{"id":4657,"date":"2020-12-02T20:34:37","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T20:34:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oldsite.chha.ca\/?p=4657"},"modified":"2020-12-02T20:42:57","modified_gmt":"2020-12-02T20:42:57","slug":"books-have-their-destiny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oldsite.chha.ca\/fr\/books-have-their-destiny\/","title":{"rendered":"Books Have their Destiny"},"content":{"rendered":"

D\u00e9sol\u00e9, cet article est seulement disponible en Anglais Am\u00e9ricain<\/a>. Pour le confort de l\u2019utilisateur, le contenu est affich\u00e9 ci-dessous dans une autre langue. Vous pouvez cliquer le lien pour changer de langue active.<\/p>by IFHOHYP<\/p>\n

Have you ever thought how your words can impact on your environment? Which language would you speak if you weren\u2019t using your mother tongue? How much would we remember without having books? What can you discover, living at the same place for a long time? Karina Cotran, a young brave writer from Canada took on this challenge and was successful in surviving our interrogating ways! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"MARIA: Karina, I spent a longer time on your blog, <\/strong>Hearing Differently<\/strong><\/a>, and I have so many questions that I even don\u2019t know where to start! From what I\u2019ve read, you\u2019ve been to university, you released a series of short stories entitled \u2018<\/strong>Hearing Differently: Growing Up With a Cochlear Implant<\/strong><\/a>\u2019 and you seem to be very active in advocating for people with hearing loss.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is the most significant moment for you on this journey?<\/strong><\/p>\n

KARINA:<\/strong> This is a tough one! I feel like I\u2019ve had a lot \u2013 but I think the most significant one was actually at the beginning of my journey \u2013 before I even knew the moment was significant, if that makes any sense.<\/p>\n

I read an excerpt from my book for the first time at its launch. After the launch, a lady approached me and said that because of me, not only did she feel more confident in her decision to get her child the cochlear implant, but also that she felt more assured that her child will grow up into a very capable person because I had shown that in my mannerisms, and interactions. She was a hearing person, in a hearing family and didn\u2019t have that much exposure to younger children with hearing loss before she had her child.<\/p>\n

That moment always stuck with me, and I think was one of the pivotal reasons why I started my blog and did more advocacy work. I had more stories to tell and I just wanted to really show that having hearing loss is not a bad thing, and that it\u2019s society that perceives it as bad \u2013 and that we need to work with society to make it easier to live with hearing loss each day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What made you the person you are now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be honest here \u2013 I don\u2019t think I can pinpoint to one thing or event in my life that made me into the person that I am today. It was more a bunch of little events \u2013 I don\u2019t want to say my hearing loss made me into the person that I am now \u2013 only because my hearing loss is NOT who I am \u2013 it\u2019s just something that I have.<\/p>\n

If I had to choose, the one thing that really helped me become the person I am now is writing my book \u2013 I proved to myself that I had a story of my own to tell, and that I was good (hopefully) at telling it. It proved that I had the confidence to share something that I wasn\u2019t initially comfortable in sharing \u2013 that and coupled with other life experiences (new friends, living through the pandemic, etc.) has really changed my mindset and view on a lot of things \u2013 and made me more empathetic and focused in what I do in my day to day.<\/p>\n

Would you consider yourself as a writer? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I do consider myself a writer, yes!<\/p>\n

Which kind of stories do you want to tell?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Any story that is worth telling \u2013 whether it\u2019s mine, or another person\u2019s. I also write a lot of creative pieces \u2013 especially fiction. I personally love to weave elements that are real with elements that are not real. It adds a more magical quality to it, but also allows us to think outside of the box as well.<\/p>\n

Something like Gabriel Garcia Marquez and his magic realism? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, something along those lines. Right now, I\u2019m currently fascinated with the concepts of world building \u2013 and mixing it up with elements of realism.<\/p>\n

Also I really like your attitude, that hearing loss doesn’t define you as a whole individual. How would you define yourself then, besides having hearing loss?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like I said, having hearing loss does not define me, but it did shape certain aspects of my personality \u2013 I think I am more empathetic and find it easier to examine different perspectives of a situation\/story because of it. I\u2019m actually hesitant to add a definition to who I am just because that changes year after year \u2013 depending on the experiences I\u2019ve had. But if I had to define myself, it would be by my personality and actions \u2013 I define myself as someone that is very passionate, and emotional about their surroundings \u2013 I\u2019m a writer, I\u2019m a person who is constantly curious (wanting to know the answer to everything), I\u2019m a person who is always searching for something exciting, I\u2019m a person that has immense focus on my passions \u2013 such as my blog, advocacy and more.<\/p>\n

You also mentioned you weren’t initially comfortable with sharing your experiences. What happened then that you found the courage (because it definitely demands enough courage and self-confidence to do this!) to start writing stories?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t comfortable at all \u2013 even saying the words, \u201cI have hearing loss\u201d was difficult. It was only when I started writing stories about growing up with hearing loss that I became more comfortable with it. I started writing those stories only for myself \u2013 but then being able to put those experiences on paper, and almost separate myself from the character that I had on paper made me realize just how uncomfortable I was with something that has been a part of me since I was very young. Coming to that realization made me realize that my hearing loss and my experiences with it are not something I want to be uncomfortable with. With this discovery, I took that step forward to start sharing them\u2026 because I want to help others who were also not comfortable become more comfortable \u2013 with something that they can relate to.<\/p>\n

What are you working at currently?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since writing \u2018Hearing Differently\u2019 (the book), I\u2019ve been more preoccupied with working on my blog. It\u2019s just until recently that I got back into creative writing. For now, I\u2019ve been working on mini short stories \u2013 and trying to get back into the fiction writing style.<\/p>\n

There is also one mention about being a person who is always searching for something exciting: what was your last discovery in this area? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I should rephrase myself \u2013 I\u2019m always looking for something new to discover \u2013 whether it\u2019s a person, place, thing, etc. It\u2019s been hard to really do this during the pandemic but there have been several things.<\/p>\n