Friday, April 15th was National American Sign Language (ASL) Day, so I thought this was an appropriate article for the week.
Since I can remember, I have always wanted to learn ASL. It was so intriguing to me when I was younger because I had a deaf girl in my after school program and we got to use certain signs sometimes. I even skipped taking Spanish in high school because my heart was fixed on learning sign language. I'm such a hands-on learner too, so I always felt like I would pick up on it really easily.
The first day of class was crazy because there was a no talking rule in the class and I am a very loud person, but from the first day I knew that I would love learning the language. I don't know everything, that's for sure, but the awesome thing about ASL is that some signs aren't that hard to pick up on.
ASL has made me a better person because it has opened my eyes to things I never knew. Until you take an ASL class you have no idea how the Deaf Community is viewed by others. I've learned about the history of deaf schools and universities, famous deaf people, and deaf events in history. Taking ASL just gives you a view into a world you didn't even know existed. Then you start finding things like ASL song covers on YouTube and ASL Burger King signs so fascinating.
After just the first few classes you'll start seeing people signing in public and before you never noticed it. You get confident enough to be able to walk up to them and have a conversation with them and that is an overwhelmingly good feeling. I've taught signs to my family, friends, and I've even helped teach my little brother some signs so he can communicate before he can talk.
Seeing my deaf ASL teachers walking around campus and being able to say "hi, how are you", can just turn around my whole day. It takes a big heart to be able to love a language, and I know every language can be challenging and also rewarding, but being a lover of ASL makes me feel like it's the best language out there! All in all, ASL is a rewarding language.
If you ever get the chance, take an American Sign Language class! It is such a great skill to have with any job or profession. You won't regret it.
