Hi! I'm Randi and I'm new and I'm nervous. :)

[Randi Alden]

Hello All! 

 Like the title says, I'm Randi. I'm hearing and I'm 24. I have studied ASL on and off since I was eight. The main reason for the 'off' times, was simply frustration. There is really nowhere to practice in my small Georgia town, and my family has no interest whatsoever in learning. After I've studied on my own for a while, I'll hit the proverbial brick wall, struggle for a bit, and then lay it down until I'm ready to work through it. 

The main reason I'm here is to practice, of course, and to meet people with a similar interest. Interaction with people of all skill-levels in invaluable to me, and I know it'll really open my eyes to how much I've been missing. I'm not going to lie, though. I'm nervous. Shy by nature, putting myself out there with a half developed skill is a little terrifying to me.  

From the time I was about 10 until I was about 15, everything I learned came from books. Vocabulary, alphabet, numbers and such. The first of those 'brick walls' I hit was that while my books were titled ASL they were in fact PSE/SEE, and I discovered the difference until a few years in. I want to learn true ASL, so slowly but surely, I'm trying to unlearn the English part of it, and sort through to find what I need to keep. It's more challenging than I thought possible.

The main resource I use now is Lifeprint.com. Thank you to the wonderful, and fantastic Dr. Bill Vicars who puts so much time into assembling such a comprehensive resource. 

Another reason I'm looking for more experienced signers to communicate with is simply accountability. Being the only ASL student around, it's easy to slip into incorrect versions, misused words, and worse: gestures. Dun dun dun.  

Anyway, I'd love the chance to talk to some patient souls. Maybe we can practice some? I'll have a new laptop in about a week, so I'll be able to Skype after that.

 

More about myself:

I work 9-5's on weekdays, and I'm starting core classes online beginning in the summer semester.

I've got a good start with ASL vocabulary, by my delivery and receptive skills are...un-examined.  For those who know ASLU/Lifeprint.com, I've taken lessons 1-10 a few times with no real trouble, if that helps figure out where I'm at. I need to finish it, but every time I quit, I insist on starting over. 

Well, thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I hope I haven't run on too terribly much.

Nice to meet you!

Randi