Singapore Deaf Happy Hour.

Despite growing up with hearing impairment on both ears, I never met a friend in school who had hearing difficulties till I was in university. It was a lonely journey trying to cope with the challenges in school such as not being able to hear my classmates as well as the growing uncertainty that one day I might go deaf. I was raised in the mainstream environment where I was taught that being deaf meant the end of the world, and I grew up thinking that I would never be successful if I went deaf one day. Things started to change in university when I got to know a friend who had a similar condition as mine. I realized that a lot of our experiences we faced growing up were very similar. If I had known this friend earlier in my life, life growing up would have been less stressful.

I started to get to know more deaf friends in the Singapore community. The deaf community in Singapore shattered my stereotypical beliefs that being completely deaf does not equate to being useless. I have met many successful deaf friends who went on to have successful careers. Now, I do not worry too much of losing my hearing one day, as I have my deaf friends to fall back on and I am actively learning sign language.

There are many hard of hearing and deaf Singaporeans out there who are not aware of the deaf community in Singapore. I wish that this story serves as a means for them to start connecting with the deaf community through Singapore Deaf Happy Hour facebook group etc.