[Applause]
imagine you are sitting in a room you
teach you to they’re your parents and
your school principal they are all
talking about you as they are talking
with like impaired disability can’t
shouldn’t these words come up at them
they are discussing what you need and
they come up with a plan for you
now imagine that that happens as the
yeah it doesn’t matter what plan may
come up well they gently tell you that
this is what you need and they implement
that I want you to take note of how you
feel right now
this was my reality growing up I am
profoundly deaf in both ears I can only
hear sound that a very low pitch and
very loud like a two-by-four to because
I cannot hear a spoken language I don’t
even hear my own voice right now and I
only use lip-reading an American sign
never to communicate so over here my
teacher my parent would have a meeting
to come up with a plan for my education
this plan usually included things in my
hearing aid in school being able to
asked for attacked into action to be
repeated will be able to the fund and
satire of other cards regardless of any
Syrian choices at the beginning of every
meeting my principal would introduce me
I would explain that I am hearing
impaired and not the purpose of this
meeting was to determine how best to
accommodate that one here at this
mediator coming to an island a teacher
turned to me and said what do you think
that’s the part everyone but saying that
I actually had if I’m able to my own
so then we understand it an always back
if they teach you time – they always
tend to last at the classroom so it’s
silent for a moment before segments are
that’s actually a very good point and
that will immediately added to my plan
now this is one of the first times when
I really started to realize I had
approached now one a some time I started
a grade will be our student were allowed
to pick which a lactic acid we won a
first Korea so at the end of this
meeting they brought out a course
description book and I’ll try to help
you decide which crafted I’d be
interested in I don’t know why but
others do that list one of them jumped
out at me band god I had no idea how to
play any instruments but it just sounded
interesting to me the reaction that I
got though with almost one of
[Music]
now my personality is one but if you try
to tell me that I can’t do something I
will go out of my way to prove you wrong
and that is exactly what happened here I
was adamant that I would take Bangkok
and I will play saxophone so my parents
got me a doc to come to you and some
practice worked and they signed me up
for few Latins I wouldn’t show up to the
faith test good night doctor phone
backwards something else in better time
and I was so determined to prove
everybody wrong that I showed up that I
faced lot on the task of that practice
book memorized I wrote that book cover
to cover I mean I haven’t just stood out
of it but I better I studied all the
diagrams I practiced for hours and hours
and I apologized to my parents for that
for me playing the saxophone came down
to muscle memory a lot of the time it
was just a matter of playing a play over
and over and not rude to me eventually
figured out that by sitting in a really
specific way I could feel the vibrations
of everything around me by comparing the
validation Giles my style that they the
person next to me I could tell if I was
out of tune or not keeping time cracker
of course there were times where I was
frustrated and I thought about quitting
and I had one teacher who star there’s
so many and sat down to ask me about
what’s wrong
after explaining how I felt
he gave me some tips on practicing a
really difficult pitch that I ever flow
a lot smoother for me at the end he told
me that he of the teacher is supposed to
inspire his students every day but at
times when he was overwhelmed he would
think of how much I adopted that I would
inspire him now there’s the loom
I never in a million years expected
something like that we respected that I
could be one to inspire other I wasn’t
even going out of my way to try but by
doing something that I became passionate
about that was what happened
his voice has stayed with me and the
more I thought about it the little
things that I could do differently the
more I realized that I could apply that
same mentality to other areas of my life
like those animals before school I
started adding more and more input to
those meetings eventually I started
leading them myself and I would tell my
teachers exactly what I needed from them
instead of letting somebody else it’s
been something that they don’t really
understand with each year I try
something new and each time I learned
more about myself and what I really mean
using a note taking a class to fill in
gaps of information or even giving a
copy of my teachers notes to follow
along during class struggling with
lip-reading with the postures are on a
song as it evolved throughout high
school no matter how diligent a teacher
may be it is impossible to see the faces
of every student path I would miss
answers that were shouted out we’ll keep
a little class discussion it started
with reminders to my teachers at their
annual meeting and then more reminders
after class when I confessed that I do
not understand most about not due to the
content that with the entire but missing
the world’s billions are some teachers
we devised a system with me
like a cold wave to be able to be mine
now if I was not understanding another
teacher will give me a pile of markers
out of a car and told me to throw them
at the right board and in turn she
turned away from any that happened
anyway
eventually I became more and more
comfortable speaking up doing and Telugu
Lian tell activate to tell you something
and this was a really big deal for me to
overcome that sense of social anxiety
that I had at the time halfway through
my junior year I requested a sign
language interpreter when this happened
my grades improved on average by seven
written across all MacArthur’s I
suddenly had a whole new world open up
to me that I could understand everything
in real time this was something that I
