This is the story of how my passion for reading began. In this story, I recalled the memories that started it all... the beginning of my journey.
I'm the first child born in the family. When I was a young, my mom was my first teacher. Upon her arrival at home after her work, she will sit beside me with a little blackboard and chalk teaching me ABCs and the name of the things beginning with each letter like A for an apple, and B for basket. But, I never opened any single book nor have a single glance on it.
It was a beautiful Sunday morning, I went to mom's workplace with her which was also my habit every weekend. However, that day was different and special one. Upon our arrival, she brought me to supervisor's corner who was one of her friends. Before she left, she gave me a dictionary and opened it, then she browsed the pages looking for something. I watched her curiously then she stopped and I looked to her smiling face. I smiled in return and she showed me the page where she stopped from the dictionary itself. It was an artist image concept of the solar system. Then, she told me that name of the nine planets. I listened eagerly and repeated the words she recited. When my mom left, my eyes lingered on the picture staring curiously. I couldn't take my eyes off on it. It was a very special day not only because it was the day I encountered and opened a book but also the day that the universe was introduced to me.
My first encounter with the book brought me to much curiosity and made me restless. As I went there again, I asked my mom to bring the dictionary she once gave to me and open again the page where I saw the picture of the solar system, but sadly, she said to me that the dictionary was no longer there anymore. It made me upset but the words she told me when she described the picture were spoken by my mind: "This is our solar system, composed of the sun and nine planets. The nine planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Earth is our home planet, Saturn is the planet that have three beautiful rings and the smallest planet is Pluto." The said encounter with the picture was one of the main reason why Astronomy is my most favorite field of science.
I started schooling at my early age of four and I observed that my mom’s patience never withered. After her work and during the holidays she continues to teach me and reviewed to me all things that I learned from school. Sometimes we're studying during the crack of dawn because my mom believed that an individual learn faster in the dawn of the day. But there were times that I’m not in mood to study but mom usually forced me. She beat me sometimes for not following her, so I was forced to study to avoid the pain.
She gave me rewards for every great things I did during our studies. I just remember one thing, I asked her to buy me an egg pie and a chocolate drink in the bakery when we're done. She promised so, I paid attention eagerly and did well. The result I was blessed with an egg pie and a chocolate drink. Funny isn’t it?
Consequently, she taught me to how to use a dictionary because she gave me one as a gift. According to her, that through dictionary I can find the meaning of unfamiliar terms to me and improve my vocabulary of both English and Tagalog languages.
Every night before I go to sleep, she told me bedtime stories. I can’t remember those stories anymore but the only one thing I remember was the story taken from the Bible. It was the story of “The Tower of Babel.” Me and my sister sat with her listening to every words she told. As I continue schooling, mom always reminded me to keep good grades or else I will stop. It was a powerful blow to myself, so I study harder and kept my promise.
Mom’s patience and hard work were not wasted because I got medals from school. Mom was very proud standing with me on the stage with medals. She also continued to give gifts for every excellent performance at school. It motivated to work harder but I admit that I did it for the purpose of rewards.
As I continue to progress, I set many dreams for my future. One and the very first was to became an astronomer someday. I wished also to be a chemist because I usually saw it on a television an individual mixing chemicals for something. I also wished to learn how to build robots. I dreamed too much of science but I didn’t expect that something will happen that will change everything.
I was eight years old back then, an unexpected illness attacked me that changed everything forever. I got mumps and for within a week, I didn't went outside to play with my friends. One day, I drank the half bottle of my vitamin without my parents knowing. At that night, when I lay down at bed I felt something heavy in my ears. When I woke up in the morning, everything around me was silent, I can't even hear the voices of my mom and dad. Yes, I became Deaf. When I lost my hearing, I didn’t know what I’m going to do. We tried different doctors just to restore my hearing. Many tried but sadly, none of them succeed. I remained silent and I felt that my ambitions in life will never come true anymore. Tears rolled down on my cheeks, I asked myself... "Why me?" I felt that all my dreams were shattered. “What will I become in the future?” I thought. “Where's my life heading now” I asked myself. And finally, I said, "Is there still a hope?"
