First Week of Learning ASL--ASL Journey

“A different language is a different vision of life” — Federico Fellini

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Dear readers,

So I have always wanted to learn ASL (American Sign Language). I don’t remember how I was exposed to it, but one day I woke up and was like, “yes, I want to learn this language.” Now, I am not good at learning languages. My pronunciation and spelling suck, even with English, and that’s my first language. I struggle with getting words out of my mouth or finding the correct vocabulary, and I’m better now, but language has always been a struggle. I’m better at writing; for some reason, just putting the words on paper is more manageable than saying them aloud. Maybe that’s why I wanted to learn ASL. It’s not a language where I enunciate words.

I was about twelve/thirteen years old when I first wanted to learn about ASL. I watched youtube videos, practiced on my own, and was just so interested in the language. I had to do a speech on some famous people, and I specifically looked for people who were deaf, and I incorporated ASL into my speech. I was just so fascinated, but over time, I didn’t have much time to practice, so I lost many words.

Recently, I wanted to learn again, so here’s my first week of learning ASL. Well, not really; I’ll explain more once we get there.

Day 1:

I wanted a free way to learn ASL. I don’t mind paying for classes if it’s something I would commit to but knowing me, committing to something where I’m not held accountable is now a struggle for me. So I searched the internet, found “SignSchool,” and decided to try it. I learned the alphabet and how to sign “What’s your name?” and “My.”

I realized there’s a lot to remember with ASL, and I wished I had someone to learn it with me so I could practice in real-time, so it becomes more muscle memory, but I guess I shall wait and see for that.

Day 2:

I woke up feeling sick and thought I might be getting COVID again (thank god it wasn’t COVID again).

I did another two lessons in SignSchool, and I watched a video called “30 Signs You Need to Know For Basic ASL Conversation” by Learn How to Sign.

There are a lot of signs that I had to learn and a lot of information to take in, but I think I’m getting better at it, but it’s going slow.

I’ve been thinking about making a binder and printing out the images for each sign to help me remember, but I don’t know.

So this was my last day doing sign language, not because I gave up but because I got really sick, my brain was fuzzy, and my body was weak. It was a rollercoaster, but I also didn’t know how to teach myself sign language. I joined a discord group, and I guess I could ask someone there if they could teach me, or I can have conversations with them using signs, but I feel like I’m not at the level to uphold a solid discussion yet.

The problem with teaching myself a language is that there’s no one in real life to help push me to learn. Like with an in-person class, attendance or even my friends would hold me accountable, but with a learn-on-your-own type, there’s no one to do that for me. I’m not very good at keeping myself responsible because my brain is so noisy, it’s easy to get lost in the noise and drown in my depression and anxiety and whatever fucked up shit my brain decides to focus on.

I want to learn ASL; I don’t know how but I want to learn ASL. If anyone has any ideas, let me know because I would take any advice you can give me.

Thank you for reading; I hope you have a fantastic day or night or whenever you’re reading this.

A. B💜

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The reason for the bow and arrow emojis is that I found this explanation of the bow and arrow and fell in love. One can take any symbol to mean whatever they want, so your meaning of a bow and arrow might differ from mine, and that’s okay. A bow and arrow help me keep my hope and determination in my future. An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backwards. So when life is dragging you back with difficulties, it will launch you into something extraordinary. Just remember to focus and keep your aim.