Many of us make New Year’s resolutions. Some of us are successful in keeping them, others not so much! My New Year’s mantra is to make the most out of what life has to offer. Not really something new, more of a reminder to myself of a positive way of thinking.
Although I have a profound hearing loss, I never let it stand in the way of achieving my dreams.
You may have heard of me, Deafie Blogger?
I write blogs about everyday life as a deaf person, the challenges I face with a hearing loss and how I overcome them. I also share my achievements, with the hope of helping to inspire others. I have my own blog and I also write for Hearing Like Me.
I’m passionate about raising deaf awareness and campaigning for deaf rights. My motto is: ‘Deaf people can achieve anything they dream of, given the right support!’. I believe that I won’t let my disability define me or stand in the way of living a normal life.
To give you the real lowdown… my names Ellie and I’m pretty much like any other 21 year old! I love travelling, swimming and socialising. I’m in a long distance relationship with my boyfriend, who’s also deaf! As well as blogging, I’m a Marketing Executive for a Health Club and Spa.
Even though I was born profoundly deaf, I have been extremely fortunate and life has come with many amazing opportunities. Such as; having the honour of being chosen as an Olympic Torchbearer, visiting Parliament for Action on Hearing Loss, receiving a Highly Commended Young Person’s Award at the Royal Deaf Awards and completing a Tandem Skydive, just to name a few!
As a child, I have to admit… I didn’t really want to embrace the whole Deaf Culture, make Deaf friends, mix with Deaf groups and learn British Sign language. I struggled for a time to accept my disability. I didn’t want to admit I was different to my peers.
I’m so glad to say I eventually did and now I feel my life is much more meaningful. I feel as though now I belong both to the Hearing World and the Deaf World and I have been learning Sign Language, it’s beautiful!
I’m not saying it has been easy. In fact, all my life, it’s felt as though I’ve had to climb a massive mountain, but I have had some amazing support and with hard work and determination I have managed to achieve my goals.
This month, after initially thinking I was in for a quiet period, several exciting opportunities have cropped up, including this one… writing for the British Deaf News, amongst others which I’ll hopefully have the chance to share with you…
Thinking ahead, my main goals for 2018 are;
- Push my petition for more reasonable subtitled cinema showings and try to make contact with the cinemas to see what can be done
- Practise more British Sign Language now I’ve passed Level 1!
- Continue raising deaf awareness wherever I go and to meet more inspiring D/deaf people
- Another fundraising challenge?
- Try and swim regularly!
I believe it’s important and helpful to set yourself goals, but it’s also sensible for them to be achievable. Making ones which are too challenging can be self-defeating if you don’t complete them. Smaller, but still significant goals can be far more rewarding and satisfying.
I am fairly confident that I can see my ambitions through to fruition for this year, well apart from the swimming! Between you and me, it appears on the list every year! It seems like a good plan and the intention is there, but we’ll see how disciplined I really am!
Visit Deafie Blogger’s website! – www.deafieblogger.com
A blog about day to day challenges, real life barriers and achievements in a deaf person’s world!
