Cherish
Cherish is a sign that has special meaning, to me because of my parents who are deaf. As I was growing up my father used to sign “right hand, curved fingers touching chin, palm inward pull down slightly into a fist” in a variety of ways. At times he would use the sign affectionately, seriously and even humorously. I always understood what he meant by this sign in my mind and heart, but I didn’t know the equivalent word or the English gloss for this sign.
This experience for me wasn’t unusual growing up with my parents, I came to learn the English equivalent of that sign was “cherish” but that “gloss” was a pale shadow of what my dad meant. He meant to cherish, treasure, hold dear to his heart, consider precious or valuable, and to love. He meant all these things and more.
The struggle to understand or explain to my hearing, friends the apparent contradiction illustrated above aroused my interest in facilitating communication between people who were deaf and hearing. My desire to learn more about American Sign Language, Deaf culture, and to become more involved with the deaf community can be linked to my parents. My exposure to my parents’ language, which they learned at a residential school for the deaf, was the catalyst that transformed my future. Both my parents were sent to Austine School for the Deaf in Brattleboro, VT around the age of nine. There they met, fell in love, and then married. They had four children none of whom were deaf. I was the third child to be born and the first daughter.
Having parents who were deaf didn’t seem different to me initially. This could be attributed to my parents spending a great deal of time with family friends who were also deaf parents with hearing children. As you can imagine this only reinforced my impression that my family was the “norm.” In my family it was the “norm” to use sign language with my parents and English with siblings. It was an ordinary occurrence to have to interpret phone calls, school forms, some letters, and other communication with the hearing world. It also wasn’t unusual to encounter situations where there was tension between my parents and a hearing person because of something I couldn’t put my finger on.
Growing up in a hearing society, it was inevitable to find out that my family was not the “norm,” but that didn’t make my family a bad one. By the age of nine I began taking on more of the interpreting in the family and tried my best to deal with a variety of situations that arose as a result of this unique role. In high school I began exploring careers where I would be working with children or adults who were deaf. Upon graduating from high school [ began working with individuals who were deaf blind and this experience deepened my career aspirations. Soon I was on my way to earning an A.S. in Deaf Studies: Interpreting; Option at Northern Essex Community College.
Since then my career goals have solidified and I continue to work towards their attainment. I hope to work as an interpreter for the deaf and have begun the process of becoming state screened in Massachusetts. I have passed the interview portion and am waiting to take the performance exams. I also hope to work as a clinical social worker primarily with people who are deaf and deaf blind. To this end, I am pursuing a B S in Sociology with a Social Work certificate at UMass Amherst. Once this has been achieved, I will work on my masters in Social Work.
When I reflect on where I am in my life and where I am going, I can’t help but see the connection to my past growing up with deaf parents. They showed me a different language, community, and culture, all of which are now an integral part of me. They have shown me that despite adversity, one can still be strong and proud. They have influenced my intimate sense of self and now my identity incorporates many values that my parents hold dear. I attribute my strong sense of responsibility, honesty, and motivation to my parents who I love and admire. Now whenever I sign “cherish,” or see someone else use this sign, I think of my parents. I “cherish” my parents but not the way the English equivalent defines cherish, but the way my parents define it, “right hand curved fingers on chin, palm inward, and pull down slightly into a fist.”
Ms. Goad is currently a student at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and is majoring in sociology and social work. She previously attended the Northern Essex Community College Interpreter Training program. Ruth has been a volunteer and has done internships in many of the local agencies serving Deaf people in Massachusetts. While in college she has been Co-President of the ASL club and served as a student representative to the young interpreters of Massachusetts.
