Deaf Awareness Month| Being Nervous Around Deaf People

[INTRO]

Hello!

Welcome to Deaf Awareness Month.

A lot of the time, people ask me,

“Hey, Rikki. How do I get involved
in the Deaf community?

“When I go to a Deaf event, I get nervous.

“I’m scared that Deaf people will look at me

and think, ‘Haha! Your signing sucks!’”

Look, don’t worry about it.

I understand being nervous.

I always get nervous.

When I go to a new Deaf event or festival,

I’m thinking, “My signing
does suck a little bit.

or, “I’m not fluent enough!”

I’ve only been learning ASL

for a year and five or six months.

I’m always learning something new.

I learn new vocabulary everyday.

I grew up mainstream,

being oral and using my voice, so I get it.

My parents didn’t put me
in the Deaf community.

If you want to go to these events, GO!

If you want to learn ASL,
you have to find Deaf people.

You have to get involved
in the Deaf community.

That’s how you learn good ASL.

I remember when I was
in Toronto in June or July,

My friend hosted an event

for the Toronto International
Deaf Film and Arts Festival.

Yeah, that’s the name of it.

I was helping out for the event.

I didn’t know anybody

except for one person, my friend.

So I’m walking over
and I see the building

and I’m feeling scared, nervous.

And then I’m thinking,

“Nah, I’m gonna go home. See you!”

I stood outside for about 30 minutes.

I was just too scared to go in

because I wasn’t fluent in ASL.

But you have to know

that you won’t learn if you don’t go.

So after a lot of waiting
and some breathing,

I get up and I go into the building.

“Hi, I’m Rikki! Where’s my friend?”

“Hey! How are you!

“I’ve been outside and too scared
to come in! I’m sorry!”

My friend goes, “Why are you sorry?

"Don’t worry about it! It’s fine!”

I was nervous for a long time,

but after 1 or 2 hours, I was fine.

I was also drunk due to wine.

A lot of wine.

But after that night, I had a lot of fun!

I made new Deaf friends!

It’s okay if you’re nervous. It happens.

Anything new makes people nervous.

But you have to fight the nerves!

Just say “eff you!” and go.

Not to the Deaf people, but the nerves.

Don’t say “eff you!” to the Deaf people, okay.

That’s rude.

It will be better than you think.

It’s more fun than you might think.

While I was at the event and drunk,

I cried a lot because
I was really scared…

and had a lot of wine.

I was telling everyone,

“I’m new here! I’m new to the community.

"I’m always scared.

"I don’t want Deaf people to hate me
because I’m not fluent in ASL.”

They told me, “We don’t hate you!

"We like you! We’re all friends here!”

Then I cried some more,

but this time, they were happy tears!

Sometimes, alcohol helps.

It’s a good thing.

But, maybe, sometimes,
you don’t need the wine.

All these events make me nervous.

The point is, if you’re nervous

about going to these events,
it’s fine, just breathe.

And then get your butt
in there and introduce yourself!

If someone there doesn’t like you,

“Fine. I’ll go make friends over there!”

It’s that simple.

Hopefully, that helps you out a little.

Just practice, practice, practice your ASL.

If you want to see more videos,
make sure to subscribe.

I’ll see you later. Bye!

[POKEMON OUTRO]