I realise I have been holding back from talking about something in particular that I am very passionate about, that has played a really important role in my life and part of one of my struggles I managed to overcome, learning foreign languages with moderate hearing loss.

Language is the essence of who I am despite my struggles and imperfections. As well as of course being an enjoyable experience, it was hard for me learning foreign languages, especially when it came to understanding conversations in groups or during listening tests with lots of background noise, and simply just learning in a large class. I remember in my late teens, my audiologist was really excited and proud for me when he found out I did really well in foreign languages at school and had gotten into a good university, and he did his best to support me at the time. It was unusual for someone with my level of hearing loss to excel at that kind of subject.

On this note, I have realised that these language skills I have are in fact my “hidden gem” and I need to get it out in the open and flaunt it as this is what I am all about, what makes me valuable, the talent I have been gifted with, that I would like to share – it would be a shame not to share it. Creative writing has been extremely healing for me, and even though it is a skill that I have discovered only recently, this is something I have realised I am naturally good at and need to show off more!!!

I hope I have given you some food for thought and inspiration!