin say something to the audience and then he put his hands up in the air and shook them. All at once, everyone stood up and started shaking their hands, in the deaf way of clapping until it looked like a sea of shaking hands. I could feel the vibrations of the audience stamping their feet and for the first time since we moved here, I was actually happy.
About a month later, my life had changed so much. Right when I got back from the art show, I emailed Ms. McCartney who was very proud of me. In class on Monday, she announced to everyone about the show, and it was even in the newspaper. On the bus the strangest thing happened. Julia Smith sat down next to me and was genuinely kind as she apologized for treating me badly. I forgave her and now, many years later, we are still good friends. It turns out that in the end, my happy end did come and when it did, I was ready for it.
I live in a hearing community so I don’t really have any deaf friends. I like my school but I wish that I was still at my deaf school in New York City. We had to move a while ago because my father got transferred to a new job in Meadow Pond, Connecticut. Meadow Pond is a small town that is southeast from New Haven. Meadow Pond is so small that it’s off most maps.
At my deaf school, people were nice to me. They knew how it felt to be deaf. I fit in there. In Connecticut, I have only one friend, and that is my brother Darrin. He is probably the best brother in the universe. He is eleven months older than me but he is still in the seventh grade, like I am. People at school call me special because I am in a special ed class, but, I am not special. I don’t need special help.
Sometimes I wondered if I will have a happy ending, or if my life be wasted for nothing. My biggest fear is that I would be made fun of for the rest of my life and die sad, having not lived for any reason, not doing something important, not having any friends who accepted me and didn’t judge me by the fact that I couldn’t hear. That’s why God gave me Darrin. So I wouldn’t be lonely or feel left out.
One Wednesday morning, I woke up. Pretty usual for a morning, but I had no idea that one little thing a person would say to me would change my life. Darrin came into my room, his hair sticking straight up from bed head. He rubbed his eyes and said something. Since I hadn’t put my hearing aids in yet, I couldn’t hear him.
I opened my mouth and tried to say “What did you say?” That was probably the most annoying thing about my deafness. I couldn’t talk or communicate with people that are hearing or can’t sign.
Darrin must’ve seen my confusion and he nudged me arm and signed, “Good morning, Chrissie.”
I nodded and signed “Good morning to you too.”
Darrin signed, “We are going to be late for school.”
Oh, yeah, that reminds me, my name is Chrissie Blake.
After I woke up, I ran into the bathroom and brushed my teeth. I could feel the buzzing vibrations of the electronic toothbrush and I could taste my mint toothpaste. When I was done, I spit out the toothpaste and turned on the water. As I rinsed my mouth, I watched the foam from the toothpaste drain away.
Darrin grabbed my arm and signaled that we had to go. I followed him down the stairs and I pulled my backpack up over my shoulders and ran out the door. When we got to the bus stop, the bus was right there.
Julia Smith was right there too. She saw me and giggled. Then she whispered to a few of her evil sidekicks. They giggled some more. I looked away. Julia Smith is the meanest girl at Meadow River Middle School. Unfortunately, she lives on my block so she is on my bus. Ever since we moved here, Julia has been ridiculing everything about me.
That day, at the bus stop, Darrin crossed his arms. Then he went over to Julia and started saying something. I could sort of hear what he was saying, but barely. I put my hand to my hearing aids and turned up the volume.
“…and you stay away from Chrissie, Julia Smith!” Darrin was shouting. I could tell what he was saying pretty clearly and that means he was shouting. I could see Julia shrinking under Darrin’s intense green gaze. He and I both inherited our emerald green eyes from our mom.
Julia and Darrin had a stare off. Then Julia glared at him, stuck her tongue out at me, then turned around and stalked off in the direction of the bus. As Julia stalked away, all her minions followed her.
Darrin looked at me, Are you okay? he asked
I’m fine. I told him
Are you sure?
Positive, I signed as we boarded the bus. The noise was so loud that I had to turn down my hearing aids. I opened my mouth and must have made an odd noise because Darrin turned to look at me. We sat down in our seats. It felt good to sit down. I looked over at Darrin in the aisle seat and saw that he was talking to a friend. Then they both laughed. I sighed. This was going to be a long bus ride.
When we finally got to school I looked over the familiar building It was about 350 years old, and was from the colonial period. Meadow River Middle School probably had changed my life, permanently.
My homeroom teacher, Ms. McCartney is the best. She used to teach at a deaf school so she knows sign language. When I entered the room she saw me.
