Join LaRonda Zupp as she offers food for thought about why deaf people should continue blogging or vlogging.
Transcript:
Hello. I’m curious… Have you wondered, “Should I continue vlogging or blogging, or should I drop it?”
Well, I think my story I’m about to share will help you decide better.
I just finished work and came home to check my e-mail. I discovered one e-mail in my inbox from Google Alert. That’s a system I signed up for that will help the Google search engine recognize my name - “LaRonda Zupp” - anytime it sees my name pop up on the internet. It will notify me like it did this evening. I saw that my name was connected to some research paper. So, now full of curiosity, I followed the link and “true-business”, it was there. It was on a paper written by Mitchell Bacot, a student at NTID/RIT. He wrote this research paper for his Master’s degree called: “Educational Needs of Late-Deaf Learners.”
How cool is that?! He seemed to quote me accurately and give appropriate reference to my articles written in ALDA News. That’s a national newsletter for ALDA (Association of Late-Deafened Adults). He also quoted me from my blog/vlog at Ear of My Heart That’s so cool! He did this very appropriately and the quotes seemed to fit right in his project. I feel impressed! Wow!
Many us us do not have the money to publish books about our experiences, but we know they are valuable. We know there is value when we share our journey, our excitement, our learning, our “ah-ha’s”, or our frustrations, and so on. People will listen.
So, if you’re thinking you should shut down your blog or vlog, or that you don’t feel it’s worth it to keep it going, or if you feel finished, bored or dried up with blogging or vlogging, think twice! Maybe your information is deemed important to someone out there who will quote parts of it and use your experiences for their research. That’s rich!
Again, I’m very impressed and want to thank Mitchell Bacot for recognizing what I have to say has value. It validates that my experiences are worth sharing to educate others.
That so rocks!
Bye (ILY wave)
** Footnote Correction: The name of ALDA’s newsletter is not ALDA Inc. It is ALDA News. I signed ALDA Inc. in my vlog by mistake. ALDA Inc. is the name of the national ALDA organization. My apologies.
LaRonda shares a memory of how she challenged the system as a Deaf individual and put Deaf first!
Transcript:
Hello. I’m looking back, remembering a time during my college years, when I took a class called Wilderness Experience. That class was for different disability groups. At that time, in that class, there were people with CP, people with cognitive impairments, plus myself, as a Deaf person. Back then, I was accepting of the term “disabled.” However, now, I protest that label. I don’t feel “disabled.” Anyway, there were other people with bone cancer, limps, and a variety of other challenges. At that time, I was the only Deaf person. Our challenge was to be out in the wilderness and try to navigate our way through different challenges in the outdoors, with our disabilities.
One of my specific challenges was to try to understand the constellations (star gazing) and recognize the pictures in the night sky. This was in the dark, with no sign language and no really strong light. I only had a flashlight. My instructor would let me point the flashlight on his mouth so I could try to lipread. It was a struggle to catch what he was saying. Then, we would turn the light toward the sky and I would follow it as he traced out the constellation. Actually, before we went on that trip, we had studied the constellations in class before hand so we could memorize them. Then, we could go out and have the real experience finding them. My challenge was doing this in the dark.
There were other challenges as well. For example, with river rafting. Back then, I was really excited to river raft on the rapids. I had never done that. I especially wanted to sit in the front of the boat so I could SEE the rapids as we approached them! Other people could hear the thundering rapids building up as we came nearer, which contributed to growing anticipation and excitement! I couldn’t hear this, so I wanted to sit in the front so I could SEE the water build and become excited too! But this would be a challenge.
The person in back, who at that time, was my teacher, was the driver who used the rudder to steer the boat. We would all paddle and he helped navigate our way down the river. What I had learned earlier was that we all had to follow the driver’s call. He would call out instructions for what we were to do. This was frustrating for me because I couldn’t turn around to lipread the caller and I couldn’t hear him, so what was I to do? My teacher said I must sit in back of someone so I could follow their oars to know what to do. But I was disappointed! I wanted to sit in front! I wanted to put the Deaf person first! I was put off by having to be 2nd or 3rd. Phfft! I didn’t like it, but I accepted it at the start. There I sat, behind someone else. The person in front of me would paddle forward or backward and I would simply follow. Sigh.
Yet, this was disappointing, so much so, that I raised a complaint! I let my teacher know I REALLY wanted to sit in the front! So, we all took a moment to discuss how we would meet this challenge.
“How can she hear?”
