"Normal"

As I've discussed personal issues with several friends, I find that everyone has that one thing that makes them not "normal." With most people I meet, there is one thing that makes them different, whether it be race, gender, sex, orientation, disabilities, disorders, home-life, income, etc. It's interesting, though, that our society so often compares itself to this idea of "normal," which typically means a white, middle-class, straight male born in a happy nuclear family with a mom and a dad that are forever in love, or married to a wonderful wife, and they never argue and have 2 wonderful children with no disabilities. Everyone has something that makes them stray from this "normal."

This idea of "normal" really hit when a good friend explained some of the struggles with having epilepsy. Much of her life changed and even some of her goals changed because of this disorder that has now forever embedded itself into her life and thinking. Things like having her own children (or having children in general) and getting a license are difficult, whereas others things like drinking alcohol or caffeinated beverages are no longer done with care-free action. Even being alone for extended periods of time give concern.

As for myself, there are some things that I realize I can never do because I'm gay. I can never have a wife and kids (unless I miraculously become straight, which doesn't happen no matter your ideas on ex-gay therapy and ministries). I will never be fully accepted by many Christians because of their interpretations of the bible. People will forever judge me based on my orientation and not on my character.

A few things that I remind myself of when such ideas intrude my thoughts are:
*my sexuality only defines a part of me, as does anyone's difference only defines a part of them
*everyone has one thing that diverts them from the "normal," and so everyone struggles with something, which kind of normalizes us all because we all have our struggles
*God will always love me, not matter what other people say

If you feel up to sharing, leave a comment (anonymous or not) explaining one of your struggles and how you cope.

The ONE Campaign and the Dilemma of Social Work Majors

April 24, I went to a ONE campaign workshop, which I found absolutely amazing. Not only did I get to learn more about the ONE campaign and how I can help make a difference for persons in Africa who suffer from extreme poverty, I got to meet several other ONE members who are passionate about helping those people and making the ONE campaign part of their day-to-day lives.

As I sat there, I began to understand that they don't want my money, they want my voice. They want people who will stand and fight for those people in Africa who are often oppressed and are not allowed to speak up or speak out. The ONE campaign is specifically an advocacy organization that works with other organizations to ensure that the United States of America is upholding its part of the bargain when it comes to foreign aid and development. For more information on how to get involved or more information on their current campaigns go to www.ONE.org.

As I was sitting there in the workshop though, I realized that I need to make a decision when I go to grad school. In the social work profession, there are generally two routes of concentration, direct practice (DP) or community and administrative practice/community and administrative leadership (CAP/CAL). I find myself leaning towards the CAP/CAL concentration because I love working with organizations to provide help around the world, but I also love working one-on-one with individuals to achieve their goals in self-sustainment. It's rather frustrating to me because I know once I choose a route, I'll end up making a career based around the concentration until I decide to go for a PhD so I can teach and do research (which is my long-term goal either way).

What I'd like to hear from whoever reads this blog is: Do you find yourself in similar situations? If so, how have/will you deal with them?

Tutoring the Deaf

I'm a tutor for the Deaf at an amazing school in Arlington. It's different. I've been tutoring hearing students in Irving all school year and got hired to tutor a few Deaf students at this other school in Arlington. Everyday is an experience though.

My goal is to help these students pass the TAKS, which is a complete bore and I hate the biased langauge within the TAKS. As I continue to tutor these children, I realized that I don't feel qualified, but I was hired. My ASL vocabularly is growing as I tutor these kids, but I definitely need more practice, especially when it comes to subject specific vocabulary. One thing that really irks me about the TAKS though is that many of the terms they use are not interpreted into ASL word for word, so when I'm reviewing these questions from the TEKS, I'm having to do tons of explanation just to get them to understand what is being asked.

Another thing that I find extremely frustrating is that writing English is completely different than ASL. I'm teaching ESL to Deaf students at this point. They have a basic understanding of how to write, but using words like "tense" or "audience" doesn't make sense. There really aren't signs for those words and the questions don't make sense. I really took for granted the vocabulary I have in English because now I'm really attempting to portray these concepts in ASL.

I have to say though, I love working with them. Unlike many of my hearing students in Irving, they really want to learn and want to pass the TAKS. I really hope I can help these kids; I know they are helping me.