Written by GIVEr: Caroline Masia
Hey guys! It’s Caroline Masia from sunny South Florida! I can’t believe that I am here with GIVE NCSY this summer! So far this summer has been amazing and super fun! Everyday and night, we do something that is special. One of the activities we did last night really touched me. We went to a very special play. Before we went to the playhouse, we went to a fabulous restaurant. After we ate dinner, we had ice cream for dessert. It was probably the best ice cream I ever had in my life! After dinner, the entire group went to a play called Na LaGa’at. Basically this playhouse is for people that are deaf, blind, or mute. These people are able to act on stage- which is pretty incredible.
Now let me tell you something about myself, I am profoundly deaf myself in both ears. Now you are probably wondering, how can this girl be writing this? Well I have the wonderful technology called cochlear implants. A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing. I got my first implant when I was 16 months old and my second one at 7 years old. At an younger age, I had to go through a lot of therapy. I connected very deeply with this play because I can relate to them on a personal level,because of my situation, . After the play, we were able to go up on stage and meet the actors. I told them that I was deaf and they smiled, even though they couldn’t see or hear me, that smile touched my heart. We had that instant connection right away. It was an incredible experience that I’ll never forget. It meant a lot to me because when I get home from GIVE, I know that I want to be able to give back to people that are deaf and give back to the community. I can’t wait to see what more is to come!
P.S. A huge shoutout to my amazing parents and the best region ever, SOUTHERN REGION NCSY, for helping me get to this amazing program! ?