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Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Language & Loneliness


No shame here, I think we’ve all felt lonely at times. Big times, feeling forgotten by people that you adore. Little times, being left out of an inside joke that has everyone else rolling on the floor. Both cases can leave you feeling hopeless and both cases matter deeply.


And as future SLPs and Audiologists, I believe we play a role in fighting this loneliness. We help to right the wrong-ness of feeling alone. Because we are menders of communication, and language lets us share life together, to know and be known. You can laugh because one friend says “y’all” and the other says “you guys.” You can roll your eyes when your dad tells the same story you’ve heard several times. You can smile because there is a letter in the mailbox for you. You can explain to a friend why your feelings are hurt and you can tell a professor why you’re excited for next year. This might seem trivial, but it’s all loaded with meaning. Language serves as sweet evidence that we are living life well together.


Isn't it so easy to worry about formants and bilabials and stuttering and cranial nerves and hearing aids and the fact that I've used “and” way too many times in this sentence? Those details are so important, but thank goodness they’re not the only reasons we do this. Life is precious, but doing life together with people you love? That is golden.


{Friends! I am graduating so soon. I will miss writing for this little blog. :) }


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