I was looking at a bunch of old posts and I realized that what I’m doing is crazy! Going back to school in a completely different profession with some pretty severe impairments is pretty ambitious. I’m still testing my limitations but figuring out how to address them. I always have intentions to blog, but I routinely get side tracked. I got lost last semester in academic work. I feel like it is an uphill battle learning new material/concepts with short term memory impairments.  Academically, new concepts are stored in short term memory unless they are applied. This is part of the reason why I’m having difficulty returning to school. I need to apply what I read or see. In physical therapy school, labs were very useful to me to experience direct application of techniques and concepts. I’m more of an experiential learner. Reading puts things in my short term memory, but now my short term memory is impaired. Studying for quizzes and exams is now more time consuming.  I’m taking 2 web based classes this summer semester which are self paced, but we will see how that goes.
It has gotten harder to meet new people in Houston because when people meet me for the first time, they see the scooter and all my physical impairments. “All-the-things-I-can’t-do” is now the first impression me. I have learned that in order for people to see past my impairments, I need to look past them myself. It is much tougher to meet new people because I’m limited by my mobility, it takes me a long time to get anywhere via public transportation so it is much harder to drop in on somebody. Most of the time, I get to hangout with old friends in Houston. Hanging out with new people is much tougher than I anticipated.
Physical/Cognitive impairments have surfaced as major challenges in a new academic environment. I’m definitely re-creating myself again, but this time it is much more challenging because at least last time I had an idea of how to address challenges/obstacles as a PT. The social sciences is completely different from what I am used to. I’m learning more about myself on the fly. Addressing new physical barriers (sidewalks/extreme rain/extreme heat), unfamiliar academic challenges, and being “the new guy” has made things interesting. This “kick in the head” is exactly the challenge I was looking for. It’s all about adapting to the new challenges… stay tuned.
