[Community-Service] Stories about the music you love

Mon Sep 28 04:48:55 UTC 2020

This was a wonderful read! Love it so much as it was so intriguing.

On Mon, Sep 28, 2020 at 5:42 AM Casandra Xavier via Community-Service <
community-service at nfbnet.org> wrote:

>
> Hi,
>
> I hope I have permission to share this with everyone. It’s a link plus a
> written format in case the link isn’t working for some odd reason.
>
>
>
> Here goes:
>
> Stories about the music you love
>
>
>
>  9/25/2020
>
>
>
> Music for many is and can be a source of nostalgia and most certainly a
> trigger for certain feelings and emotions. Music is a form of medicine for
> everyone who runs to this outlet. When all else fails with people
> interactions, we sometimes run to music. These are many of the reasons why
> I would consider getting a cochlear implant once I’m ready. The topic
> loomed over me each time I visit with an audiologist for nearly a year. My
> hearing has finally scratched that level of deterioration where it is
> appropriate to consider this implant option. I’m writing about this because
> it helps me cope and feel more at ease. I may not even share this with
> anyone but if I do, then welcome to my world. You are getting a glimpse of
> my journey into another decision-making process.
>
>
>
> Now, I will add that I would prefer to hear music more than another
> person’s voice talking to me because music never disappoints. There are
> some people I would still enjoy speaking to because I enjoy speaking to
> them more than some.
>
>
>
>
>
> Many are probably asking what I’ve been doing to be proactive about this
> situation and I’ll tell you exactly what I’ve been doing.
>
> The year I found out the remaining hearing I was born with began to
> steadily worsen, I instantly began to inquire about resources for people
> living with deafness and blindness. I found out about a center for the deaf
> and hard of hearing and I opened a case with them. I then asked about ASL
> classes and the resources were flooded into my life. I took in everything
> that was given to me with gratitude. I asked as many questions as I could
> when I sat with my case worker and interpreter at the time. Yes, I even
> asked about making ASL classes accessible to someone who was visually
> impaired and we made it work out. It had a rough start but with positive
> attitudes and great effort, things came together seamlessly. I refused to
> let hearing loss drag me into silence without any useful tools to survive
> and navigate life. I addressed the deafness the same way I did with the
> blindness resources.
>
>
>
>
>
> Now, to the music that made me reconsider prolonging the process of
> getting a cochlear implant. I will list off the artists and songs along
> with a quick story.
>
>
>
> Sade/Smooth Operator
>
> I grew up listening to Sade because my sister introduced me to her music
> unintentionally. I heard the song “Smooth Operator” blaring from her
> cassette player in the mid 90’s. Her music grew with me well into my adult
> years. The song (along with many others from her) was a sort of comforting
> fabric over the years. I enjoyed Sade’s music so much that I performed an
> acapella cover in college as part of my singing class final exam and nailed
> it! Lastly, this is my karaoke song along with “Your Love Is King”.
>
>
>
> Maxwell/Cococure
>
> Another classic jam that is also extremely nostalgic from the 90’s for me
> blaring from stereo speakers at home. This artist may or may not be
> everyone’s favorite but he’s certainly on my list. The first time I heard
> this song, I was very young and the chorus was catchy and I sang that part
> often when my sister played his music on her stereo nice and loud. We had
> the systems that were about as tall as myself and I would sit between the
> speakers to enjoy the vibrations.
>
>
>
> Jeanette Harris/All I do
>
> This jazz tune is super smooth and can be heard in every environment. It’s
> all sax and lots of audible instruments with fantastic harmony. I found out
> about this song while I was listening to Nathan Mitchell and Blake Aaron a
> year and half ago. This is the song I listen to on a bus ride in Boston and
> it’s nice and sunny, everything is moving smoothly. This is certainly a
> song you wouldn’t want to share with just anyone. There are certain songs
> you hog to yourself because they’re just too good for other ears to hear.
