--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had to learn I wasn’t deaf. I had to…" description: "\"“I had to learn I wasn’t deaf. I had to start speaking out.”\" — Lou Ann Walker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa9/lou-ann-walker-11436_deaf_i-had-to-learn-i-wasn-t-deaf-i-had-to-st_3108027.jpg" --- # I had to learn I wasn’t deaf. I had to start speaking out. ![“I had to learn I wasn’t deaf. I had to start speaking out.” quote by Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa9/lou-ann-walker-11436_deaf_i-had-to-learn-i-wasn-t-deaf-i-had-to-st_3108027.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa9/lou-ann-walker-11436_deaf_i-had-to-learn-i-wasn-t-deaf-i-had-to-st_3108027.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa9/lou-ann-walker-11436_deaf_i-had-to-learn-i-wasn-t-deaf-i-had-to-st_3108027.jpg) > ““I had to learn I wasn’t deaf. I had to start speaking out.”” [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She realized she wasn't ignoring her voice; she began to express herself openly. **In simple terms:** She learned to speak up. Key Takeaway Speak up and be heard. Themes self‑advocacy empowerment communication Mood determined hopeful Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - advocacy work - public speaking - conflict resolution Key Concepts assertiveness self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - What voice have you been silencing? - How can you support others to speak? A Different Perspective Overcoming fear may not erase underlying issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deaf/) [Deaf Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deaf-start-5416364/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Speaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speaking/) [Start Speaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start-speaking-449187/) [Wasn Deaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasn-deaf-5416363/) ## Related quotes > [I think the more you do this and the more comfortable you become on stage, you start speaking more and becoming more of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrot-top/i-think-the-more-you-do-this-and-the-more-comfortable-you-become-on/) [Carrot Top](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrot-top/) > [“Or you can just start speaking up... -Brave”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-bareilles/or-you-can-just-start-speaking-up-brave/) [Sara Bareilles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-bareilles/) > [You can be the outcast or be the backlash of somebody's lack of love. Or you can start speaking up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-bareilles/you-can-be-the-outcast-or-be-the-backlash-of-somebody-s-lack-of-love/) [Sara Bareilles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-bareilles/) > [You must stop talking about the problem and start talking about the solution...start speaking words of victory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-must-stop-talking-about-the-problem-and-start-talking-about-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As far as managing, I've been managing myself from the beginning, so if I don't start speaking up for myself, nobody will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-assuncao/as-far-as-managing-i-ve-been-managing-myself-from-the-beginning-so-if/) [Raphael Assuncao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-assuncao/) > [Be bold and start speaking favor to every situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahj-mowry/be-bold-and-start-speaking-favor-to-every-situation/) [Tahj Mowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahj-mowry/) > [Send your life to a whole new level! Zip up the negative words and start speaking faith and victory into your future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/send-your-life-to-a-whole-new-level-zip-up-the-negative-words-and/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [If you want to change your life, begin by changing your words. Start speaking the words of your dreams, of who you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/if-you-want-to-change-your-life-begin-by-changing-your-words-start/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [People always put you in a box as a rapper, especially when I get up on a panel and start speaking, and I start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamillionaire/people-always-put-you-in-a-box-as-a-rapper-especially-when-i-get-up/) [Chamillionaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamillionaire/) > [I've always been shy, I was a quiet child. I didn't start speaking until uh, last year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-nicholls/i-ve-always-been-shy-i-was-a-quiet-child-i-didn-t-start-speaking/) [Craig Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-nicholls/) > [If I get too glam and polished and pretty, people are like, 'Hari, why aren't you speaking up about issues?' And if I start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-nef/if-i-get-too-glam-and-polished-and-pretty-people-are-like-hari-why/) [Hari Nef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-nef/) > [I just don't have that natural instinct to be able to let my guard down and start speaking to people. I never have -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-bronze/i-just-don-t-have-that-natural-instinct-to-be-able-to-let-my-guard/) [Lucy Bronze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-bronze/) > [“What’s interesting about the studies is that prelingually deaf people (people such as my parents, who were born deaf or who lost their hearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/what-s-interesting-about-the-studies-is-that-prelingually-deaf-people/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“Interestingly, very few deaf people actually use sign language in their dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/interestingly-very-few-deaf-people-actually-use-sign-language-in/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“I was the only student she’d taught who’d actually known any deaf people. Most of the students in my courses were there because they’d…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/i-was-the-only-student-she-d-taught-who-d-actually-known-any-deaf/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) ## More by Lou Ann Walker > [“From 1963 through 1965, a nationwide epidemic of rubella—German measles—caused thousands of women to deliver babies who were handicapped in some way:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/from-1963-through-1965-a-nationwide-epidemic-of-rubella-german/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“there are signs that are parodies of actual objects and that retain a cleverness even for deaf people. Indeed, these signs are to sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/there-are-signs-that-are-parodies-of-actual-objects-and-that-retain-a/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“I was the only student she’d taught who’d actually known any deaf people. Most of the students in my courses were there because they’d…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/i-was-the-only-student-she-d-taught-who-d-actually-known-any-deaf/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“It was like the old joke: the operation was a success but the patient died. Theories and goals of education don’t matter a whit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/it-was-like-the-old-joke-the-operation-was-a-success-but-the-patient/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“One story was about a deaf man who was driving in the country, when safety bars were lowered across the road at a railroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/one-story-was-about-a-deaf-man-who-was-driving-in-the-country-when/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“Mom turned to me, puzzled. In sign language, she asked, “What was Grandpa saying in the kitchen?” My heart froze.