Never give up - Devonte Johnson encourages fellow hearing impaired

Devonte Johnson has always been a very vibrant person. He always makes the best of what he has but an unfortunate circumstance at an early age impacted his life.

He found out at age eight that he was losing his hearing.

"After I was told that I was losing my hearing, I had to start wearing hearing aids. Children at my school would tease me about it, and I became very uncomfortable," he said.

In addition to not knowing what caused his hearing loss, the 21-year-old said that at first, he had trouble accepting his situation, and the constant teasing by children did not make it any better.

But Johnson told THE STAR that while at Holy Trinity High School, he learned how to accept himself even though people on the outside used to treat him differently.

He said the teachers and students accepted him and made him feel good.

"They always looked out for me, and that is what helped me to know that I am not different. I am the same person, I just cannot hear to full capacity. But that does not stop me from doing what I need to do to survive," he said. Johnson said that he must give thanks to his family members as well, who have been there supporting him and cheering him on all the way.

He said that he would like to advise other persons who are hearing-impaired to be strong and not to let anyone treat them differently.

SEVERAL JOBS

He admitted that there are times when he falls into depression because of how he is treated. But with people around him cheering him on, he said he is able to do anything.

"I had applied for several jobs after high school, and I remember attending one interview, and when they realised that I had in a hearing aid, they said they were not going to take me. I was very disappointed and said I was not going to do any more interviews because people are stigmatising me, but my friend encouraged me to not give up," he said.

With his friend's advice, he applied for another job as a data-entry personnel and was successful. He has been working for two years and he said that he is very happy that he did not quit looking for employment.

He even has hopes of getting an accounting degree and has taken steps to do so. Johnson believes that people should never give up no matter their perceived shortcomings, but rather, they should allow their imperfections to make them excel.