Am I deaf or hard of hearing?

The other night I went to a deaf Christmas party with my 2 deaf friends that I knew from school. I had a great time. For the first time in my life, I felt accepted and like I belonged. Everyone was warm and welcomed me. There were a couple of times where I felt a little out of my league because I do not know ASL well. There were some times where I thought "What are they saying?". But I still felt accepted and felt like I belonged, even though I do not always understand what is being said. I want to feel like I belong somewhere and I have found that in the deaf community. I've never felt like I belonged anywhere my whole life. Now I found where I belong. What is the definition of deaf? Some people feel that I am hard of hearing and other people define me as deaf. I don't know what category I belong in. I feel as if I'm deaf because if I'm not wearing my hearing aids, I have a real problem when people are trying to get my attention. I would love any feedback from you. I would like to know if there are others like me out there. We could help each other and encourage each other as we grow in our identity.

A little about who I am

Hi! I am deaf, but went undiagnosed until I was 6 1/2 years old. No doctors could ever figure out what was wrong with me until I was in a school for slow children and the teacher, fresh out of teaching school, called my mother and said that I do not belong in this school and that I was deaf. My family and I moved to Delaware and have been here ever since. I was originally from Pennsylvania. I taught myself how to lipread in order to survive those first 6 1/2 years. I grew up in the hearing world. I attended hearing school until 9th grade. 9th grade, I started deaf school where I learned PSE. I am now attending various deaf events because I want to learn ASL and expand my circle of friends. I have started expressing myself through poetry so from time to time, you will see poetry mixed in with my experiences in ASL. I find ASL to be free. I am learning and growing. I would welcome any feedback and would like to help anyone like me, deaf but grew up hearing and wanting to learn ASL.