My birthday was a ton of fun and I'm glad I threw a Bring Your Own Salsa party the following Saturday. My amazing friends showed up and my roommate was kind enough to light my candle for me on the cake. (My mom mailed me my cake again this year! So pumped!)
I had so much salsa leftover afterward though.....can't complain since it's a staple in my apartment for both Katie and me!
DNL stands for Denver Deaf Night Life. I've been going to their events once a month for the past three months and I have loved every single one. Each time, I meet new friends and have the chance to use my second language - the one I love best.
I think about these individuals and I smile. I never had this growing up. Having people understand me, truly understand. Growing up, I was surrounded by hearing people. Here, I'm surrounded by people like me. I love it! I look forward to each event and talking to my new friends. This is home.
While ASL is my second language, I'm excited to get better at it and eventually leave English behind. I'm so glad that I found this language and culture. It's been a blessing to me in so many ways. I never knew such happiness and acceptance existed.
Just walking into DNL this past weekend, many greeted me with hugs and were super excited to see me. There weren't many times I genuinely felt missed or appreciated in the hearing world. I do love the hearing friends that I have met over the years and I'm eternally grateful for the ones I met in elementary school. They carried me through some of the most difficult times.
I'm so glad DNL exists and I'm thrilled that Deaf Culture exists!
Side note: It snowed today. I'm not so thrilled about that....
