Hey guys!
I know it has been a long time since my last blog post, and I wanted to let y'all know that I'm still here. I had to step away for "a little bit" because I need to focus on wrapping up my last semester as an undergraduate student. There are some weeks when I don't have much to do, but there's always something that needs to be done. However, I believe that once I graduate, my schedule will be not so hectic as it is now. I'm still looking for a job or an internship, and I really wanted to have something set in stone before May 10th. As the weeks go by, I'm starting to "give up" on my goal because I believe that you can't rush an opportunity. It will happen at the right time. On the other hand, I'm SO excited to graduate because I will be accomplishing a MAJOR goal. Ever since I could talk, I would always tell anyone who would listen, that I was going to Clemson for college. Come May 10th, I will be walking across that stage and getting my degree which will represent all of the hard work, tears, and endless frozen meals that it took to get me to this point. Oh, by the way, I want to thank Grammarly, Google, Citation Machine, Quizlet, Lean Cuisine, and Your Pie (best pizza restaurant in Clemson) for being there for me. Oh yeah, I can't forget about the important people in my life. Mom and Dad, thanks for everything that y'all have done for me and always answering my silly and random FaceTime calls. Erin, you da best lil sis ever! The next post will be uploaded sometime after graduation. For now, this blog and my Instagram will continue to be on hiatus until I can finally put all of my focus into Tiny Nomadic Traveler. -Emily
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Hi everyone,
In my previous post, I mentioned how it took me years to come to terms with my hearing loss. I decided to talk about it in depth because I feel like it could help others who are going through the same thing. As a child, I knew that I was different than my peers because my parents didn't hide the fact that I'm deaf and have speech difficulties. However, I let my being different affect my personality. When I was growing up, I felt like I constantly had to be on the defense because of comments about my speech and deafness. I got so used to defending myself that I became an angry person. I would always yell and scream at anyone because I felt like they were trying to offend me. A constant thought I would have was, "I'm just like them, but I can't hear, so why can't they grasp the concept?" However, I realized that kids can be mean and don't care about other people's feelings. I do admit that I was one of those kids, but it doesn't excuse my actions. I eventually got tired of being angry all the time, so I began learning how to ignore people who try to get a rise out of me. I also learned that my hearing loss doesn't define who I am as a person. I'm a person who has tons of interests, and I like to talk about them because they help me make new friends and maintain relationships. People know to come to me if they want to know more about any topic because a tiny section of my brain is full of useless facts and information. I also pride in myself for being a person who's accepting of others because I know how it feels to be different. I'm not perfect, and I will never be. However, it doesn't hurt to keep working on yourself. -Emily Hey there,
I’m going to be real with y’all. I’m currently dealing with some inner-self issues. First, of all, it took me YEARS to come to terms with my hearing loss for various reasons. I don’t struggle with it as much as I used to when I was younger, but I’ve realized that it does impact my life in some ways that I didn’t think it would. A few weeks ago, I revamped my LinkedIn account because of an assignment for one of my courses. Once l was satisfied with the final product, I started looking for social media related jobs or internships through LinkedIn’s job search engine. I saw a lot of wonderful job listings and saved them, so I could go back to them later. I ended up applying to two of the jobs. When I was uploading my resume onto one of the job listing’s application website, a feeling of dejection came over me. I hadn't even submitted the application, and I was already doubting myself (spoiler alert, I did end up submitting the application). In my resume, right next to my phone number, I have a short note that says, “text only.” It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that I’m deaf. However, it is good on my part because it saves me from having to explain to potential employers that I can’t hear. On the other hand, it may be a big factor in my being considered for a job. Believe it or not, this is a common issue for people with hearing loss. It drives me nuts whenever I hear or read about a deaf person being rejected for a job because of their hearing loss. It seems like people think that we aren’t capable. Heh, not true. There are tons of people with hearing loss in this world who are smart, determined, and strong-willed. We can do ANYTHING that we set our minds to. Heck, after writing this post, I'm even more motivated to go and apply to more jobs! Don’t let your doubts deter you from following your dreams, Emily P.S. I should start following my own advice. :) Hi everyone!