>
>
>
> CeCe Peniston/Finally
>
> I am super late with discovering this song but when I found out who sang
> the catchy song, I instantly downloaded the entire album. I found out about
> this song in 2019 while I was going to visit my sister with her first born
> in the hospital. The radio station was blasting 90’s music and this song
> was played three times during the ride to the hospital. On the third round,
> I asked siri to tell me who this was and Siri said, “CeCe Peniston” and
> played the song for me. I heard the whole song and I liked what I heard. I
> connected my hearing aid to my phone and listened to the song again, the
> speech wasn’t exactly clear ((my hearing, not the music) but I found the
> lyrics and jammed all the way home. Shortly afterward, I decided to do an
> ASL cover of the song “Finally” and posted to IG and Facebook. The next
> day, I found out that CeCe saw what I did.  If anyone does a cover of a
> song in ASL, consider yourself a superstar globally. Finally, the baby came
> out and we got to meet her!
>
>
>
> Kem/You’re On My Mind
>
> I am once again super late about finding these songs that hit a good nerve
> in 2015. I was cooking dinner in Minneapolis, MN and I was jamming to
> Pandora. In less than an hour, that song blared again. By the second blast
> of Kem, I wanted to know who it was and what song that was. I screenshot
> the music list and found him and the song later. The music he produced
> blended so well with anything that involved being relaxed or just being
> alone working. His music is very clean and warm to anyone who listens. I
> became a Kem fan and ended up meeting with a friend in Detroit, MI for a
> concert in the summer of 2019. The concert was AMAZING. Guess what? That
> song played at the concert and I sang at the top of my lungs!
>
>
>
> Anita Baker/Giving You The Best That I Got
>
> Another great musician that is under rated and many of the new ‘musicians’
> should take notes from. I don’t ever recall hearing profanity coming from
> her music. Somehow this song seems to be a very relaxing song with a
> marvelous harmony attached. While growing up, I’ve heard this song in bits
> in pieces over the years. It wasn’t until recently while living alone, I
> got to really focus on the music and listen to everything I really liked.
> With the technology that permitted ‘better’ hearing, I got to take in some
> of the joy  of music that my hearing peers took for granted.
>
>
>
> I wanted to go on with music that made me reconsider prolonging the
> decision to get a cochlear implant. I’ll drop a few names: Marvin Gay…Blake
> Aaron…Robin S… Stephanie Mills… Yarbrough & Peoples… Kool & The Gang.
> There are many more but I hope you get the gist of how important music is
> to me and many others.
>
>
>
> I grew up in a culture of hearing and sighted people. I am the only person
> born with dual sensory loss. I learned ASL in my mid-twenties and
> surprisingly pretty quick. I stopped using the textbooks about ASL and
> decided to immerse myself in everything deaf/HOH possibly. I learned ASL
> better while communicating with other Deaf/HOH people.
>
> I also learned everything related to blindness in my mid-twenties as well.
> The habits that make me look like a hearing or sighted person are not easy
> to move past. I’m going to go through with the procedure for the implant
> simply because I’m already dealing with blindness. I believe something has
> to level out so that I may hang onto my independence at last. I’m not doing
> this because I have an issue with deafness which I do not. I will still use
> ASL because this is a language just like many others and I respect this,
> technology can always fail.
>
>
>
> I would like to thank you all for listening to my story and hopefully this
> would inspire you to think about the music you like and how you ended up
> liking the creations.
>
> Photo description:
>
>
> Casandra standing at an intersection in Brookline MA with her back turned.
> Her locks hang down her grey back pack. Her can is extended, covering her
> left side mid-step. She awaits the opportunity to make a safe crossing.
> There is construction happening in her surrounding as the sun sets. Photo
> taken on March 6th 2020.
>
>
>
> Thank you
>
>
>
>
> Deaf-Blind Champion
>
> VP: 617-487-4097
>
> Cell: 612-404-6831
>
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