American Sign Language

This is probably going to be a short entry tonight. I was off and my day was kind of like Friday - I took some time to read for fun, I played a little Nintendo 64 and I even went as far as dabbling in guitar chords and not just individual notes. (Ooh!) Outside of that, I went to church, did some laundry, and otherwise had a day to myself. It doesn't feel like I spent the entire day doing nothing, but I hope to do some more spring cleaning tomorrow.

One of today's holidays is Biological Clock and since I was only on a schedule for getting to church, I was able to just relax and listen to my body. (This is one of the reasons why this entry will be short.) Since I'm also off tomorrow, I'm humoring the notion to not set an alarm clock and see when I get up on my own. Still just humoring that, though.

Another holiday for today was Mother, Father Deaf Day. My first memories of the Deaf culture came in elementary school when I remember walking down the hallway and seeing an instructional video in sign language. This video was never shown in my class, but a full method of communication that didn't involve speaking intrigued my young mind. In my last two years of undergrad, I had to add some credits to my schedule, so I ended up taking two semesters of American Sign Language. (Side Note - I'm glad I don't need to be bilingual for a job because I've had at most two semesters of four different languages from elementary school up through college.*)

The ASL classes helped me appreciate non-verbal communication. Okay, pause. Yes, I know that by definition, ASL can be classified as entirely non-verbal communication. What I mean is I got to appreciate the little cues we give off that may or may not be intentional. I'm thinking about things like crossing your arms when you talk to someone versus having your hands in your pockets. Those examples don't really work in ASL, but as I learned vocabulary and grammar, my eyes were unexpectedly involved in the process. This was especially true when posing questions to others.

In terms of today's holiday, I knew there was a Deaf culture week (I think it's in the fall), but I didn't know there was a holiday about Deaf parents specifically. In my second semester of ASL, I remember watching a movie where a teenage girl is struggling to grow up while helping tend to her Deaf father. In a general sense, I think that all parents have struggles to overcome while raising a child. It could be a physical struggle, like in the ASL movie. It could be an emotional struggle, like if a parent is not outwardly emotionally yet the child is the opposite. It could also be a cultural struggle, like the boom of the Internet and handheld electronics. So, even though the holiday is focused on parents who are Deaf, take some time to think back on the sacrifices your parents made and show them some gratitude.**

I think I'm at a good point to wrap up the entry. Finals Week is here for the students and the hallway was fittingly eerie and quiet. To be fair, we do have 23-hour quiet hours in place, but still... calm before the storm.

DFTBA and I'll see you tomorrow.

* In case you're wondering, the four languages I've been taught in school are (in chronological order) Ojibwe, French, C++, and American Sign Language. What? C++ totally counted as my foreign language credit since I was in the Institute of Technology.

** Love you, Mom! (Feel free to pass the love to Dad too!)