Finally, some peace and quiet
I predicted the first few weeks of school were going to be very exciting and enjoyable following the summer of operations and recovery.
I was right. But I forgot to predict that those same weeks would wear me out!
I am so glad to be back in Clemson. I can't even begin to express the amount of joy I still get from just walking across campus at dusk, or looking out my window in the morning and seeing Death Valley, or even just sitting in the outdoor theater on a warm (but not too hot) day and watching the students walk by on their way to class.
It's been a busy past few weeks, getting back into the swing of things here on campus. We had the opening-week festivities, which included the Welcome Back festival on Bowman, Bands on Bowman, seeing old friends, and much more. The first week wasn't too bad, as we only had three days of class and then a nice weekend to enjoy jetskiing on the lake and such.
We finally got a full week of class in the following week, and I got to really test-drive my new implant in the classroom setting. My first impression has definitely been that it is a big improvement. Having the implant makes it so much easier to hear what teachers are saying without having to concentrate so much on what they are saying. This may not make much sense, but for a person with a hearing impairment, there is a difference between being able to listen without having to work too actually concentrate on listening, as opposed to being able to hear because you have to devote all your energy and concentration to actually hearing what's said.
In the past, I've definitely been a member of the latter group of people and it's really made classroom settings difficult. Rather than being able to take notes and listen at the same time, I have always only been able to do one or the other. When I take notes, I can't hear what the teacher's saying, but when I focus on what the teacher is saying, I can't really take notes. At the same time, sometimes it is so difficult to hear what is being said that I can't devote any energy or brain matter to actually trying to understand what is being said.
I have noticed this dilemma in social settings as well. Sometimes, I'll be talking to someone at an event (usually in a very loud setting) and I'll be genuinely interested in asking them a particular question...but then I have to focus/concentrate so much on actually hearing what they said that I completely forget to remember what they said. Then it makes me look slightly ignorant when they realize I've forgotten what they said soon after.
But things have changed a bit with the implant. I don't have to focus so much on hearing what's being said...so now I can devote a little more brain matter to understanding what's being said. I remember my first physics class where I realized I was taking notes but was able to understand some of what the professor was saying while I was looking at my notes.
In many of my classes, I even took of my implant for a brief few seconds, just to go back to the 'old way' of hearing that I was so used to. The difference in what I was able to understand with just one hearing aid, as opposed to both hearing aid and implant, was incredible. Having both makes a world of difference. Sometimes I'll just wear my implant to class and I'll practice
:: side note :: As I type this, Jad Dean has just kicked the game-winning field goal against Texas A&M. I've now seen "the kick" from the Clemson/TAMU game from last Saturday at least five times - once in real life, which was by far the best one, and four times on the replay they have shown on ESPN U. I have to say, it was a very exciting game to attend, especially for the first of the season. I was a bit worried about noise levels affecting my hearing in my non-implant ear (just as they did last semester), so I made the tough decision to wear an ear plug in my right ear to protect my hearing. I am happy to say it was a smart decision, as I left the game with my hearing intact. I also tried not to yell or make too much noise in an attempt to protect my hearing even further, but I woke up the next morning hoarse...which leads me to believe I must have yelled like crazy and not realized it after Jad put his sixth field goal through the uprights and won ne the game...oops! :)
:: end side note ::
I'll post a little later on what my actual classes are like and that sort of thing...I don't want to make this blog too long today. For now, I just wanted you to know that my implant is already making an impact for me class-wise.
If you can, be sure to check out the Tigers tomorrow at 12:00 on ESPN as they take on the Maryland Twerps...I mean, Terrapins. Should be a good game, not to mention another notch in our Win column, I hope!
Go Tigers!
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