photo description: my husband and I at an Islanders game this past February. James is a Black man who wears glasses in a black jacket and Islanders beanie. Jasmine is a Black woman also in glasses on his left wearing an Islanders long sleeved shirt and an Islanders hat, signing I love you to the camera. I had jumped on some last minute tickets not knowing it was Deaf awareness night until we walked up the stairs and saw people signing. The islanders won and I never felt more at home.
hi friends!
I'm finally doing it. I'm going back to school.
It's taken me a lot to be vulnerable enough to admit that my first degree didn't really do for me what I thought it would (English majors aren't the most employed people in the world??). It felt shameful that I had wasted my time at school the first time around and needed to try again. My therapist is somewhere kindly shaking her head at me, but it's a truth that doesn't hurt me anymore. I'm getting another degree. I'm proud of that.
Onto the meat of this story:
So, at some point during early quarantine, I started taking ASL classes online. I signed up for every semester and contributed what I could, and then in 2023 I took my first in person class. Cannot express how it transformed my life.
If you know me, you know I like learning languages. Duo the Owl and I are on a first name basis.
But beginning to learn ASL invigorated me in a way I never felt before. I realized I could make a difference and serve real purpose. I wanted to provide language access to the Deaf community, who had taught me beyond just how to sign. I learned about a rich culture that exists beyond class and race, about people who face barriers to language regularly in situations I had never once considered. Communication and being able to be understood has always been so important to me (thanks, English degree). There is a gross lack of access in this country for adequate interpreting services. Deaf and HOH people deserve more than a note pad, or a white board or the Notes app to communicate.
If I earn this opportunity, I will be dedicated to providing quality access to language for the Deaf & HOH community as an interpreter.
I've been accepted to the ASL major at SCCC, where I hope to get my Associates in 3 semesters, and continue on to an online program for my bachelors. Becoming an interpreter is more than just learning ASL. I will be immersing myself in Deaf culture, reading and consuming as much as I can and meeting Deaf people (who aren't my teachers) in my community.
Right now, I am self/un-employed, and I desperately need a new laptop for school and books. Since I already have my bachelor's, I can't get any more money from NYS as a grant, and I am essentially completely unqualified for so many scholarships. I'm adding several more student loans to my previous pile that has yet to be cancelled, but my subsidized loan will be exactly enough to cover the semester and no more.
Any help towards my spotfund will be so appreciated and go directly towards my first semester experience. I'm hoping to be employed this fall with a much fuller portfolio and I'll be able to work and go to class, thanks to the open class availability of a community college.
I thought for the longest time that having dreams was purposeless because of how quickly mine dissolved in the face of a bad job market and a global pandemic. Becoming an Interpreter is a dream I have regularly now and I know I can do it. I have never wanted something more.
Thank you also for reading this far, I know I'm comically long winded (no, seriously, thanks English major.).
