Undergraduate / 'Helen Keller'; Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, [3]

Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
Helen Keller was an extraordinary woman. She inspires me, and I look up to her each day. She was deaf and blind, but was still able to be successful in life. Her optimism was her faith which lead to her achievements because she knew nothing could be done without hope and confidence. She is an inspiration to me because I was born hearing impaired.

I remember reading one of her novels saying "I am just as deaf as I am blind. The problems of deafness are deeper and more complex, if not more important than those of blindness. Deafness is a much worse misfortune. For it means the loss of the most vital stimulus-- the sound of the voice that brings language, sets thoughts astir, and keeps us in the intellectual company of man.". Although I am not deaf, I feel as though my hearing loss separates me from people. Many people are fully born with their hearing without any particular effort, but I have to grasp mines with a slow and sometimes painful process.

I've been wearing hearing aids since my kindergarten years, but I stopped when I was in 8th grade because my classmates were amused and contemptuous about them. I remember asking God why he chose me to be hearing impaired. It deprived me of much, knowing that I could not hear as well. To make matters worse, my hearing altered the way I spoke. I did not speak on time growing up. This hindered me from picking up certain sounds necessary for my speech.

I allowed these obstacles to hinder me and my education. My self-esteem lowered and I felt as if I was living in an isolated world with no one to relate to. I was too naive to realize that character could not be developed in ease and quiet, but only through experience of trials and suffering which strengthen our souls and ambitions.

Helen Keller knew from her own experience that the human sense of hearing represents the thoughts into life itself. "Blindness cuts us off from things", she once said, "but deafness cuts us off from people. To be cut off from hearing is to be isolated indeed."

Helen Keller's influence allowed me to learn more about myself. I realized that my success and happiness lies in me. I've grown to be a determined and strong willed lady. I've developed faith because that is my strength. Although I am still really shy, I'm gradually breaking out my shell and removing my isolation. I've set goals, and I'm pushing myself to succeed in life, even when there are obstacles along the way, rather than retaliate against them. I've embraced the things that make me a unique person.

As I reflect back on my life, I've gained from losing my hearing. I am one of a kind, just like Helen Keller.