Hi Chrissie, how are you? she signed.
I’m fine, I replied, putting my books down on the smooth desk.
Good. She smiled at me. I turned my hearing aids up a bit more so I could hear her when she was talking to the class.
Chrissie, Ms. McCartney signed. did you hear about the big art contest coming up? This was exciting. I love art.
No, I signed, what is it about?
Well, it is a national contest. You have to submit an original work eight weeks from today. Ms. McCartney signed; I think you have a good chance of winning. There will be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners.
Good idea. I signed. Maybe I will try it.
I thought about what she had said all day and finally, the bell rang, meaning I could get home and tell my family all about this.
…and Ms. McCartney said that I should try it. Well, what do you think? I had finished telling my family about this offer that night. My parents agreed with Ms. McCartney. I would love to try this. It would be a good experience for me. Darrin liked the idea too. After dinner, I did my homework and collapsed on my bed.
What would be a good art project that could win? I fell asleep thinking about it.
When I woke up, the sky was dark. I made a promise to myself right then and there that I would enter this art contest. For all I know, it could be the most important thing that has ever happened to me. But what could I do? That would take some time.
It was on the bus when I got an idea for a project.
I must have said something like, “That’s it!” but it probably came out sounding really odd.
Of course, I couldn’t hear myself but Julia Smith heard me and laughed. I sighed and Darrin put his hand sympathetically on my shoulder.
What’s it? He asked me in sign language,
I know what my art project will be, I signed excitedly.
And I did, I really did. I locked myself in my room working on it all weekend. When I finally showed my parents, they loved it. It was a collage with different inspirational words. I cut the words from a newspaper or I wrote them myself. I put in words like love and peace, hope and imagine, inspire and dream, believe and courage. All those words made me feel strong and happy. Some reminded me of a mother. Mothers are strong but peaceful. They always encourage imagination and they believe in their children. I explained all these things to my mom, my dad and to Darrin. They all loved it and my dad said that he would drive me to Boston, where the contest was taking place.
As we pulled up, I felt an odd feeling in my gut. What if the judges hated my work?
Dad gets out of the car and I picked up my art work. We found my designated spot where I had to put up my art. We wait a bit and finally, the judges come to mine. They look at my dad and say something. Dad started pointing at me and Darrin. The judges went to Darrin and said something. He said something and pointed to me. Then he whispered into the judge’s ear. The judge nodded and started saying something.
I looked at Darrin and signed, What did he say?
Darrin signed, He says that you have very good art work. Darrin was talking while signing so the judge knew what he was saying to me. The judge says that you have to go to the hall where they announce the winners. He thinks you have a good chance of making it. I nodded and repeated the same information to Mom and Dad. The judge said something and Mom picked up my collage. We all followed her into the announcement hall. They had just announced the runners up. They all were adults.
Dad signed to me what they were saying …and now, for the 3rd place prize. The winner isn’t you, it is some person named Gabriella Strategate. I sighed. This was scary. What if I did all this for nothing?
Who won 2nd place? I asked.
Dad smiled. Some girl named Chrissie Blake. Do you know her?
I screamed. It must have been loud because everyone in the hall turned their heads to look at me. I made my feet move to the stage. Darrin followed me. The announcer was saying something. Then he looked at me. I started signing emphatically.
The announcer looked confused. Darrin said something to him and the announcer nodded.
I had seen many people winning awards on television and they all had speeches and said what they were thankful for. I said something like this: thank you all, for supporting me through all the hard times in my life. Thank you especially for my brother, for being beside me while I went through these hard times at our home in Meadow River, Connecticut. I am so happy to win this award, this is a dream come true. Thank you!
I saw Darrin say something to the audience and then he put his hands up in the air and shook them. All at once, everyone stood up and started shaking their hands, in the deaf way of clapping until it looked like a sea of shaking hands. I could feel the vibrations of the audience stamping their feet and for the first time since we moved here, I was actually happy.
About a month later, my life had changed so much. Right when I got back from the art show, I emailed Ms. McCartney who was very proud of me. In class on Monday, she announced to everyone about the show, and it was even in the newspaper. On the bus the strangest thing happened. Julia Smith sat down next to me and was genuinely kind as she apologized for treating me badly. I forgave her and now, many years later, we are still good friends. It turns out that in the end, my happy end did come and when it did, I was ready for it.
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