My story:
I was born in San Francisco to very poor parents. My father who was born severely hearing impaired, like his mother was, worked for car dealerships as a mechanic but he kept being fired because of his deafness. Yet he was said to be one of the best mechanics around.
After my younger brothers birth we moved to Petaluma, then later to Santa Rosa to a farm far from the outskirts of town. I went to kindergarten where there was a requirement to have my hearing tested. It was found to be really bad and I was prescribed hearing aids. I've been wearing hearing aids ever since and the torture that comes with them: frequent ear infections, squealing, short circuiting from sweating, fear of water as it would damage the hearing aids (hence why I hate water balloons and squirt guns. The elementary school teacher said I could not learn music because of my hearing impairment.
We never had money so I never could get gym shoes or boots. Other kids lorded that over me. I was always excluded. Classes were torture trying to hear. Because of our poverty we could not afford bikes. Yet there was some dumb "mandatory" event at the school were there was some sort of bicycle racing and other activities. They arranged for my brother and I to "race" our pedal cars we got from the dump against each other. It was extremely embarrassing. I started to gain weight. I was being pushed out of activities by other students and other problems in school as well
I went to one Halloween party where all the other kids had good costumes and all my mother and I with our limited imaginations could make was a "country boy" thing. I was a farm boy. I could not hear and socialize with other students. I was traumatized by that party. I've hated costumes, mascots, and Halloween ever since.
Then my father broke his back twice and retired form auto mechanics work. He was in terrible pain ever since. There was no such thing as "pain management". He dictated that I never learn ASL for me to communicate. We moved in the middle of the school year to Sebastopol.
We had a kid up the street stealing our toys all the time. I finished the school year and then due to how messed up the school system was, I was then sent on the next grade to school far away. The other students got into music class. I was not allowed in until last. They then handed the school instruments out and didn't have any for me. We were too poor to buy our own. Again I was not allowed to learn music. I was traumatized. And I was bullied as well. Teachers would put me in sports and the kids would push me out, the teacher would push me in and the cycle continued. I've hated sports since then.
Classes were torture due to my hearing impairment so often I ran far into the field and sat crying. We moved yet again in the middle of the school year back to Santa Rosa to what was then the outskirts of the city, the city limit was just down the street..
Again a half year in one school then went to Junior High to continue my education. I was then bullied chronically. I never could have friends from all this moving and changing schools. Often there were field trips but when they wanted money I could not go as we were poor. The gym teacher was very upset because I could not keep up with other students in activities. At least I finished going through this school and went on to regular High School.
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