I’m sure many of us in the hearing loss community have a unique talent to show the world—something out of the ordinary.

Recently, I was reminiscing with my mom about the time that I tried out for the talent show at Lowell Elementary School, which I attended in the early 80’s. As strange it sounds, I had this obsession with movie theaters and used to build models of theaters at home. So, for the talent show, I played the part of a recording announcer, calling out the movies and show times whenever people called in. My sister helped me make a box that resembled an answering machine, and we used a typewriter ribbon to show the recorded tape; I wore it during the show. Apparently, the judges liked it enough to put me in the opening act of their talent show.

Looking back on it, I thought how in the world I could have done such a crazy, bold thing. But I was just a kid back then and I guess I just had that particular talent that I wanted to show to the world. The idea of hiding it never occurred to me at that time.

At the next Open Chat Night, share your unique talent and how you share it with others. Whether it’s related to your hearing loss or not, I thought this would be a fun topic to discuss.