Teresa DePhilips

I attribute my success to my own struggles growing up. When I was growing up, I had a learning disability where I couldn't hear. My teachers thought I was an obnoxious child in the classroom because I wasn't paying attention, but nobody really knew I couldn't hear. I ended up having 10 different procedures done on my ear, and my doctor told me when I'm 40, I will be in a hearing aid. I do not have a hearing aid and I can hear almost perfect. I struggled and it hurt me, and I can relate to how these people could feel. My sister used to tell all of her friends that I was retarded, and that was something I had to overcome. That fueled me because I was so pissed at my sister. I had to go through the school system with people thinking this, and I had to prove myself. I worked really hard. My mom had me in classes at the college and had tutors coming in during school, and I went after school to a tutor. It was completely packed with getting caught up. I conquered it, and that's what drives me to give these kids and adults a chance, because I know what it's like to be labeled and misunderstood.

What I want people to get out of my story is just give everybody a chance, because even though you see something on the outside, there's a real struggle on the inside, and we don't know what everybody's struggle is. These people, even me, people just need a chance. Not just one chance, because how many chances have I had, or you had? We just need to continually love and give. These kids deserve a chance, whether they'll proceed ahead or whether they are stuck. They need it, and a lot of times their families don't give it to them. I realize not all of them are gonna have the glisten in their eye, but I know that it's there. They just can't express it in some ways. When you get hugs or whatever, you just know that you're doing the right thing. When I can walk away from work and just maybe cry because I feel sorry for them, and then just smile because I remember the emotions and what they've gone through and how you see some of them progress, that's what fuels me. They're not retarded, they have challenges. I will say they're mentally challenged, but no, they're not stuck in it because they can come through.