“How can she follow the calls?”
Sometimes, we wanted to do what’s called “360’s.” That’s when you spin the boat around in a complete circle as you fly over a rapid! It’s a blast! In order to do this, one side of the boat has to paddle forward, while the other side paddles backward. That’s what makes the boat spin around. But, how could I hear the calls if I were sitting in the front. What would I do?
We continued to discuss this in the boat as a group until we came to a decision. I would sit in the front and watch the person to my side. The person would listen to the calls and then call them out to me. I would try to lipread them as he told me what to do.
Well, one time, the group wanted to do a 360. Now, the person sitting next to me was a very big, intimidating guy. He had translated a call from the instructor to paddle forward. But as I did, I noticed my oar kept hitting the one behind me. Something wasn’t right. I was stuck and frustrated! Well, apparently, the guy next to me got the call wrong. He had heard the call, but told me what his side was supposed to do. I was like, “What’s the deal?!” Grrrrrr! I was frustrated.
Then the instructor called out to the guy again and said, “Tell her to back paddle!” This caught the big dude off guard, and now agitated, he roared out, “BACK PADDLE!!!” It scared me to death!! The adrenaline kicked in and I back paddled my butt off until we actually started to move backward up stream! Ha! It was so much fun!
The point is, I challenged the system! I wanted to see them put Deaf first, by putting me in the front, so I could prove we could lead, rather than shoving us in back where we would have to depend on, or follow others! It was a fun time and a big challenge, but in the end, it worked out wonderfully!
Anyway, I was just recalling that experience. Deaf people can be in front and in the lead. We can be put first!
Thank you Kim. That was touching. Kim noted that what she liked about my blog was that I made an effort to transcribe all my ASL vlogs for those who don’t know, or who are just learning ASL. I do this with great pleasure because equal communication access is important to me. So, thank you, Kim, for noting that. I’ve just started coming back from a year-long hiatus. Hopefully, I can get back in the groove.
To be able to post this blog award on my site, I am to do the following:
1) Thank the person who nominated me for this award.
2) Copy the award & place it on my blog.
3) Link to the person who nominated me for this award.
4) Tell us 7 interesting things about yourself.
5) Nominate 7 bloggers.
6) Post links to the 7 blogs I nominate.
So, having done the first 3 above, I’ll finish with 7 interesting things about me, nominate other bloggers and post their links.
7 interesting things about me:
1) I sleep like a flamingo - on my side with one leg up.
2) I’m addicted to iced Chai tea. I love how the spices roll around my tongue and linger on the inside of my cheeks for minutes after each sip.
3) I still love blogging and vlogging. Wish I had more time to do it these days.
4) Three books I’m reading right now: Traveling with Pomegranates (a mother/daughter story) by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor, Roll Around Heaven (an all-true accidental spiritual adventure) by Jessica Maxwell, and The Groovy Side of the 60’s (a hippy book).
5) I’m allergic to marijuana. Tried it once. Broke out in hives on my chest. Nevermore.
6) I’m seriously thinking about attending the next Burning Man event. Have always wanted to. Pure wildness!
7) I dream about running/owning/leading a Deaf Retreat - a place of accessible wellness, rejuvenation, communication, growth, breathing, massage, nature, learning, meaning, playing and praying - for diverse Deaf people… I hope to make this dream come true.
Now for 7 bloggers/vloggers that I’d like to pass the Beautiful Blogger Award to because they never fail to move me deeply. Their posts make my heart open wide every time I see them. They touch on the very heart of what life is all about, whether they are a Deaf individual, parent, partner, spirit, leader, guide or child of a Deaf parent, they strike a chord that resonates deep within the collective consciousness, and the universal human experience we all share. I’ll never tire of reading or viewing these bloggers and vloggers. You are all BEAUTIFUL!
My name is LaRonda Zupp, and I am Deaf. Welcome to "The Ear of My Heart."
The title of my blog comes from the opening verse of St. Benedict’s prologue, which tells us to ‘listen carefully and attend with the ear of our hearts.’ St. Benedict was a saint who urged us to listen within the depths of our soul, keeping ourselves attentive to wisdom that comes from the voice within, and inclining our hearts toward deeper understanding.
My blog title is not about “ears” or “hearing” or being able to “hear clearly,” the way hearing people can hear sound. It is about listening with PURE LOVING ATTENTION to what people are really communicating. This is what it means to me to listen and blog with ‘the ear of my heart.’
