Reality on the Subway
The dismal walls of the subway terminal whizzed past my eyes. The street signs flew by too rapidly for me to focus on them, but I still tried to match the conductor’s garbled speech with each upcoming sign. I could feel the reverberating roar of the El beneath my feet, and the darkness of the underground tunnel made the yellow light inside the subway car look languid and murky, but a livid sort of fire rose inside of me as I listened to the conversation that was taking place across the aisle.
The El was crowded that afternoon, so my brother, my father, and i had to sit separately. The conductor had just warbled out some unintelligible street name and the woman sitting next to my father turned to him and asked what the conductor had said. My father, of course, not hearing her, continued to look out the window. She repeated her question louder, and when he still didn’t answer, she proceeded to dish out a string of obscenities directed toward him. All the passengers around her were staring at him, but interestingly enough, my father had no idea any of this was taking place. I refused to turn my head towards her, but as my gaze bored through the window I became increasingly infuriated at that woman’s ignorance. Being rather young, though, I didn’t have the courage to say, “Don’t you see? He can’t hear you! He is deaf! Don’t you understand?” As I recall the incident, that same fire slowly makes its way up through my body. But it is incidents like these that have built my character up to its ardent strength. Both my parents are deaf, and because of it, I am all the more aware, competent, and independent.
I have learned priceless lessons on account of my parents. Both were born deaf into hearing families without the benefit of sign language. Inevitably, both my parents made their way through the world, relying solely upon their ability, wit, and conscience. With very few people behind them, my parents independently designed successful and fulfilling lives for themselves. Through their example, I am proud to say that I, too, rely primarily on myself to accomplish many things. They have taught me to be my own resource, and have implanted confidence within me that I can make good judgments and decisions on my own, I can take initiative, directing myself and others toward goals or achievements. But most important, I know that where ever I end up in the world, I can fend for myself, and do well with the opportunities that I have. My parents continue to instill in me the belief of the power of the individual, a power that is never slighted or diminished.
I will carry the influences of my parents with me as I take on the collegiate, and eventually corporate, worlds. Right now, I plan to attend the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with medicine as a major. Science, biology in particular, appeals to me very much. I am intrigued by the human body and how it functions, and I can combine my love for people and service to others in a medical career. Eventually, i would like to become a physician, and offer my care to both deaf and hearing worlds, and my proficiency in sign language will help me to do so. I would like to share my gift of communication, both spoken and written, with people of every color, creed, and handicap. I just hope I can give back to the deaf community the insight, confidence, and courage it has so graciously given to me.
Melinda Balk is from Lincolnwood, Illinois. She graduated from Niles West High School in June 1996 and ranked in the top 5 percent of her class of 500. She is a member of the National Honor Society, an Illinois State Scholar, and has received many awards for her superb academic achievement. As a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, International she has worked with poor people in Chicago, Miami, and Albany, Georgia. We congratulate Melinda for a job well done.
