My Life Before Speech Pathology by Karington

My Life Before Speech Pathology by Karington - November 2023 Scholarship Essay

As people, the only way to navigate this world is by communicating with others. The world is built on different types of communication, whether it’s word of mouth or through social media. That being said, as a person wanting to get through life we have to know how to interact with others, which doesn’t come naturally to some as it might the majority of the world. As someone who has trouble interacting sometimes and finds it hard to form appropriate words, dealing with this firsthand has inspired me to choose the career of a speech therapist.

In May 2020, my family and I took a considerable loss following my grandmother's passing, the most admirable diva Ms. Dena Brown. On top of handling our grief, we were forced to isolate ourselves from other loved ones who wanted to support us due to the recent Covid lockdown and pandemic. I took this a step further, I deleted all my social media accounts where I could interact with people I knew and put my life on DND. I stopped talking to my friends; I barely left my room, so I only spoke to my parents when they came into my room. The self-isolation caused me to lose most of my social skills. I tend to be very nervous when I have to speak with people who aren't my close family members or friends. I'm not too fond of this feeling of passion, and I realize that people are having the same troubles and sometimes even worse, and I want to help.

My grandmother wasn’t the first time I had to deal with loss and grief, as I lost my granddad three years prior. He was my favorite person in the world, and losing him left me with a huge void. All they wanted for me was to live my life happily and successfully, if anybody believed I could achieve my goals, it was them. Though I‘m living for myself and setting my own goals, I always think of them and what would make them proud. Becoming a speech therapist and helping children like those in my life have helped me cast no doubt in my mind that they’d be anything short of proud.