The new deaf kid in a hearing school

I knew something was up and different when I started 1st grade and strolled through the cafeteria for the first time to get in line and all these kids stared at me. In reality, I couldn’t blame them for that — back then I had to wear of huge hearing aids. It was like wearing a fat book strapped to the front of my chest with wires coming out of it to my ears. It was a hell of a way to broadcast my handicap. I knew I was different, but I still clearly remember that feeling of uneasiness as I walked through and seeing all those eyes following me with that look of “What’s wrong with him?” I felt like a circus freak who made the mistake of escaping from the circus I so loved.

I remember feeling very quiet inside and wanting to shrivel up so I wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb. But I had to keep walking through all those stares, what else could I do?