Being heard even when hearing is hard

by Emily Ziajor

Julissa Fuentes

Julissa Fuentes has a massive appreciation for music.

She plays the violin, but wants to learn plenty of other instruments such as the guitar and piano.

Fuentes is currently going into senior year at Joliet West High School with a mindset to inspire others to speak up for themselves.

She was only in the 3^rd  grade when she was sent to the audiologist, where she would find out that she’s hard of hearing in both ears.

Fuentes’s initial perspective on having hearing aids was positive. However, her experience changed that.

“At first, I thought it was cool,” she said. “But with the school environment that I was in, I felt like an outcast. But now I overcame to accept the way I am.”

Fuentes is attending the Eastern Illinois University journalism camp to fuel her interest in pursuing writing and hearing other points of view.

“I honestly wanted to try it out, and see if journalism could be a future career for me,” Fuentes said.

Growing up, she was more of a quiet individual, enduring bullying that altered her perspective on actually having her hearing aids, despite the fact that they help her hear.

“Other kids put me in a rough spot,” she said. “They’d talk a lot about the ‘weird’ things in my ears. It made me want to have normal ears, but I learned to accept who I am.”

Fuentes has gone through audiology therapy where she learned to lip read.

“If I can’t hear someone I can focus on their lips and make out the words,” she said. “I was told I was really good at lip reading, and I didn’t even know myself.”

She even wants to learn sign language as a way to communicate to individuals who are deaf.

Fuentes is looking to partake in a project coming up through the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Association, where she’d be able to share her story to others with a similar struggle.

“I want to get involved in this presentation because there’s kids like me who have trouble speaking up for themselves,” she said. “It’s not just for those who are hard of hearing or deaf. It’s every kid the world, and I feel like it should be covered more to know you’re not alone.”