Phew! Looking Back Winter '13

Winter semester (otherwise know as the semester of a million group projects) was a busy one! I think the hardest thing this semester has been coordinating everyone's schedules to meet and get things get done.

Favorite things this semester:

Audiometrics -
*Presenting hearing conservation and ear anatomy to a 1st grade class. They were AWESOME!! I loved this experience so much and the kids loved it too.

Aphasia -
*Ummm... pretty much the whole darn class, but if I had to pick a couple of favorites I'd go with the aphasia observation that I did in Royal Oak and the AAC assignment I did at the Apple Store. I can't rave enough about this class. The prof of this class is a great teacher and I've learned a lot in this class. This is definitely emerging as an area of interest. :)

Diagnostics -
*Though scheduling has been a big issue with our clinic diagnostic, I really enjoyed this experience a lot. It was great to finally get some hands-on experience with standardized tests and work with a client!
*My observation at the Autism Collaborative Center - the SLP there is a graduate of EMU's SLP grad program and it was great to observe another alumni from my school out in the field. (First EMU alum I observed was up in the U.P. at Marquette General Hospital for some of my 25 hours of observation for my post-bacc.)

Early Intervention Language Disorders -
*This class has spent a lot of time on the back burner and has felt like a lot of review, but I've enjoyed some
of the discussions in the class. Not my area of interest at the moment, but it was good to have a class this semester that was not as demanding as the others!

Overall, it's been another great semester and definitely much more intense than last semester. I'm really looking forward to diving into my Spring/Summer classes, but to be perfectly honest I am really looking forward to just working (and maybe a little bit of traveling - ROAD TRIP!!) during the second half of summer. No classes from June 18th - Sept. 3rd!

I've been in a odd place the last couple of weeks of this semester... I'm tired, burnt out, and there's been a little self-doubt starting to creep in. I know I want to be an SLP and I know it will take time to feel confident in what I am doing but right now it's kind of hard to remember that. Just got to remember to breathe, take it all in, and enjoy the crazy-wild-stress-filled ride that is SLP grad school.

It will be good to recharge this summer to help me to get back on track.

I am where I want to be.

"Little by little, the container is filled."