The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXXI

Perla Gomez
Alex Veloz, Teacher
Bellesini Academy, Lawrence, MA
It all happened on a pouring, early morning, on May first. You can hear the
baby sounds of me being brought into this world. I was born a healthy baby,
but the doctors later knew something was going on with me. Have you ever
heard about hearing loss? It’s when people do not tolerate very loud sounds,
their ears are sensitive, and they cannot hear that well. It happens mostly at
an old age, but people like me get it at a young age. Special people like these
have to wear hearing aids to help them hear. It can be hereditary, passed
down through generations. But what makes this show my courage? There are
many days I had to show courage, and many years to get people to accept me
because I’m different. This is where my story starts of how I show courage
going through hearing loss. Just so you know, courage can be shown and
brought up in many ways. Welcome to MY world!
Even though I was healthy, my mama and the doctors knew I had hearing loss.
I still lived a joyful, normal baby life, but it had some minor issues. Not only
did I have hearing loss, but I also had a speech delay. I could not speak, while
others started talking. The teachers did not even know. How was I supposed to
talk to them? I started getting ringing in my ears. When there is a loud ringing
in one of my ears, I can’t hear at all until it stops. But I dared to persevere
in life and make friends. Even though they didn’t know it, my friends
helped me a lot. Finally, I gained my voice when I was six, and it helped me
to communicate better. I knew I was supported by friends and family, and
because of them, I kept going. I moved schools, which was hard because I had
to explain it to everyone who did not understand. But they got used to me, so
I kept going with my determination, courage, and perseverance to go on in
life. My courage as a toddler built up to the courage I have now.
My courage showed even more later in my life. I was still struggling with
classes, but I was hanging on. My mama promised to get me hearing aids,
which were expensive at the time. Once I got my hearing aids, my life
changed. It was near third grade going to fourth grade, on a sunny day in
June. I was licking my melting ice cream when my mama called me because I
had to go to an appointment. I do not remember much, but I got a mysterious
box with something inside. They were hearing aids. My mind did not know
how to react to it, but my heart leaped higher than a kangaroo. The first time
“When there are
complex challenges
in life, you fall.
However, you always
have to get back up
and keep going.”
I tried them on, I felt like I was in a whole new world! Sure, my ears were extra
sensitive with them on, but I could hear everything! I knew this might be the
end of my problem, and I thought I would stop showing courage, but that
didn’t happen. I had to move to a new school again, and that changed my
life. It took time for new people to understand. Plus, I stopped wearing the
hearing aids, because of the new loud noises there. The ringing continued
more constantly, and my hearing got even worse. Even though my classmates
started to understand, I felt like they sometimes whispered behind my back.
Nevertheless, I had my family to support me through tough times. I had to
show courage. At the end of every day, I could muster up my courage and
believe they would learn to accept me later on.
When there are complex challenges in life, you fall. However, you always have
to get back up and keep going. Life always throws difficult challenges at you.
Sometimes, you can never escape from it. This obstacle is something I will face
every day, but every day I will have the courage to face it. Everyone is different,
and that is alright. Being different makes you special, and you can be more
courageous than others. Courage can help you overcome many obstacles in
life, and even if it seems hopeless, you should never give up. If you give up
now, you will never try and know it worked. We should all have the courage to
stand up for ourselves and others so that they can have courage too. We are
all people, and we help each other with courage and problems. You can do
this and overcome many fights! Just like me, with hearing loss, you can show
courage to overcome anything.
The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond
Volume XXXI
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