Last February, I was notified by one of my favorite professors, Dr. Pyle (Dr. Pyle, if you ever read this, HEY!) that I got accepted to participate in Clemson's Department of Communication's annual study abroad trip to Germany. I had never been to Germany before, so I was very excited about how I was going to get to explore a new country. My parents didn't deter me from accepting my spot on the trip because they know how much I love traveling overseas. They are the ones who are always encouraging my little sister (this summer, she's going to Ecuador!) and me to spread our wings and explore the world. Little did I know that it can be somewhat difficult for a deaf student to study abroad even with accommodations. Before May rolled around, I went to meet with the director of Student Accessibility Services and the Communication Services Coordinator to discuss what kind of accommodations I would need during the trip. We talked about the option of me using remote CART (Communication Across Real Time) services during class time. It meant that I would have to bring a microphone with a USB port so that the caption writer can hear whoever is talking and transcribe for me through Skype and a stream text link. I declined the option because I didn't want anyone to have to wake up at o-dark-thirty to caption for me. Instead, I chose to take a voice recorder that allows you to plug it into a laptop to move the audio files into a dropbox, so that the transcribing team back in Clemson can come in and do their magic (all of you are the bomb!). I thought it would be easy for everyone, so the meeting adjourned. I went onto getting ready for the trip by making sure that I got the right adapters for my electronics (can't live without them), double checking that my paperwork was complete, and packing up my bag/suitcase. Then before I knew it, the day had finally arrived. I flew out of Atlanta, Georgia with a group of my classmates on a non-stop flight to Stuttgart, Germany. When we landed in Stuttgart, we split up into groups to take taxis to our hotel. Once we arrived at the hotel, we learned that we were going back out to take a guided tour around Stuttgart. I didn't mind going on a tour because I wanted to know more about the city. Unfortunately, it wasn't for our pleasure. We had to take notes for one of our assignments. So, that's when I realized that I couldn't use my voice recorder because you wouldn't be able to make out what the guide is saying due to the loud noises in the background as we were walking all over the city. I decided to take pictures of the places that we went to and pay close attention to the tour guide, so I could memorize everything that she told us. I have a good memory, therefore, the reason why I thought I would be fine. No biggie, right? Oh, how naive, I was. It turned out that there was SO MUCH stuff to remember and for some reason, I didn't type out specific points that were brought up during the tour — terrible, terrible move. However, I learned how to improvise, adapt, and overcome. For the next three weeks, whenever I couldn't use my microphone, I relied on my iPhone's notes app, the museum provided booklets and pamphlets, and pictures that I took. I have to say that my improvised plan helped me out a lot because I was able to get more information in the booklets and pamphlets because there were times when I missed something because my transliterator couldn't understand what our tour guides were saying due to their thick accents. It would have been easy for me to struggle and miss assignments, but instead, I learned to become even more resourceful and creative. This experience was a prime example of being able to improvise, adapt, and overcome! Don't settle, always find a way to overcome your obstacles, Emily Hi everyone!
I'm still trying to figure out my blog schedule. I think I will upload a new post every Thursday because I only have one class on Thursdays. We will see how it goes. It has been a few weeks since I started posting content onto my travel Instagram blog, and I'm enjoying getting to interact with people within the travel community. It is so neat how we all can connect through Instagram! I love being able to communicate with people online because due to my hearing loss, my speech is not clear and understandable all the time. Even though I have a cochlear implant, I'm not quite at the level where I can understand everything. It is a work in progress. Every day, I try my best to improve my auditory verbal skills. I can recognize certain people's voices (I am very used to my Mom's voice, LOL.) and sounds that I encounter every day. It takes time, dedication, and hard work. Fortunately, I know that I will get to the point where I will not need help with understanding what people are saying. I am a person who hates asking people for help with anything because I want to be able to overcome my obstacles on my own. However, it has taken a long time for me to realize that everyone needs some kind of aid in different ways. I used to think that people who needed guidance all the time were helpless. I strongly dislike being helpless. I am always needing an assist with understanding what people are saying to me, or them being able to follow what I am saying. I have been in situations where someone could not understand what I was saying, and I did not have anyone nearby to help me. So, I have learned to pull out my iPhone and use my notes app to type out what I am telling them. Most of the time, people are very considerate about using my iPhone to interact with me. In some cases, I have had people pull out their own phones to open up their notes app to type out what they want to tell me. It means a lot to me because I know that they really want me to be able to understand them and have a conversation with me. Whenever I'm traveling overseas, I always have someone to help me communicate with locals. There has been a few occasions when I have had to use Google Translate to type out what I am saying and translate it into the desired language. It WORKS WONDERS! I'll tell y'all one of the stories about that in another post. It is SO crazy how technology has changed over time, and it is rapidly becoming very accessible for people with hearing loss. However, the problem is that certain countries do not adapt well to the changes. For more information on that, please be on the lookout for my next post. Hope y'all have a great weekend, I know I will because I am going to be working on homework, heh! -Emily Hi everyone,
I have something to admit to y'all. Even though I love to write about topics that interest me, I dislike blogging. I know you are probably thinking I’m crazy. I know, I know! However, I will try my best to start blogging because I want a place to write down my thoughts, opinions, and reviews of places that I have visited. Just a warning, I am somewhat snarky and sarcastic. I am unapologetically me, and it took a long time for me to accept that. I want to officially welcome everyone to my website. This website has been a work in progress because I have tons of travel photographs, and I have not had the time to sit down and post them all. Heck, I am still taking pictures because I am always on the go. Therefore, the reason I finally created an Instagram account. I love the fact that I get to use various editing apps on my phone and upload the pictures to Instagram. So quick and easy! If y'all have app recommendations, send them my way. Also, if there is anything that pertains to my chosen categories; travel, lifestyle, and advocacy that you want me to talk about in this blog, either send me an email or slide into my DMs. -Emily |