#2A Three Significant People (Freewrite, 10 Minutes)

My Mother - She had the most profound impact in all aspects of my life. If it wasn’t for her, I would not be who I am today. When I was born, I was sick with a fever of 102¬, which was deadly enough to kill a newborn baby. Unfortunately, either the fever or the antibiotics had given me hearing nerve damage. My mother did not find out that I was deaf until I was 2 years old. She knew that there was something different about me but one day, a really loud clatter from pots and pans falling on the floor did not startle me, which had my mother perplexed as to why not. The doctor had diagnosed me to be hearing impaired. Instead of freaking out or feeling sorry for herself, she asked him what was the next step she could do. For 7 years of my childhood, she and I worked together to work on my speech. This was important because this was the hearing world and she knew that the world would not slow down to accommodate me so being able to speak was of paramount. Her schedule consisted of working with me during the day and work at night to support us. According to my mother, with the severity of my deafness and me being able to talk, I was the exception to the rule – in a way she was right and I owe it all to her.

My Wife – I married my wife for several reasons, but one of the reasons is because I know how big of a heart she has and the zest for life. Everyday of my life with her, I am in awe. She strives to be the best because she knows she can do it. She is one of the smartest people I know and I admire her dedication in life, especially when it comes to education. Before I met her, I was so wound-up, stressed and unable to enjoy life. In a way, I was a perfectionist because I hate it when things get chaotic. Now, I actually learned to sit back, enjoy life and sometimes go with the flow. She is a firm believer that. I remember the very first night we hung out at Dunkin’ Donuts and talked about everything. She has the most beautiful eyes and smile I’ve ever seen. Looking back, I realize that I have traveled more and done more things with her than I ever had with anybody. She is my best friend and I cannot imagine my life without her. On the plus side, we share the same interests like camping and hiking, which makes life more enjoyable. Happiness is best when shared.

Khris Beldon – She was a very special speech pathologist. When I was 5 years through 8 years old, I had to go see her every day to practice on my speech at school. Everytime I get to go see her, I get so excited. She made learning fun and she loved to hear my adventure stories that I did after school and over the weekends. I think this was her ploy to get me to talk better and better because I remember when I say a word wrong she would correct me. Instead of getting frustrated, I took it with a grain of salt and had a lot of patience as a kid. I also remember playing games with her that were fun and educational. When I had to move to North Carolina for 2 years, I was sad about leaving her. By the time I came back to Florida, she had died of ovarian cancer. She was quite young. I believe she was 42 when she died. I will always remember her as a friend and an influential speech pathologist.