American sign Language was my first foreign language course of my college career. I took this my second semester and went into this course feeling very nervous, as I had not had the best foreign language experiences in middle and high school, due to poor teachers. However, as soon as the first class was over, this fear sort of went away. By the end of the first class, I already knew how to sign the entire alphabet. This class had taught me a couple of things, with the first being that practice and repetition is key and extremely important. I soon realized that the less I practiced outside of class, the more difficult that it got. I now make sure that I practice and have even continued this habit into my summer, to ensure that I am prepared for ASL 210 next semester.

The next thing that ASL taught me, was to be more open and aware of the world around me. During this course, one of the requirements was to attend this event and learning opportunity, called the PCA in Glen Allen, Virginia. At this event, deaf individuals, their families, and even people just wanting to learn American Sign Language, like me, attend this event, where we play games and do an abundance of fun activities with deaf teachers, to help us learn and better ourselves in American Sign Language. After this event, we had to write a reflection, which I have attached below. When reflecting on this experience, I realized how much their is to learn about the deaf community and how important it is to be aware of the world you live in. From this experience, I learned a lot, such as how to interact with the deaf community, which I had never done before, as well as that the deaf community, is just like everyone else and they don’t let this one struggle get in their way of living life. These people were so full of life and fun to be around, and it was just a huge eye opener for me, as we learned in class that these people are basically discriminated against, preventing them from getting jobs or things of that matter. However, when you meet these people, they are just like everyone else and completely capable of doing anything. I cannot wait to continue to learn American Sign Language, attend the PCA again, and continue to work with and learn more about this community.