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/mom-turned-to-me-puzzled-in-sign-language-she-asked-what-was-grandpa/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“Less and less we were freaks. More and more we were curiosities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/less-and-less-we-were-freaks-more-and-more-we-were-curiosities/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“By the time we got back to his house, Grandpa couldn’t reproduce the two signs he’d learned, but he hurried inside to describe to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/by-the-time-we-got-back-to-his-house-grandpa-couldn-t-reproduce-the/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“her parents had no way of telling her she was going away to school.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/her-parents-had-no-way-of-telling-her-she-was-going-away-to-school/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“And then she made a sign that sent a chill up my spine. It was a slang sign meaning “I’m deaf,” but it’s crudely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/and-then-she-made-a-sign-that-sent-a-chill-up-my-spine-it-was-a-slang/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“Like virtually all schools for the deaf at that time, the Indiana State School emphasized oral skills: speaking and lipreading.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/like-virtually-all-schools-for-the-deaf-at-that-time-the-indiana/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“So much had been lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/so-much-had-been-lost/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“Over the centuries people have blamed everything from eating a green chestnut to being cursed by a gypsy. Others have cited being frightened by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/over-the-centuries-people-have-blamed-everything-from-eating-a-green/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“to leave a child without language for a moment longer than is absolutely necessary seems cruel to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/to-leave-a-child-without-language-for-a-moment-longer-than-is/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“This work was throwing me into the intimate functioning of people’s lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/this-work-was-throwing-me-into-the-intimate-functioning-of-people-s/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) [Explore all 60 Lou Ann Walker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) ## More Deaf quotes > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [“A man who saw has turned blind, A hearer deaf, A leader now leads astray!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-lichtheim/a-man-who-saw-has-turned-blind-a-hearer-deaf-a-leader-now-leads-astray/) [Miriam Lichtheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-lichtheim/) > [If you are the master be sometimes blind, if you are the servant be sometimes deaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/if-you-are-the-master-be-sometimes-blind-if-you-are-the-servant-be/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [“The rich eat life, the poor eat death; so what is the problem they ask?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/the-rich-eat-life-the-poor-eat-death-so-what-is-the-problem-they-ask/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [My girlfriend and I went to a dinner party the other night and we ended up playing charades. There was another couple there that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-galifianakis/my-girlfriend-and-i-went-to-a-dinner-party-the-other-night-and-we/) [Zach Galifianakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-galifianakis/) > [In other restaurants you'll see employees signing to each other, since we also hire many deaf men and women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-karcher/in-other-restaurants-you-ll-see-employees-signing-to-each-other-since/) [Carl Karcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-karcher/) > [Must whales and dolphins be subjected to deafening noise that will cause more than 3.5 million instances of temporary and/or permanent hearing loss? For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brosnan/must-whales-and-dolphins-be-subjected-to-deafening-noise-that-will/) [Pierce Brosnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brosnan/) > [I will love you till a mute women tells his deaf friend about a blind women that saw a girl with no legs walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-will-love-you-till-a-mute-women-tells-his-deaf-friend-about-a-blind/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And the blind man said to the deaf man, "Do you see what I hear?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/and-the-blind-man-said-to-the-deaf-man-do-you-see-what-i-hear/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [So the blind will lead the blind, and the deaf shout warnings to one another until their voices are lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/so-the-blind-will-lead-the-blind-and-the-deaf-shout-warnings-to-one/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Despite my mentors advice that I would never go to heaven fishing with a weighted nymph and a float, I took it up. (As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bishop/despite-my-mentors-advice-that-i-would-never-go-to-heaven-fishing/) [Tony Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bishop/) > [Most profoundly deaf people have speech that is very difficult to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-masur/most-profoundly-deaf-people-have-speech-that-is-very-difficult-to/) [Richard Masur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-masur/) > [But people who think they can project themselves into deafness are mistaken because you can't. And I'm not talking about imagining what a deaf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-masur/but-people-who-think-they-can-project-themselves-into-deafness-are/) [Richard Masur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-masur/) > [There's none as deaf as those who won't listen. I get letters. If they are moronic, they go in the wastepaper basket, but if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-bates/there-s-none-as-deaf-as-those-who-won-t-listen-i-get-letters-if-they/) [Ken Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-bates/) > [Even though I am nearly deaf, I seem to be gifted with a kind of inner hearing which enables me to detect sounds and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/even-though-i-am-nearly-deaf-i-seem-to-be-gifted-with-a-kind-of-inner/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) [Browse all 854 Deaf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deaf/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I had to learn I wasn’t deaf. 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