Mute but Not Silenced
Adults always think they are right about everything; the sky is blue, the Sun is yellow, and the grass that grows in the park is green. This is not true, because the sky and the Sun and the grass actually do not have any color; it is the chemicals in things which absorb and reflect the colors that we see to make us see that color. They think that children are not smart and that our brains have not yet fully developed, so they cannot be told things because they will not understand. I think it is
they
who do not understand, for children are smarter than they are given credit for, and I am no fool.
My parents tell me I am a strange child, and they say it like it is a bad thing. Being strange is not bad; it only means that I am different. And I am. I am smarter and more logical than any of the students in my class. My mind is far more superior than any adult, and I know things that they will never know. They think that I don't know what they mean when they say I am a troubled child, they think I do not understand what the phrase "mute" means, and they think I will never be better than my peers because of my condition.
In retrospect, being dumb is not the worst condition there is out there. I could be blind and never see the chemicals of things at work, I could be deaf and never hear the sound waves bounce off things to reach my ears, I could be autistic and never think smart things that I think now, and I could be diagnosed with a terminal disease where I will die very soon without a cure because terminal diseases are permanent and do not have a cure yet.
It is not as if there is nothing I can do to communicate with other people; I can. Pencils and paper are extremely useful tools when you want to get your point across, and it seems much easier to write down what you want to say. My teacher stutters a lot; maybe she should look into writing her thoughts on the blackboard that hangs behind her desk. Perhaps then she wouldn't be so unintelligent and I would be able to learn more in the class. But I suppose even if my teacher was smart I would not be able to learn a lot because I already know everything she has to teach me, though my parents won't move me up because they still don't think I am intelligent enough.
I feel annoyed a lot of the time because nobody believes in me enough to actually recognize what I can do. They think because I cannot speak I have nothing to say. This is a very shallow thought because I think people who can't speak have the most things to say. Those people wouldn't take having a voice for granted; they would use the voice to their greatest advantage since they know what it's like not to have any. I think that if everyone in the world was mute for a day, people would start respecting people like me for being intelligent and educated and talented enough to survive with a disability.
The doctor says that my disability is very common, although it doesn't have a cure. There are many different machines that can help a mute person talk, but my parents never got me any because they thought I wouldn't know how to use it. When the doctors first told my mother I was mute, she cried when we got home. She asked what she did to deserve having a child like me, and I told her it was just science. She ripped up my notepad after that one, which I find very unreasonable and stupid for an adult. Apparently, they are not as smart and in control as they like to think they are.
Contrary to what I have described them as so far, my parents are not bad people. They feed me and shelter me, buy me new clothes and provide me with a good education (or as good enough as I can get for now). In my opinion, they just don't really know how to act around me, and that prevents them from really getting to know me. I know that it is not easy for my parents to deal with me and my ideas; sometimes when I am extra quiet I can hear my mom talking in rapid-fire Chinese over the phone with one of her friends about how she just can't seem to figure out how to raise me. My father just keeps his distance and only talks in short, clipped sentences whenever he needs to say something. We've worked out a sort of agreement, and it's a good agreement for all of us.
Some people would say having a lack of parental involvement in a child's life can really stunt their growth, but I think I have grown quite well in society's standards, and that perhaps people are wrong in thinking that children need their parents to coddle them all the time. A little bit of independence and a taste of self-dedication is all one really needs to be successful in life if they're up to the challenge; I am more than ready for whatever challenges I'll be facing. According to the grown-ups, I'm fighting a pretty heavy battle right now against my lack of ability to speak words from my vocal chords. I am also a very strong person for my age. I can deal with anything that anyone might want to throw my way.
My name is Abigail Tang, I'm mute, and I'm going to take over the world.
