Talk to Maria G, participant in the public speaking workshop
1. What made you sign up for the WaveforMe project?
The desire to meet and interact with people, who have the same company as me, pushed me to sign up for this project. It’s not the only reason, I have a lot, for example I knew I could see my dear ones, like Magda, Vero and the others. Now, from my own experience, I know that here they can teach you how to express your feelings, not only to your family but also to your friends, a step that I slowly overcame, so I was able to understand how things work in the current society.
2. What expectations did you have when you registered and what did you think you would get after participating in the workshops?
I’ve participated in many projects, but this was the BEST and most complex one, here I learned about emotions, interaction, games, etc. Anyway, I thought (honestly) that it would be one to win my heart for sure, without even trying, because I have participated in other projects carried out by the current organizers and I liked it. I thought that I would be able to achieve many goals after this, because I would know the others’ perspective towards the world, so I could improve my own, with my own ideas. And, of course, I expected it to be challenging, but the truth is that I didn’t even have time enough to finish some things because of my busy life.
3. Can you tell us if your expectations were real or different? Please give us more details!
My expectations have been exceeded by reality, because I have never reshaped my thoughts, actions and words like you do. You stimulated our imagination, knowing that a child is an explorer who sees his world with his own feelings, which have been experienced by his emotional state. So, what I haven’t done so far was to put it into practice. The truth is that I’ve been a daydreamer, but what good was it if I couldn’t put it into practice? But you helped us control it through various activities, such as creating a story with different words or drawing (my favorite part).
4.If you had the opportunity to change something (in the planning section, in the topic discussed, etc.) what would you have changed?
I have nothing to change. Everything is perfect, but my little soul would like us all to meet face to face and work together. I no longer want to be separated by a screen that reflects the world I want to reach, but I can’t get past it unless I exceed the limit of my human condition.
5. What did you get by participating in this project?
I gained confidence in myself, because before I was a boundless sea without fish, I was toxic (I mean introvert and I didn’t express my feelings, so people considered me a bad person), but after meeting you, it slowly began to rain with people’s glowing hope, and those drops turned into golden fish, each representing emotions, ways of thinking, use of imagination, etc. Now, everything has changed, people are closer to myself and for the first time they appreciate my value and do not look down on me, that’s because I managed to use the action-reaction plan. I imagine myself as a golden sea, because my soul is calm (but I have a guilty feeling that I could not know you better)
6. If this project were to continue, do you think you could offer some suggestions that could be dealt with in the future? What areas / topics / subjects would you be interested in directly?
It MUST go on, you are wonderful! Let’s see some suggestions… Oh? You could challenge your children to build their device, out of clay, the way they think it looks like, for example I imagine that they have long branches, full of tropical birds and among them there is the Earth which is full of brave and good people ( I have this opinion, because the birds stimulated my hearing with their song. Every time I tried to distinguish their tone. And the Earth is with the people who helped me in the inevitable metamorphosis of my life).
7. Why do you consider it important to participate in such a project?
As I’ve said earlier, this project opens your mind (not literally speaking) and helps you discover the immeasurable secrets of the world, as in life- the most important test is the test of life which is the hardest and the most essential, but with our weapons (controlling emotions, understanding things, etc.) we can pass it successfully!
8. How do you think such a project supports children and young people with hearing impairments, cochlear implants / hearing aids carriers?
We noticed that in this project, the organizers encouraged us to talk, to expose our inner true childhood in order to hear our own voice, to understand that we’ve already reached another level and that we have a quality, not a disability! Nothing happens if you can’t sing, you have to be able to communicate! So, it would help them in a sentimental and musical way.
9. How could you advertise such a project so that other young people of your generation would be interested in participating?
I’M HAPPY TO HEAR THIS QUESTION! I have a lot of ideas! I saw that you have already made videos with hearing-impaired children telling their story, so they manage to make us trust ourselves, because if you work hard/ smart you can achieve your aims. Anyway, I would make a video, a short one, in which we all express our opinion or put there a replay of images/ videos with your activities and children who are happy to experience them. There are many things you can do about advertising (we can run it on ProTV because it’s worth!). Another thing would be to run a movie (I don’t know if it’s possible on Netflix) where children tell their story and how they have changed as a result of this experience.
10. What is the most important memory you have and what did you like most?
The most important memory is kept in my heart, as a feeling of relief that I was able to freely talk to someone (for the first time). Naturally, the objects we made as a result of this, help us look forward to the future and stay close to our loved ones, not locking my conscience in a cage and throwing away the key, but giving the others the freedom to love me.