Caitlin | Deaf Emerging Adults

Caitlin McElhinney

Hopeful for the Future

For the first time in a long time, I feel hopeful for the future, and this is my favourite picture because it shows that. My arms are reaching upwards, like I’m growing, just like the flowers behind me. Being part of the Deaf community has helped me grow so much as a person, and this picture represents that growth.

I used to feel broken and not enough, but now I know I’m strong and resilient, that I can overcome so much more than I think I can and rise to whatever challenges life throws at me (and maybe make some friends and memories along the way). But most importantly, I’m proud of who I am now - all of me. I’m a deaf, disabled, queer woman, and I feel empowered and proud to be her!

The blue sky symbolises the future, and I’m reaching up towards that. Whatever happens, I know I’ll be okay, because I know I’m strong and I have a whole community of people who are supporting and cheering me on.

Deaf Community: I Love You

This picture is about connection. It’s my grandparents, my stepdad and me making the ‘I love you’ sign, and it represents two things. First is the love and support I’ve had from my family as I’ve learned BSL. I know many deaf people aren’t supported in this way, so I feel lucky. It also represents the Deaf community – people of all ages and backgrounds sharing stories, history and culture…and how valuable and important that is.

This community has had a huge impact on me, my life and my identity. They have helped me see that I should be proud of every part of myself, and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without them. I go out into the world a kinder, happier, more open-minded person. I think they have helped me improve my understanding of lots of things because of the information they've shared with me, and I feel like I'm a better person now, because of them.

Like Flowers and Leaves

That photo is showing the fact that I wear hearing aids, but also showing the fact that sometimes I feel like they're just decorative things. Yes, they help me hear, but really, the usable sound that I hear is not really that much. I feel like they're just there to look at like flowers and leaves.

I'm showing them to say I'm still deaf…I still have a hearing loss, don't lessen my communication access needs or my identity or my worth because of that, because you think I'm ‘fixed’ with hearing aids, it doesn't mean I am a hearing person again.

I liked how it was different colours, like the backgrounds of people who wear hearing aids, they're all different experiences. And it's showing the world that we all wear hearing aids, but their background and their experiences are different to mine.