Hey, Randi –
Don’t feel bad. It took me several times to figure out what the heck he was signing. The first time, I was like – uh, wut? 😉
So on the part where he is signing about not going to college…. at first, I also thought it looked like FOR YOU, but when I slowed it down to like almost snail speed, I think he’s signing NOT YOU. So, he’s signing, IT OK NOT YOU GO COLLEGE. I think. (shrug) I need emojis. I’ve become too dependent on them to help me communicate thru email and text. I don’t think you are misreading his signs. I think that Deaf individuals all have different styles of signing. I have known some Deaf people to be very “crisp” with their signs – they are easy to read – like Jason (except when he signs at super speed — YIKES!!)…but then there are some Deaf individuals who are more loose with their signs. And, that is where it may become harder to read some people – like Brian.
YOUR QUOTE: I also have a hard time with signing that doesn’t fully form in the classic shape but is more “shortcutted” if that is the word. For example, at 11 seconds he signed “I knew growing up..”–the sign for know he barely touches his forehead so I had to watch this multiple times to fully grasp it.
— So he did NOT sign KNOW. HE signed DECIDED. The captions are wrong. I wouldn’t ever fully rely on captions. Always look up the sign if you doubt. (big smile emoji)