Hello everyone!

My name is Jess, I am a ten year old girl who is deaf. I am a little different from those around me becasue I cannot hear like they can.

I have always known that I was deaf which made me a little different from the people around me.

It is definitely hard to fit in sometimes because of my deafness. Even though I look just like everyone else around me, I still get made fun of all the time and treated differently.

Being different causes people to become curious, which is why I get so many questions about my deafness. The main question I get is, how did you become deaf or what is that thing in your ear?

That thing in my ear is called my hearing aid, which helps me hear a little. Although it helps me it does not make me a hearing person. I only have one in my left ear becasue the hearing aid would not work in my right ear.

Another thing that makes me different is the way I communicate. Since I have always been deaf I was never able to hear my parents talk so I never learned how to speak. My way of communicating is through sign language. Sign language is how deaf people talk, we use our hands to talk to each other.

When I first started learning sign language I did not like using it in public becasue I could feel everyone staring at me. When I was younger I did not understand why people would stare at me. I always thought they were making fun of me and they way I talked to my family and friends. The first full word I learned in sign language was, hello.

The biggest problem I had being deaf was making friends. No one wanted to be friends with the deaf girl.

I did not understand why though because there are people in this world who are deaf just like me like actors and musicians.

I do not want to be judged just for being deaf.

One day I know I am going to find a friend who looks at me as Jess and not the girl with a disability.

My grandma would always tell me to be patient and always be who you are becasue no one should make you change who you are.

Being patient was extremely hard! All I wanted was to have a best friend.

I was beginning to think that that would never happen for me.

Everything changed when I met a new girl named Ashley. She was very nice and also knew sign language.

I was so excited that there was a new girl in town who could possibly become my new friend.

I could not wait to go home and tell my grandma the amazing news!