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Nicholas Carle Mrs. Gardner English 10 HON, 1. 23 January 2014 Reflective Essay Rough Draft Do you get AM and FM radio with those, said a friend of mine, Glaring at my ears clearly referring to them. Sometimes compared to Dumbo who IMDb summarized as Ridiculed because of his enormous ears It was these jokes that made me feel my physical trait was unaccepted by society. At the time I grew my hair out long in an attempt to cover them up, pin them back with sunglasses, tape them back with scotch tape to even trying to glue them back with glue sticks. Today, realizing that my slight physical abnormality had no effect on their functionality, made me realize that society critiques one another largely based ones physical attributes. Criticism towards one another for certain attributes that make us different have been made in an attempt to reveal what the ideal perfect person should look like, but what is perfect if we were all born to look different? Unlike most other facial features, too many, ears were of least concern regarding their physical appearance because of their limited diversity. As stated in the play Cyrano de Bergerac This nose of mine which precedes me by a quarter of an hour reveals Cyranos trait as secluding him from society proposing his difference as significantly affecting his physical appearance. Unlike a nose, societys inability to conclude what the perfect ear looks like, resulted in ears becoming more of a way to express oneself rather define oneself. Travelling the world, ears were expressed in many unique ways both culturally and for ones personal affection.

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Assortments of colors and patterns would dangle from them or even puncture through them whether it was for status or just to express a favorite color. It was as though the true function of the ears was solely to listen defining them as not having a specific appearance. While sound is caught by ears at ease, Ears also are prone to catch infections primarily in young children. Stated by Medline Plus Ear infection is one of the primary reason children have to go to the doctor. While these risk are significant to ones lifestyle, There are other risks that affect nearly everyone that is often passed up upon. Growing up my grandma developed a hearing problem but she would never admit it or wear a hearing aid. You would say its time to eat She would respond back huh I need to sweep? Trying to hide her hearing issue, she would respond to questions even if she didnt hear the question correctly. Replying with an unexpected answer, her development of minor case of Alzheimers was perceived as more severe than it really was. The start of this slow developing disease was revealed when she was unable to pass the drivers test. Answering trick questions incorrectly on the drivers test, she would choose the suggested simple answer instead of considering the actual traffic laws. It was the simplicity that that made it challenging. Following the incident she would mix up names up names of grandchildren or even forget the names of her neighbors. Miss understanding questions asked by the doctor He would say Can you count back by fours from twenty Responding, she would say yes, twenty, eighteen, sixteen, ten... Originally miss hearing the question she would eventually lose track of the question she was answering. After having an in depth encounter with what hearing allows us to do, I realized that hearing ultimately

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has allowed us to communicate with one another resulting in humans ability to develop a society more complex than any other species. As I realized the significance hearing plays in our society, I became less conscious about the physical attributes that compose the ear but rather the idea of losing the important function they play in our lives. What felt like every weekend, I would hang out with my friend and we would often shoot trap or plink cans. Whenever I shot I wore hearing protection fearing that I would lose my hearing quicker if didnt. I never found the ringing in each ear pleasant after each shot so I wore earplugs. My friend would state Dont be a girl or youll get over it But what was there to get over, not being able to hear well so that the shots wouldnt make your ears ring after shooting? I perceived the ringing in my ear as almost a call yelling in my ear to wear hearing protection or be deaf by forty. This thought feared me as it gave me a sense of isolation from the rest of the world. Ears are more than antennas that stick off the side of your head. They are one of many body parts that carry out a specific function to improve ones lifestyle. Ears allow us to communicate with one another, express our self, and ultimately allow us to develop the most complex diverse society. So what does a slight difference in appearance have to do with it? You tell me. Like I said whos perfect if were all different. Thats the question I wish to answer.

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Work Cited Zieve, David and Kaneshiro, Neil. Ear Infection-acute. MedlinePlus. updated 16 may 2012. 21 January 2014 Rostand, Edmond. Cyrano de Bergerac. New York: Signet Classics, 1898. Print Dumbo (1941). IMDd. copyright 1990-2014, 21 January 2014