Everything Changed

Being Deaf was the hardest thing for me.  I didn't understand when I was young, I hated my hearing aid that I would take them off and throw them out.  I even took it off and hid it somewhere that my mother would not find but of course she got me to spit it out and tell her where's it at.  One day she took me to get my hair cut and told the hair stylist to do a bowl hairstyle.  I was terrified and didn't know why she chop most of my hair off.  My mother lean down and told me "Devin, you need too because you keep taking your hearing aid off."


I've had my hearing aid from age of 15 months till 13 years old.  At the age of 13, my mom randomly told me that I will have a Cochlear Implant.  I didn't know what it was, so my mother sat down with me and told me that it's a surgical procedure that I have to go through.  And I thought, oh my gosh a surgery? I felt like I had no choice but to get it.  Cochlear Implant is a surgically implanted device to help me hear better. 

Illustration of what a Cochlear Implant looks like

My Cochlear Implant on my right ear
This picture was at my high school pageant

 It was the hardest decision that I had to go through because there was some pros and cons of having a Cochlear Implant.  Of course the pros are that it helps you hear better and get to know how the real world sound like.  The cons about having one is that there is risk of complication during the surgery which they say that pretty much right before any type of surgery.  So I decided to take a step and said yes, I want to have one.  After a month of my surgery, that's when everything changed.  I started hearing things that I have never heard before.  I heard birds calling, people talking, a lot of background noise.  It was hard to tell what every noise is but all I know is that I'm happy to hear even though I promise myself that I will never leave from my deaf world as well.  As couple months pass by,  my hearing started to be more clear and it was unbelievable,  I loved it.  I started coming out of my shell and started to meet more people and realized that I actually started having some confidence in myself.  And I knew, God is always there for me and you no matter what.  I am proud to tell people about my disability and how much my life have changed when I received a Cochlear Implant.  But I will never forget the day that my mother found out I was deaf at the age of 15 months old.  Everything did change.... for the better and worse...

All you people who have a disability, please remember, you can do all things through Christ who strengthen you!! If people make fun of you, ignore them.  It's their problem, we have other things to worry about.  So have some confidence in yourself and you can do it.  I'm sure all you have a role model and I know who's mine.  It's Marlee Matlin, a deaf actress and Heather Whitestone- Miss America 1995.  They are an inspiration to me and they are the people who got me to keep going.  Never quit, follow your dreams and you will succeed.  Even if you are struggling with school and having financial problem like I do, all you can do is pray and have faith but don't let that pull you back from reaching your dreams.