had honestly never experienced before I
was then able to start college with the
knowledge of exactly what worked for me
because I already did that trial and
error point in high school now if you
have met me at the beginning of middle
school and then again at the end of high
school you would not have recognized me
I just gathered in Parliament confidence
just advocacy I discovered that I am NOT
a hearing impaired person that I am the
dust written there’s a difference by
embrace Gemma I realized that there are
no actual limit to what I can do I just
may do something differently now this
changed my entire perspective that one
simple word from Union pair together
change everything it changed the way
that I view myself it changed the way
that I interact with others it even
changed the way that I approach problems
instead of limiting myself to a box and
saying these are the only solution I am
capable of trying I could now take a
step back and say well this is what
everybody else is doing that it’s not
working what can I come up using my
specific skill talk that is different
than a bit
but why do I share this day with you why
should it matter to you I share my story
because I am NOT the only person who has
faced this kind of adversity but I am
NOT talking about deathmatch I am
talking about words the words that we
say to each other on a daily basis are
so incredibly powerful so much more than
we kind of realized children especially
extremely to talked about today and it
doesn’t even have to be an obvious as
the word no you can’t do that it can be
a lot more subtle impaired disability
shouldn’t over and over this is the
language that has been used but what is
the message behind now children may not
understand the exact definition of some
of these words but the implication
behind them it clear I am a big believer
that our children and their children
they are other futures they are a legacy
what kind of legacy we are going to have
we have generations of children who grew
up thinking that for one reason or
another they camped some of the most
radical and innovative solution to the
world’s problem did not come only from
highly educated scientists they came
from people be thinking outside the box
the notes were approaching problems
differently those who use the different
rules at the stern instead of focusing
on attendance I could hold them back we
little future thinkers believers and of
positivity but that has destroyed AMA
and it starts right here right now each
and every one of you has the power to
make an impact on the future to leave a
legacy of empowerment an inspiration
there’s a few words a few positive would
then have a lasting impact on anyone
even long after you forgotten your
interaction with up with them so today I
would like to leave you with a challenge
I want you to picture what kind of
legacy you would like to have I want you
to think about what kind of future you
would like to see and I challenge you to
consider which word you use to build
that future thank you
[Applause]
imagine you are sitting in a room you
teach you to they’re your parents and
your school principal they are all
talking about you as they are talking
with like impaired disability can’t
shouldn’t these words come up at them
they are discussing what you need and
they come up with a plan for you
now imagine that that happens as the
yeah it doesn’t matter what plan may
come up well they gently tell you that
this is what you need and they implement
that I want you to take note of how you
feel right now
this was my reality growing up I am
profoundly deaf in both ears I can only
hear sound that a very low pitch and
very loud like a two-by-four to because
I cannot hear a spoken language I don’t
even hear my own voice right now and I
only use lip-reading an American sign
never to communicate so over here my
teacher my parent would have a meeting
to come up with a plan for my education
this plan usually included things in my
hearing aid in school being able to
asked for attacked into action to be
repeated will be able to the fund and
satire of other cards regardless of any
Syrian choices at the beginning of every
meeting my principal would introduce me
I would explain that I am hearing
impaired and not the purpose of this
meeting was to determine how best to
accommodate that one here at this
mediator coming to an island a teacher
turned to me and said what do you think
that’s the part everyone but saying that
I actually had if I’m able to my own
so then we understand it an always back
if they teach you time – they always
tend to last at the classroom so it’s
silent for a moment before segments are
that’s actually a very good point and
that will immediately added to my plan
now this is one of the first times when
I really started to realize I had
approached now one a some time I started
a grade will be our student were allowed
to pick which a lactic acid we won a
first Korea so at the end of this
meeting they brought out a course
description book and I’ll try to help
you decide which crafted I’d be
interested in I don’t know why but
others do that list one of them jumped
out at me band god I had no idea how to
play any instruments but it just sounded
interesting to me the reaction that I
got though with almost one of
[Music]
now my personality is one but if you try
to tell me that I can’t do something I
will go out of my way to prove you wrong
and that is exactly what happened here I
was adamant that I would take Bangkok
and I will play saxophone so my parents
got me a doc to come to you and some
practice worked and they signed me up
for few Latins I wouldn’t show up to the
faith test good night doctor phone
backwards something else in better time
and I was so determined to prove
everybody wrong that I showed up that I
faced lot on the task of that practice
book memorized I wrote that book cover
to cover I mean I haven’t just stood out
of it but I better I studied all the
diagrams I practiced for hours and hours
and I apologized to my parents for that
for me playing the saxophone came down
to muscle memory a lot of the time it
