Remembering Who Helped You

This morning, while waiting for an email to show up, I did my usual surfing the net for new writers who are deaf and hard of hearing.

I stumbled upon Stephen Hopson's Squidoo Lens: Adversity University. This lead me to his blog which stated: I'm a former award-winning Wall Street stockbroker turned motivational speaker, writer and pilot. In Feb 2006, I became the first deaf pilot in in the world to earn an instrument rating.

I especially enjoyed his article, "Remember Who Helped You Along The Way." There are two itinerant teachers who stand out in my memory: Mrs. Rellis and Mrs. Sweeney. Mrs. Rellis worked with me during my first two years in high school. At first, I did not enjoy our sessions. I didn't like being pulled out of class for "extra help." Mrs. Rellis didn't give up. She quickly learned to make our sessions fun and informative. She taught me a few words in Italian as she related her plans for a trip to Italy. She found ways to talk to me about my feelings and gently made me face the issues I had with being hard of hearing. She connected me to Shawn, another student who also had hearing aids and she became my first friend that I could truly relate to about hearing loss.

I was heartbroken when Mrs. Rellis told me that I was getting a new teacher two years later, but I learned to enjoy Mrs. Sweeney as well. Mrs. Sweeney discovered my love for writing and she encouraged me to write in different ways. During our final session at the end of high school, she took me out to lunch and presented me with a blank journal. That journal is one of my treasured possessions today.

So, as Stephen Hopson suggested, remember who helped you along the way. Do you have a story to share about a special someone?