“Yes! There is still a hope.” Mom told me. “All you have to do is to prove your best even you can't hear. There were people who stand up despite of their disabilities.” It was unbelievable for the first time I heard that advice. I tried to do my best even with my unbelieving self and my parents did their best to support me and helped me to stand up. I was moved to a SPED school and bid goodbye to hearing world. I didn’t mean to separate from the hearing world completely but I felt that it is time for me to learn and grow up to the new world I currently belong.
One night, my dad came home and gave me comics for children. I read it eagerly then dad said that even I’m Deaf I should still learn to read and write because both will be beneficial in my future. It was very painful to hear the word “Deaf” because I’m blaming it the reason for the lost of the dreams I have set. Dad continued to buy me comics and I started to love it. The result, a new dream came upon me. I wished that someday I have to write my own story. Later, I invented incomplete stories. But frankly, every stories wasn’t original at all because I just changed the plot of the story I’ve read.
As I grew-up, my passion for reading increases. During free times in my secondary years, I usually locked myself inside the library and buried myself in every book I wanted to read. It seems that I’m trying to read the whole library before graduation. But reading helped me to increase my general knowledge. Sometimes there were interesting topics in some of my classes and I consult the library for additional information.
My dearest friends also helped me to improve my reading skills. Through their patience in training me, I improved my reading skills and comprehension. They gave me reading materials where I studied carefully at home with a dictionary beside me, carefully browsing the correct meaning of the unfamiliar words. I will never forget all their support and patience in helping me to improve.
I entered college, my love for reading increases but I admit that I turned a bit arrogant. In some of classes, I’ve thrown a weird expression of boredom if the lesson was already familiar to me. “Pardon professor! I know it already,” was the usual expression of myself. I paid a little attention if that case happened. Sometimes my professors were awed if I said that I knew the subject matter already. It seems they think that I’d swallowed the whole book.
In my sophomore years, I was introduced to the the depths of poetry. This led me to love the beauty of poetry, expressing one’s thoughts and feelings through rhythmic use of words in verses. Among of the poem I loved are: To an Athlete Dying Young by A.E. Housman, The Passionate Shepherd to his Love by Christopher Marlowe, The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd by Sir Walter Raleigh, and Shakespeare’s Sonnets my most favorite. Later on, I started to read novels and the very first of them was of my most favorite: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. I'm one of Harry's big fan. My classmates, friends and professors were all aware of it very well. They knew that I’m the only one who didn’t stop telling stories and imitating Harry. I also read short stories and plays. My most favorite play was Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex.” The story was indeed great and heart touching. I couldn’t help myself to cry after learning Oedipus fate.
Aside from my reading skills, I also gained multimedia skills offered by my college institution. I also dreamed that someday I can be a film or stage play director, because I love to watch movies. Being a movie fanatic also helps me to enhance directing skills like choosing best camera angle, plotting, sequencing, storyboarding, and dialogue. In school, I usually the director if there were role playing activities. I have wished also that in the future I will have to create my own film. I already wrote my first ever script which was titled “Patalim (Dagger).” As of today, I'm planning to make it a film with the help of my Deaf friends and I hope that we will succeed. I also became a fan of animation because I also studied. As I watch various animations, I carefully study every movements of the animated show. It improved my directing ideas in giving best shot and movement that will make the film or animated film more alive and attractive.
Because of my multimedia skills, my final thesis was an interactive CD titled “2030: When Science Break the Limits” completed with the help of my two groupmates. I’m really thankful because it was passed. Someday we will have to remake it to add more interactivity and improve the plot of the story.
Now, in the present I’m currently teaching Deaf college students of College of Saint Benilde in English which are usually reading classes. I eagerly share them my experiences on how I improved myself and encouraged them to strive the best to improve their reading skills through patience and hard work. I’m aware that teaching reading in Deaf individuals is a difficult task but in my every class I don’t usually expect that my every student will perform best in my class. All I hope that is even one of them will love reading too and will set example to other Deaf individuals after me.
And my journey continues to go on and on.
