I started to home-school in 1997.  Before homeschooling, I went to public schools, and I tried to learn in different kinds of classrooms.  Sometimes I was in hearing classrooms with an interpreter.  My interpreters were always nice.  Sometimes I was in special Deaf classrooms where everyone signed.  The public schools were fine, but I was not learning and growing.  So we decided to home-school.  I did well in homeschooling, and I graduated in June 2006.

    There are many things I liked about homeschooling.  In home-school I had one-on-one teaching and help.  This worked for me.  My favorite subjects were Practical English, Biology, and Computer. I really liked Practical English.  Some of the fun things I liked in homeschooling were P.E. and Art.  I liked to play soccer and baseball.  When I could still walk and run, I loved to go outside and run and kick the soccer ball.  When I had to use a wheelchair, I would do P.E. exercises in my house.  I also really liked to do Art.  This was my most favorite subject in school.  I would go outside and draw things I saw in nature.  I still love to do that.  For one of my home-school art projects, I drew an eagle and a flag. I entered my drawing in the Sacramento County Fair.  My drawing won First Place and Best in Show ribbons.  When I saw my picture on display, I was so happy, and I felt all the hard work that I did was worth it.

   The subjects that I didn’t like in home-school were Math and Economics. I did not like these subjects because it is hard for me to understand math problems. But I tried to do the best I could in math, and economics.
      
     Homeschooling was good for me, and I am glad my Mom was my teacher. I did well in homeschooling, and I had fun.  It was nice to have my sister home-school with me, and to have all my other homeschooling friends.  I was busy with home-school field trips,  church youth groups, Boy Scouts, Challenger sports, Co-op classes, and many other activities.  I was never bored.

     After I graduated from home-school high school I attended Cosumnes River College.  I took lot of computer classes, and I earned my Certificate in Web Design.  I also took some art classes at CRC, and last year I took painting class. I enjoyed my painting class.  Art is still my most favorite subject, and I still like to draw and paint God's beautiful nature.

     I prayed and asked God to help me in my homeschooling and in college.  I think God gave me a love for Art and the ability to do it.  My hands do not work normally, but I can still draw and create.  I believe God is helping me to do this and to create art.  I believe with God's help, I can do anything.

~Geoffrey

Last year, I took a painting class at Cosumnes River College. For my class, I had to create a self portrait.  On my self portrait, I painted an Italian flag because my family is from Italy. I also painted the American flag on the left because I am American.  I love to draw, and I like to be creative, so I painted a book ("How to Draw") and placed it on the table in my painting.  I painted a laptop computer on the canvas because I do a lot of work on my computer.  I painted a picture of myself on the laptop screen.  I included the computer in my painting because I have a Web Design Certificate, and I have developed and maintained a few websites for different companies.  The Mickey Mouse symbol on my shirt is because I like to go to Disneyland. My dream job is to do animations for Disney. The purple cross with the I-LOVE-YOU hand sign is important to me because I'm Christian, and I use  sign language to communicate. There's wine bottle on the table on the left with purple grapes because I enjoy having a glass of wine, and it is a part of my Italian culture.

I learned some cool things when I was painting this self portrait. I looked on the internet to find out how to paint my table to make it look like wood. I used a light tan color first, and then I used dark brown and painted over the light tan color.  While the dark brown was wet, I scraped it with a dry sponge to make the wood grain lines.  I think it came out looking close to real wood grain.  Also, to help me paint straight lines with my shaky hands, I used tape to cover areas on my canvas.  It took a lot of time, but it helped make my painting look better.  I always look for ways to do things even with my disabilities.  I try to never give up.  I pray, and I persevere, and I always try my best! 

~Geoffrey