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“Is There a Fine Line Between Optimism and Reality?” The answer may be found in the story of one student’s journey from an orphanage in China to the stage of Kennesaw Mountain High School and the Cobb County School District’s annual Oratorical Contest for the Deaf and Hard- of-Hearing (DHH). As he waited at the orphanage in China, he watched friend after friend leave when they were adopted.
“They kept moving to America. The kids kept going and going to America. I stayed at the orphanage and was sad. There were no more smart kids to talk to. I had no friends left,” he said in his speech at the Oratorical Contest.
Still, he waited. He watched out the windows.
His inspiring story was one of many shared by Cobb DHH students as they explained the relationship between optimism and reality. The annual contest, sponsored by the Optimist Club, gives students the opportunity to compete for a spot at the state-level Oratorical Contest where the winners receive a $2,500 scholarship.
This year’s winners of the Cobb County School District Oratorical Contest included South Cobb High School junior Nina Chambliss and Kennesaw Mountain High School sophomore De’ja Wade. The runners up were Simpson Middle School 6th grader Kayla Carroll and Pine Mountain Middle School 7th grader Jeremiah Jackson-Gillihan.
Before the winners were selected, each DHH student took the stage to share how they have found optimism in reality. Some delivered their impactful speeches orally while others used American Sign Language to convey their reality.
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