Some people are deaf, some are hearing. Ky Noble has an important message about people "in the middle". Take a look below.
Transcript:
Hey, everybody. Basically this is just gonna be about how some of us hard-of-hearing people cannot fit in the hearing community or the Deaf community. So, when I go out with some of my hearing friends, or even people I don't even know, I constantly get judged on the basis of the way I talk. And people pick up why I talk the way I do, because they realize that I'm deaf in one ear. So, they are constantly telling me, "Oh, she can't talk right." "Oh, what? What?" Like, they basically completely shut me out. And that is the most rudest thing you can possibly do. If I asked you to repeat yourself, I am asking you nicely. Like, "Can you please repeat yourself?" Or, "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you." I'm trying to understand you. Just like you are trying to understand me by the way I talk. It's the same exact thing. Don't feel like you shouldn't get to know me, because I have a hearing problem. I mean, I'm human. I'm just like you.
When I hang out with some of the people in the Deaf community, yeah, I get judged, because I don't know very much sign language. Or like, I'm not sign language-ing right. It's not good enough. Well, I'm sorry, I'm learning. I mean I just picked up on it about a year and a half ago, two years ago, I'm learning. It takes time. It's a whole 'nother language. It's not easy. It takes a lot of memorization. It's hard. And I'm sorry that I can talk. And I talk to people and I don't sign the whole entire time. I don't know sign language like that. I'm used to talking, because I'm been talking my whole life. I'm hard of hearing. I can hear things. I just can't hear certain things. I mean I'm not all the way deaf, but yet I'm not all the way hearing. So what am I supposed to do? No matter what I do, I can't seem to fit in in the hearing world or the Deaf world. So... I guess I am somewhere in the middle. In the "middle world" I guess? Like my sister likes to say. I don't know. All I know is, that I'm human, just like you, just like everybody else. And we all have feelings, we all want to fit in sometimes.
But truthfully, if I can't fit in in the hearing world, or the Deaf world, I'm just gonna pick my own little world, and live in that world, and if anybody wants to come live in this world with me, come on in! I'm done trying to be nice and trying to please everybody, because I can't help it. It's just how I am. It's how I was born, OK? Alright, sorry. (Laughs)
Rant's over, I just wanted to let that out, because, lately, it's been getting to me, 'cause people don't understand the difference between hard of hearing, Deaf, and hearing. There's three different things. I'm not technically qualified as Deaf, I'm not technically qualified as hearing, OK? I'm just in the middle somewhere. I guess that's what we're going to call it from now on. I'm in the middle. Thank you for listening. Like, share, to anybody who thinks they might want to hear this video. And most importantly, always remember to love yourself. Never change who you are. Love yourself.
