This Thai Life Insurance commercial has been with me for over a week since I’ve seen it. It’s set off so many emotions, but for me it went quite deep. First, let’s set something straight. It’s a life insurance commercial made in a culture very different for ours in the US. Second, I’m not looking to find out more about the actors or whether they knew sign or not.

My impressions come solely from the impact of the message seeing it the first time. I think it’s important because it is so close to my message of advocating that hearing children of Deaf parents have a very different upbringing in the hearing world. We are the minority that no one even knows about.  View the commercial, and then see what my reaction is below.

I gasped, choked up and cried.  I was at work. The images stuck with me all day. In the store eight hours later while shopping, an image brought me back to the commercial. I wept on my drive home.

I see a teenager that was rebellious and couldn’t understand why “she” had a Deaf Dad.

I see a girl being taunted which elevated her rage, creating bias. It might have been one or two girls, making her uniqueness public. But, I could see she felt they were ALL against her.

I see a rebelling teenager. In the mind of a teenager, no parent or adult is right. Teenagers think they know it all.

I see a strained relationship. She wants to discover who she is, but she’s unable to understand how, when all she thinks about is she is different.

I see a father, doing his best. Unable to break through the stubbornness of a teenage daughter. Drawing from his experiences so very different than his daughter’s. Struggles while equally difficult, worlds apart. A Deaf teen in a hearing world.  A father that could never foresee his hearing daughter in a hearing world living the same ignorance.

I see a father unable to solve his daughter’s pain, nor understand why she is so upset. He keeps trying his best. Frustrated at the lack of response.

I see a hearing daughter burdened with ridicule that seeps into her soul and unable to see past her anger, to see the love.

I see a teenager thinking that no ONE person could ever know her pain, resorting to stop it immediately.

I see ME!

The fact that a director, writer or someone else could create the very same feelings I felt as a teenager means it needs to be addressed.

As I reflect, I now see it was one or two that teased me, but in my mind it was magnified to my core. I don’t think my parents realized that I would be viewed differently because of their Deafness. How or why could they think that? And me, I never told anyone so it would be addressed. I didn’t want to hurt their feelings, so I kept it in! I kept it in for a very long time.

Now, my mission is to educate, inspire and motivate.