Emily Foster, attended Cottonwood High in 1998 with my classmates from Utah School for the Deaf and Blind. I was fully capable of talking, even though my hearing loss had nearly dropped off the cart, as I am profoundly deaf. That definitely explains the good sleeps I get, nice and quiet.
Through the years of attending Cottonwood High, by our USDB (Utah School for Deaf and Blind), we were forced to mingle with our classmates who were Total Communicated (can't talk, full hand signing). Boy, what an adventure!! Some of our classmates weren't thrilled to cope with signing. But not this girl, Emily, I joined a group of deaf friends who were totally talking with their hands. However, little I knew about sign language in general. Hey, look on the bright side, I was a pro at lip-reading, (secretly - that was my advantage to pick up the conversations and learn sign language). The group was stunned that I was able to pick up pretty well with signing and enjoyed signing, it was like a well known coded way of talking. That was fun and memorable.
While I attended Cottonwood High, I was involved in art, photography and still learning sign language. I took a class for the year book photography in my junior year. That turned out well.
Here was a challenging part, in my senior year, prepare yourself, I was attending three schools at one time.
-Utah School for the Deaf
-Cottonwood High
-Jordan Tech Center - vet tech assistance
Holy smokes! What a serious hand full I had... The JTC classes didn't succeed. There were too many complications, but it was fun at the same time.
As of 2011, What has changed?
Sign language: improved dramatically and does interpreting one on one upon request. I can't do a group, that's out of order.
Art: I am learning how to do tattooing! It's pretty slow, but fun.
Drawings: same ol thing.
Kids? You betcha, one little princess name, Tazsie.
And last but not the least, I am still deaf, that hasn't changed for decades. I still have the love for music.
If you recognized me, you can definitely find me on Facebook.
www.facebook.com/sly.hastings
Thank you for the view!
Emily aka Sly
