Jaelyn and I headed for sunny Riverside, California over Thanksgiving break for Jr. NAD (National Assotiation of the Deaf). Only, it wasn't sunny. My little, black raincloud followed me to California and rained on our parade. Rats, I wanted it to be nice and warm, but nope! It didn't happen.
When I arrived, I immediatly started looking for people from YLC (Youth Leadership Camp), almost all of them wear green sweatshirts with the logo so they're easy to spot. Why was I looking for them? The letter said that they were supposed to mingle with other kids since they tend to stay in a tightly packed group. I have seen this happen with them at the Academic Bowl, but here, they took the letter's warning and mingled even though I know they wanted to be with their own kind.
Why am I concerned about YLC? There's a theory that YLC is actually a place where deaf kids get brainwashed. They go to that camp and come back hating hearing people. How this happens? I do not know, YLC campers never disclose their secrets. I make it a goal to get one of the campers to confess. Who do I pick on? I choose a guy named Raven Taylor, who is brighter than the average deaf person, and I already am familiar with him from Academic Bowl.
Later, I lose my iPod and by some mysterious coincidence, Raven is the guy who finds it. I collect it from him and decide to interrogate him later. During the conference, I attend workshops, like "Parliamentary Procedures" with Bummy Bernstein, a creepy man who's probably as old as a dinosaur. So while I'm getting yelled at by Bummy about how to second, I'm creating a plan.
On the last day of the conference, we have a sort of giant SBG meeting. Proposals were created by the Roundtable Project and I was in the Empty Bowl Project, so while I was painting bowls, they were creating proposals. One of these proposals is related to YLC and how there should be a scholarship fund for it. I don't want any more victims so I stand up and go onstage to oppose to it.
"President, I oppose that proposal because NAD does not have enough money for that and if a scholarship fund is created, the money would be better used for college," I say, walking off stage feeling stupid. Nathaniel Amann and Raven Taylor stand up to trash me and my head is boiling now. Okay, I think, NOW I'm going to talk to Raven Taylor. I stand up with everyone else to support the proposal so everyone thinks I'm just another sheep. A stupid one too. Baa.
I make my way to Raven and say, "You found my iPod, maybe next you can find my mind since I seem to have lost it."
Knowing what I'm referring to, he laughs. "Well, I hope you find it, and why did you decide to oppose it?"
"There's this theory that YLC actually brainwashes kids. You went there, does YLC actually brainwash kids?" I ask him.
"Well, YLC was fun, but I can see how some activities might be considered brainwashing," he confesses. My mouth almost drops. I got a confession! Instead, I just nod, thinking about what he just said, and I walk away from Raven Taylor, only speaking to him once more before I leave Jr. NAD.
I would have told you more about Jr. NAD, but then this blog would be REALLY long. I don't want to bore you to death. So instead, I'll give you a metaphor that accurately portrays my experiences at Jr. NAD. I'm walking down this forest path at dusk and evil creatures stare at me from the shadows. They dare me to walk into the darkness, to become a "leader." If I succeed in their eyes, I become another creature of the dark, one of them. If I walk in there, and I don't succeed in their eyes, I am beaten, cursed at, and pushed back out. Then, I am dared to walk back in again. I walk in and I don't succeed. I never do. It becomes a sort of cycle, walking in, being beaten, cursed at, and pushed back out to start over again. It doesn't stop until I finally come back home. Even here those creatures stare at me, but at least here I know I can just keep walking. I don't have to take their dares.