was just a matter of playing a play over
and over and not rude to me eventually
figured out that by sitting in a really
specific way I could feel the vibrations
of everything around me by comparing the
validation Giles my style that they the
person next to me I could tell if I was
out of tune or not keeping time cracker
of course there were times where I was
frustrated and I thought about quitting
and I had one teacher who star there’s
so many and sat down to ask me about
what’s wrong
after explaining how I felt
he gave me some tips on practicing a
really difficult pitch that I ever flow
a lot smoother for me at the end he told
me that he of the teacher is supposed to
inspire his students every day but at
times when he was overwhelmed he would
think of how much I adopted that I would
inspire him now there’s the loom
I never in a million years expected
something like that we respected that I
could be one to inspire other I wasn’t
even going out of my way to try but by
doing something that I became passionate
about that was what happened
his voice has stayed with me and the
more I thought about it the little
things that I could do differently the
more I realized that I could apply that
same mentality to other areas of my life
like those animals before school I
started adding more and more input to
those meetings eventually I started
leading them myself and I would tell my
teachers exactly what I needed from them
instead of letting somebody else it’s
been something that they don’t really
understand with each year I try
something new and each time I learned
more about myself and what I really mean
using a note taking a class to fill in
gaps of information or even giving a
copy of my teachers notes to follow
along during class struggling with
lip-reading with the postures are on a
song as it evolved throughout high
school no matter how diligent a teacher
may be it is impossible to see the faces
of every student path I would miss
answers that were shouted out we’ll keep
a little class discussion it started
with reminders to my teachers at their
annual meeting and then more reminders
after class when I confessed that I do
not understand most about not due to the
content that with the entire but missing
the world’s billions are some teachers
we devised a system with me
like a cold wave to be able to be mine
now if I was not understanding another
teacher will give me a pile of markers
out of a car and told me to throw them
at the right board and in turn she
turned away from any that happened
anyway
eventually I became more and more
comfortable speaking up doing and Telugu
Lian tell activate to tell you something
and this was a really big deal for me to
overcome that sense of social anxiety
that I had at the time halfway through
my junior year I requested a sign
language interpreter when this happened
my grades improved on average by seven
written across all MacArthur’s I
suddenly had a whole new world open up
to me that I could understand everything
in real time this was something that I
had honestly never experienced before I
was then able to start college with the
knowledge of exactly what worked for me
because I already did that trial and
error point in high school now if you
have met me at the beginning of middle
school and then again at the end of high
school you would not have recognized me
I just gathered in Parliament confidence
just advocacy I discovered that I am NOT
a hearing impaired person that I am the
dust written there’s a difference by
embrace Gemma I realized that there are
no actual limit to what I can do I just
may do something differently now this
changed my entire perspective that one
simple word from Union pair together
change everything it changed the way
that I view myself it changed the way
that I interact with others it even
changed the way that I approach problems
instead of limiting myself to a box and
saying these are the only solution I am
capable of trying I could now take a
step back and say well this is what
everybody else is doing that it’s not
working what can I come up using my
specific skill talk that is different
than a bit
but why do I share this day with you why
should it matter to you I share my story
because I am NOT the only person who has
faced this kind of adversity but I am
NOT talking about deathmatch I am
talking about words the words that we
say to each other on a daily basis are
so incredibly powerful so much more than
we kind of realized children especially
extremely to talked about today and it
doesn’t even have to be an obvious as
the word no you can’t do that it can be
a lot more subtle impaired disability
shouldn’t over and over this is the
language that has been used but what is
the message behind now children may not
understand the exact definition of some
of these words but the implication
behind them it clear I am a big believer
that our children and their children
they are other futures they are a legacy
what kind of legacy we are going to have
we have generations of children who grew
up thinking that for one reason or
another they camped some of the most
radical and innovative solution to the
world’s problem did not come only from
highly educated scientists they came
from people be thinking outside the box
the notes were approaching problems
differently those who use the different
rules at the stern instead of focusing
on attendance I could hold them back we
little future thinkers believers and of
positivity but that has destroyed AMA
and it starts right here right now each
and every one of you has the power to
make an impact on the future to leave a
legacy of empowerment an inspiration
there’s a few words a few positive would
then have a lasting impact on anyone
even long after you forgotten your
interaction with up with them so today I
would like to leave you with a challenge
I want you to picture what kind of
legacy you would like to have I want you
to think about what kind of future you
would like to see and I challenge you to
consider which word you use to build
that future thank you
[Applause]
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