Her name is Rachel Discos and she's an 18-year-old freshman at CSUN who's deaf and filled with pride and humor. She grew up in San Bernadino, or what she calls, the Ghetto. She's the youngest of two older siblings and spent some time both here, in California, and in Maryland, where her father grew up. I was able to hear all the details of her life during an interview with her on Thursday, May 4, 2017.
Q: Oh okay that's cool! So, Maryland—is it cold over there? Like how's the climate there? I've never been over there.
A: They have all types of weather!
Q: (laughs)
A: So, I'd go and it would be warm and beautiful, not a cloud in the sky and then three minutes later, there would be snow. (laughs) It would change all the time.
Q: Where do you like it, here more or there?
A: I prefer there more, actually. I like the small town and the community is a lot more friendly and [there's] less traffic.
Q: Less traffic. Always a plus.
A: And more trees too! That's also nice.
Q: I can imagine! I went to Oregon during the summer last year and there were so many trees. I couldn't believe it.
A: Yeah, I love the trees too. You know, during my four years here at CSUN, my goal is to touch all the trees on campus. (laughs) I'm about 1/8 of the way done.
Q: (laughs) Why do you like feeling the trees? If you could describe it.
A: It's just kind of a fun goal because I see trees all over campus and people just ignore them. And they're nice private study areas too.
Q: Very true!
A: Yeah it makes me walk longer or make me go a different way around campus onto "a road less traveled." (quoting Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken")
After we talked about Maryland, we went deeper into her childhood and how she learned ASL.
A: Both my mom and dad (took care of me). Specifically, my mom [took care of me]. I grew up using "C," which is signing with exact English. And that means the grammar is different. So we use English grammar and use that to sign words. For ASL, it's a completely different language. Like for example, in "C," signing in exact English, you would say "I AM GOING TO THE STORE TOMORROW." But in ASL, the exact grammar of that would be "Tomorrow store I go to." So that would be the gloss of the language. Its tone is different and it's its own language. What makes a language a language, ASL has all of those features.
Q: Yeah I could totally see that. I had to learn a language in high school and it was the exact same way to translate English to that language. So, I totally understand.
A: Yeah, so I grew up using "C" because I went through some speech therapy and signing in exact English, so I got a mixture of both. I learned English and how to sign in exact English. Then, in high school, my mentor was deaf and taught me ASL. He inspired me to come to CSUN. He's an alumni so he kind of quote on quote "forced me" to come to CSUN (laughs). That's when I really immersed myself into ASL. I learned so much so quickly her at CSUN. And I'm still learning.
Then we went into greater detail into how CSUN shaped her be more prideful in being deaf.
Q: Oh okay! That's really inspiring. So, you came to CSUN specifically for their program here? Or their reputation?
A: Actually, yeah, both. I didn't know much about CSUN, before, I mean, living in San Bernadino I didn't really know much about CSUN. However, I'm finding my deaf identity here because back then, I didn't know much about deaf culture. There's a lot of deaf culture here and I knew nothing about that... I always thought of it as a disability and that signing was a tool. I didn't think it would be a culture and a language. I didn't realize it was not a disability until I came here to CSUN.
Q: Wow, that's really nice! I didn't know it was a culture either like I didn't even know this place existed (CSUN's deaf center) until you told me. Can you tell me a little bit about what kind of events you do here?
A: Well, deaf people love to socialize and have events because we have direct communication, freedom and, I want to apologize to Kevin, (our interpreter). We don't have to rely on an interpreter to communicate (laughs). We have shared experiences. Usually, once a month, we have a Starbucks get-together to chat and socialize. But, in terms of events here on campus, we have Halloween parties, prom and we just have spring banquet. You know, anywhere, anytime, we can get to together and catch up, we take that opportunity.
Let's talk about music.
Q: So, I see that you listen to music before our class starts.
A: (laughs) Yes, I listen to music with a lot of bass.
Q: I can tell!
A: I loooove that. I can just feel those vibrations and I could hear some. With my Beats headphones, it really amplifies it. For me, when I'm walking, I could hear it but I'm pretty sure other people can hear it too. (laughs) With my hearing loss, it's a little different. Because some people have nerve damage with their hearing loss. With mine, is nerve but I don't have access to that nerve if that makes sense. So, let me try to explain this. I hear through vibrations and through my bones in my skull. So with my hearing aid, the goal is to pick up the vibrations and the amplification so that it travels through my skull to my brain so I can determine what those words mean, etc. I also get a sensation and can tell if a song is good.
Q: Very interesting! So, what kind of music do you like? Like what's your favorite genre or artist?
A: I like bluegrass... country... and rap! (laughs) I know it's quite a combination. I actually also used listened to classical. And I'm a really big fan of Johnny Cash. But really, I like all kinds of music.
Q: You just really like feeling the music through its vibrations.
A: Yes. When I'm driving, I have my volume all the way up to 30. And, I always ask people in the car, do you have a headache yet? (laughs) If they do, I'll turn it down.
Q: (laughs) Do specific songs have specific vibrations you like to feel?
A: Hmm... it's interesting because all the songs I listen to are cover songs. So, I typically try to find male cover artists because their voices are lower and I can understand them more. High pitch voices I can't hear as well. Some female artists are okay, but I tend to listen to male voices. I think that's why I'm a fan of Johnny Cash because his voice is so deep and low I can understand very, very well what he's saying and his emotions come through in all his songs.
Thanks so much for reading! Unfortunately, I wasn't about to squeeze in everything that Rachel and I talked about during our interview. However, if enough of you guys want the other half of the interview, I will happily post another article.
