I have started the pursuit of a dream that I have had for several years: to become fluent in American Sign Language (ASL for short).

The first memory I have of being introduced to the language is when I was around ten, I found an ASL dictionary my mom owned. I can distinctly remember it having the circa 80’s shade of brown on the cover. I taught myself the alphabet and a few basic signs, but it didn’t progress beyond a party trick for many years.

I didn’t cross paths with the language again until high school, when I moved to Ohio and my new school offered ASL as a language class. I was already two years deep into Spanish, so I decided to continue along that track. The ASL classes would perform signed Christmas songs every year and though I continued on in Spanish, I always enjoyed watching how much fun the classes seemed to have.

Then, college. What brought me to dust off the alphabet and signs I had learned so long ago, I can’t say. I began teaching myself, writing down every sign I learned and taking note of different nuances in deaf culture as I came across them. I grabbed dictionaries, courses, apps, anything I could get my hands on.

The next couple of years became a see-saw between not going anywhere without my book of signs to not signing for months. In the back of my mind, that desire to learn and become fluent in ASL remained, but it never presented itself any stronger than a quiet thought.

However, in the last six months-ish, ASL, and the rebounding love I have for it, has barraged me to the point where I could hardly ignore it anymore. From watching deaf people inspire and succeed in varying fields to moving to DC (in which Gallaudet, the largest deaf university in the world, resides) to getting multiple opportunities to communicate with deaf patients and watching their faces light up when I sign with them.

Speaking of Gallaudet, one of my newfound friends is studying in their Speech-Language Pathology graduate program! She invited me to have dinner with her at their cafeteria and boy, was I in for a treat.

When we walked into the cafeteria, the first thing I noticed was that it was silent (which is a phenomenon for us hearing folk). When I turned the corner, my own brand of Heaven was laid out before me: every person in that room was signing. I had never been in such a setting before and was, quite honestly, starstruck. I was surrounded by a language I have come to love.

We sat with a group from her major, all of whom were signing the entire time. My signing felt like bumbling-toddler-grade compared to theirs, but the opportunity to sign with someone, several someones even, who understood the language was a priceless experience.

I was also given a tour of where my friend works on campus and was told about the movement of “deaf architecture” (building design that is more deaf-friendly). Some pics are included.

The building was covered in windows, so that people could sign easily between outside and in. On the inside, nothing was above hip-height, seating was rounded, the walls were a light color, and there were see-through panels surrounding the above floors, all of which was for signing visibility. There were even walkways lined with a rocky material, so that when deaf-blind people use their cane, they’d be able to tell where the edge was. It was a great night.

I have resumed learning from Bill Vicars, a hard-of-hearing ASL teacher that posts video lessons on YouTube and resources on his website.

This is the book I’m using to keep track of all the signs I learn, which totals at 300+, not including numbers and letters (I’m almost as proud of that as I am about that free-handing I did on the cover). Can you tell that it’s been my travel companion for a bit?

Let me tell you, when I started up again, something about it just felt right. Feelings aren’t everything, but there is something to be said for that “clicking in place” moment, where you realize that this is something you could be really good at and enjoy for the rest of your life.

That is the same feeling I get with ultrasound. They are both rewarding, challenging, and ever-changing. Just like how ultrasound has brought me to do things and go places I could never have imagined, I hope ASL will do the same.