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my "why"

with bits and pieces snagged from my application/personal statement i want to explain why UT Dallas. why speech language pathology. and what it is, after all. 


no, my life work is not limited to playing bingo with 7 year olds who can't say their "s" sound 

it can look like a lot of things... speech, yes. but also any issues which take place within the anatomic structures i have been, and will continue to study... anything in the "language center" of the brain, and from the nasal cavity on down to the lungs.

swallowing disorders. feeding therapy. voice disorders. stuttering. cluttering. stroke rehabilitation. traumatic brain injury. developmental, behavioral, or cognitive issues. cleft lip and palate. hearing impairments. literacy weakness. so much more. and lisps. 

i originally just wanted to work with the kiddos. i had no interest in making a career for myself or touching the medical issues. but this has become so much more than a major or a profession for me. 

the past year, outside of the classroom, really, has ingrained the need for communication and connection within me. and validated my role in that fulfilling that need. 

i wandered through europe... seeking answers to my questions from those who couldn't always help me. i felt alone and it was scary. can i provide that bridge of communication to someone who feels that way? maybe a child with cerebral palsy who is intelligent, but appears just to be a vegetable in a chair? can i release that inner spirit for others to see?

i went to haiti. i saw need like never before. i saw the hand of evil like never before. i experienced being able to give what i didn't even know i had. i also saw community, resilience, and gratitude in their purest forms. what other need is out there? and what precious gifts will i receive in return? seeing a long-married couple be able to communicate again after a stroke rocks their world? cheering on and providing a safe place for a child who gets bullied at school for stuttering?

i shattered my ankle. i underwent surgery. i relied on medical professionals and those i love like never before. who can i provide answers for in such dark times? who can i provide constant encouragement and a reassuring presence for? who can i drag out of the pits of despair? the weary parents of a cleft child, overwhelmed with medical jargon and months of surgeries? the elderly woman who has contracted pneumonia simply because her body cannot direct the water she drinks in the way it used to?

speech language pathology provides such a satisfying balance of utilizing my linguistic love and caring for others in physical, emotional, and social ways. and i've been super blessed to so enjoy this path i've chosen that school has been a delight and so validating. i have found purpose in the mind and heart i have been granted. 

i have loved learning, but i am so ready to start applying it! okay, and sorta, maybe really nervous. this summer i will take on clients of my own... likely either little ones on the autism spectrum or adults with neurogenic disorders. and, at the end of the summer, i'll be working with nuggets who have had cochlear implants at summer camp! the counselor in me rejoices! 

           During my time in Haiti I met a young man named Marcelus, who will remain one of the defining memories of that mission trip for the rest of my life. I was able to connect with Marcelus more than any other Haitian because he and I were able to use the same language. American Sign Language. I had not practiced ASL for over a year, but he was patient and persistent in communicating with me. Chatting with him meant so much more than being able to exchange information by the means of a common wavelength... he was thrilled to encounter someone to make him feel less alone in the world, someone who could validate that his life was meaningful and could be shared with others (but I still turned down the marriage proposal). My exchange with him captured the very essence of what language and communication mean to me, whether it be via speech, sign, augmentative device, or otherwise. I am so thrilled to spend the rest of my life sharing that beautiful gift with others.

 ready. set. go!


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