Thirty - odd years ago, I was born, and I was born partially deaf.
How appropriate is it, that I start a new blog, chronicling how my life has been up until this point, with my hearing loss, and my birthday is a week away.
A bit of context -
Due to circumstances around my birth, (for which I am forever in awe of my mother) I was born partially deaf.
What does this mean?
It means that I only have about 40% hearing in my right ear and 10% hearing in my left ear.
(If you see me favour my right ear to hear something, this is why) plus I always pick my phone up to my right ear. If you see me pick my phone up to my left ear, it's a sure sign that it's an alien posing as me.. it's not me..call the police!
So, a grand total of 50/200. For context, you probably have about 150 -180 out of 200 of your hearing. If you're not sure about your hearing levels - take a hearing test here
How do I feel about my hearing loss?
I mean, - I don't know, It is what it is. (the GIF perfectly captures my reaction)
I know i'm supposed to wax something philosophical and profound - but listen, i'm not going to lie to you - I personally i'm good with it and I low-key like it sometimes.
I will explain.
We live in a very loud and very noisy world. One of my favourite parts of the day is taking off my hearing aids to muted silence. I love the fact that I can switch between hearing everything at full volume to some peace and quiet.
So yes, as I was saying - I was born partially deaf. My parents were regaled with horror stories about how I'd never be independent and how life would be very challenging for me and so on and so forth (that must have been incredibly difficult for them to hear).
Guess who's living in a world class city, has a full time job, lives a very robust life, graduated from a great university in England with BOTH a Masters and Bachelors degrees, has gained several professional certifications, has a professional career spanning 9 years and lived in about five cities and absolutely LOVES driving - ME!
But in all honesty, I have to give credit where it's due:
God
There are no words, sufficient enough to express how thankful I am, that God has really helped me in various areas of my life, in becoming the beautiful woman I am today. Hopefully, these verses from 1 Chronicles 29 which I absolutely love does some justice: (I paraphrase)
Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things.
In Your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.
My God, I give you thanks, and praise Your glorious name.
My Family.
They are everything to me... I mean, i get it, it's cliche and I can totally understand people rolling their eyes. But the older I've gotten, the more I've come to appreciate that the kind of family I have, is NOT the norm. I've been incredibly blessed to have a beautiful support system.
Framilies (Friends that have become families)
I have some pretty amazing friends and support system. They are all incredibly amazing in their own ways. You would definitely be hearing about them.
In conclusion, I'd love for you to join me in the journey of sharing my story. I've been encouraged by people I incredibly admire to share my story on a public platform. That there is power in sharing my story. I'd like to believe them.
Honestly I was not sure (still not sure). However, I'd like to start to share my unique stories and experiences of life from the hearing impairment perspective, with the you and I'd like to see where this goes! It's also fun to start write again.
Until next time beloveds -