Browsing Archive: January, 2012
Posted by jennifer gibson on Monday, January 30, 2012,
I'm sure everyone has dreamed of donning the invisibility cloak at some point in their life, relishing the idea of remaining hidden as they did whatever they want, anywhere at any time. Unfortunately, being invisible doesn't exactly work like that and it has it's drawbacks. Having a hearing loss is literally like being invisible, especially if the society is not aware of the disability. The stigma of wearing hearing aids has forced many people, particularly the elderly who just lost their ...
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Posted by jennifer gibson on Thursday, January 26, 2012,
I've been interviewed many, many times since I was a teen. I became a public speaker at the age of 17, traveling to different schools, hearing aid companies, various government task forces and associations, giving speeches on dealing with a hearing loss. It was never my intention to go down that particular path, I had no desire whatsoever to be in that role, it just happened naturally. I kept getting approached by teachers, counsellors, audiologists, and so on to help boost morale or guide...
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Posted by jennifer gibson on Tuesday, January 24, 2012,
People often ask me, where do I get my inspiration from? While the story line is pretty much from my life and based on true events, the characters are very loosely based on people around me. I do a lot of people watching, that's one of the good things to come out of being hard of hearing since I can't follow conversations - it enables me to simply watch how others behave, dress, rely on facial gestures, use their hands or body to express their emotions and so on.
If I need a big, strong cha...
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Posted by jennifer gibson on Friday, January 20, 2012,
For those of you that know me, I'm also featured on Twitter as @charmedchickJG
I'm often asked curious questions, requested to post a guest blog, and interviewed by people all over the world.
Today is a special Q&A for Twitter fans!
Q1: How did you lose your hearing? A1: I was born this way - my Mom had Ruebella when she was pregnant.
Q2: Do you wear hearing aids? A2: Yes! I wear super power Oticon Safari's in Plum purple with pink earmolds!
Q3: Did you go to a Deaf school? A3: No, I went to a reg...
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Posted by jennifer gibson on Monday, January 16, 2012,
I'm often asked "What inspired you to write about a
hearing impaired teenager?". Well, It's true what they say about writing
from true life, if it feels real then the reader will say "Wow!" and
immediately connect to it. I wanted to offer something new for young
readers, I wanted them to experience life from a different perspective.
Quite often, when people meet me, they always ask a ton of questions of
what's like to be severely hard of hearing. It just made sense to
write it all d...
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Posted by jennifer gibson on Saturday, January 14, 2012,
Just did some "light reading" this morning as I perused through the massively thick volume of Harry Potter Page to Screen: The complete film making journey. Sharp eyed fans will recognize my tongue in cheek humour here (Hint: Hermione said this phrase in the library while doing research on Nicholas Flammel.) It really is a heavy tome.
It was an astounding read and I'm only halfway through it. It's filled with fascinating tidbits from the directors and producers, personal insights from the a...
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Posted by jennifer gibson on Friday, January 13, 2012,
If you ever want a glimpse into my life as a teen, Billy Idol speaks volumes in terms of what my attitude towards life was like at that time. He's a good reflection of me...ironically. Keep in mind that the book version of me (Jessie) is nowhere near like this - I have a much darker soul.
Yes, sometimes I was out of control as a young adult, in many ways I was very wild and moody. Having a hearing loss compounded on that, making it much harder and much worse to deal with. You are probably...
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Posted by jennifer gibson on Thursday, January 12, 2012,
I've been involved with various organizations and committees for many years. I'm currently on the local Accessibility Committee, part of an amazing team of people, able and disabled, who are dedicated to finding solutions and breaking down barriers in our community. We are constantly coming up with potential ideas, some of which are long term, to educate the public and increase the awareness of disabilities that exist in our town. Not only do many businesses, stores and medical buildings a...
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Posted by jennifer gibson on Wednesday, January 11, 2012,
Did you know that www.trenthills.ca is now accepting nominations for the Civic Awards?
Know the perfect person to vote for? Go nominate them! >> http://trenthills.ca/en/services/civicawards.asp
Don't wait too long, the Nomination deadline is January 30, 2012 at 2:00pm!
I've already submitted a nomination for someone today - I'm crossing my fingers that they win, they
deserve it!
These are the categories:
Agricultural Leadership Award - For the leadership efforts of an
individual o...
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Posted by jennifer gibson on Wednesday, January 11, 2012,
Now, I can only imagine how perplexed some of you may be from my insight regarding the person who just lost their hearing and that I wasn't exactly very sympathetic of their situation. You may be familiar with the phrase "Walk a mile in their shoes." That's exactly where that person is right now, they've only gone a mile whereas I've gone thousands and thousands to miles. They still have thousands of miles to go and I want them to learn to live with it on their own to gain experience and i...
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Posted by jennifer gibson on Wednesday, January 11, 2012,
As someone who is severely hard of hearing, I have found that the best form of communication is via email or texting. It's easy and accessible a part of today's society, everyone does this which is very cool. Who would've thought that someone like me would be mainstream, become a part of the hip crowd?
Growing up was an isolating experience, particularly since I was the only kid in school with a disability. At that time, my hearing loss was glaringly obvious. I wore a body aid which meant...
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Posted by jennifer gibson on Monday, January 9, 2012,
If you are already a big fan of my books, Sway and Compass, you are probably asking the question "How?! How the heck did you survive?!"
To tell you the truth, I'm still asking myself the same question. Honestly, I really don't know how in the world I didn't lose my mind a long time ago. If anyone else had been in my shoes, they would've most likely be left quaking in them. I know it's unbelievably cliche but what you experience in life, especially the good, bad and downright ugly, it can m...
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Posted by jennifer gibson on Monday, January 9, 2012,
Can you believe it's already 2012?! Wow, time goes by really quickly!
For those of you following me, I'm currently working on my third novel - a continuation of Jessie's journey. This came as a complete surprise, I never expected to write past the first book, Sway. So, to be writing a third one is simply mind blowing!
There are lots of new twists, deeper revelations, and surprising changes in this one. It's a real page turner. And it's based on my life as a hard of hearing teenager - meanin...
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