Number Twelve.
My first year of college has come to an end. I really did it.
The thing about it is…I wasn’t looking to just survive; I wanted to conquer it. My personality isn’t the “getting by” type. What do we accomplish by just “getting by”? Nothing. Tia, my dance coach, tells us to never dance “halvsies”. It doesn’t get us anywhere or make us better. So this was my mindset this year: Learn with the intent of remembering every single thing. Now of course I KNOW that a human brain cannot remember every single thing that it is told, but who said I couldn’t try?Now, I probably can’t tell you the date of when the first Deaf school was established, how many amino acids make a complete protein, how to enter an “if then” statement on excel, or which type of conflict resolution technique works the best. But what can I tell you? I can tell you all the interpreting opportunities I had this semester and tell you about some of the new Deaf friends that I made. I can tell you about how improving my nutrition has made my body feel better on a regular basis. (I still drink Dr. Pepper though and yes, I realize that for every 6 oz. of caffeine I ingest, it drags out calcium with it. I’ll get over my addiction one day). I can also tell you that I learned a few new things on the computer that helps me with making spreadsheets for the studio. And I can also tell you about how becoming a better listener has improved my relationships in every way.
I know, why do you care about what I learned in school? My point is, my mindset helped me learn all of that. Often times I’m so focused on learning every little detail of information that I forget how it can apply to my life. After all, that’s what school is for right? Believe it or not, I truly believe that each class has something to offer as long as we go in with the mindset of learning, comprehending, and applying. And as much as I’d rather just live in The Vault all day long and dance, I’ve got to attend school.. so why not make the best of it? Granted, I’m grateful that the semester is over but I’m looking forward to all the books I’m going to read this summer.
-ALSO-
I wanted to share an experience that I’ve had lately. It’s actually more like a complete priviledge and opportunity. Here it is…
This past semester I took a co-op class. For those of you who do not know what that is… it’s just simply a class that you get credit for having a job. You meet with an instructor once a week and come up with goals and objectives that you must accomplish at your job over the semester. I was assigned to an instructor that worked in the disability resource center. I was so eager to start meeting with my instructor and find ways to better myself as Tia’s assistant and better myself as a dance teacher. Over the course of the semester, I improved a few things and everything was going well. The term was coming to a close and I was assigned my related project. My instructor told me to find an interpreter and find pros and cons of their job. After that, I needed to come back to him and talk to him about it and also write a paper on it. Simple enough right? Well, I knew the woman that worked at the front desk at the disability resource center was an interpreter and she’d be easy to meet with since I’m there weekly. I decided to go talk to her about setting up a time to learn more about her job as an intepreter. Before I could even set up a time with her, she asked me to help her interpret for a woman in her ward. She inteprets all three hours for this woman and she said it’d help her if I could only do an hour or whatever I was confident enough to do. I quickly accepted the opportunity. I stepped out of that building and I felt my palms become sweaty. Did I really just agree to interpret? I sure did.
A few days later, Sunday arrived. I walked into a ward that I’d never been to before. I met the Deaf woman and began chatting with her and Meadow, the other interpreter, and began to feel more comfortable with her style. The Deaf woman was very clear and easy to understand. All of that didn’t calm my nerves though. As I was walking into the chapel, I saw many familiar faces that I knew would be staring at me in a few minutes. I doubt any of them knew sign language anyway, but I was still freaking out. The meeting began and Meadow started interpreting all the announcements and such. I sat and watched until Meadow got out of the seat and pointed at me. It was my turn. I began interpreting the best I knew how. The Deaf woman was sweet and understanding when I missed something or messed up. But I was really doing it. I was interpreting.
This experience was such an amazing opportunity. Because of that class, I was able to have more experience working toward my goal to be a certified interpreter. Now, I can go to that ward every Sunday and interpret for that woman. I know that if I work hard, I will continue to grow and improve.
I just wanted to share that experience. I’ve learned a lot this past year going to college. I learned more about myself than I ever thought I would. The main thing I learned was this: when I was serving and thinking of others, school was easier and I found the time to do my homework. When I was being selfish and constantly thinking about me me me me, school was harder. So, if you think you’re too busy to do something for someone else because of school, take the leap of faith and try it. I promise you’ll have time for everything.
Today is going to be a wonderful summer day.
Alexa Brent 