Back to school with a beginner's mind (part 2)

Cooper Fountain at University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Yesterday (August 15, 2016) was my first day back at school after the summer off. My summer was dominated by my sudden hearing loss in many ways so it was nice to return to school. Classes start tomorrow (August 17, 2016) so yesterday was filled with meetings: a new student orientation, our college meeting, and our first social work faculty meeting of the year. During my lunch hour, I emailed the Hearing Loss Association to question them about a comment their executive director made in a story that was published by the Washington Post. To their credit, the ED emailed me back within a few hours and told me that her comment had been taken out of context and that she was in touch with the Washington Post and they would be posting an update/correction to the story as soon as possible. After leaving campus after a very long day, I came home and had a few minutes to decompress before my wife and I went to a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton.

I tried to approach things with a beginner's mind and in the process discovered a few things:

1. In two of my meetings, we were asked to do small group discussions. These conversations are pure hell for me. Trying to have a conversation with a group of people while other groups of people are also having conversations is difficult and stressful. I can't hear most of what is being said. I am sorry for my lack of sensitivity to students with hearing challenges when I have done this as a teacher in my own classes. 
2. People in our audiology and speech program are open to the idea of creating a hearing loss support group and may be open to it much sooner than I expected. I am excited by the opportunities this may bring.
3. When I disclosed about my hearing loss to my colleagues in social work, some people were very kind and sensitive to my hearing loss and others don't really care. This is not so much new information as confirmation of what I thought would be the case. I work with some really caring people and with others who are pretty self-absorbed and indifferent to many of their colleagues, me included. I will focus on those who care. 
4. I was touched, literally, by a colleague who had heard about my hearing loss through the grapevine and asked me about it. She and I were sitting side by side, waiting for a meeting to start. As the conversation had some starts and stops and we weren't facing each other, she made a point of touching me before speaking to me. This was very helpful and though a small gesture, one I appreciated. 
5. Much to my surprise, I seem to remember how different places are furnished. I knew I'd be able to attend the Hillary fund raiser with less difficulty because, even though I'd only been there a few times, I remembered that the venue had carpet on the floor that would absorb much of the sound in the room. 
6. When I'm at my office for long periods of time, it will be important for me to close my office door and simply sit in quiet and silence to recharge a bit. My extroverted self now needs silence for brief periods to be an extrovert. 
7. Finally, after a day in which I'd been surrounded by non-stop sound, I came home exhausted and craved silence. Sound, for long periods of time, is exhausting and acknowledging my need for silence and getting it is an important self-care activity that I must engage in.