The first week of school went well. I feel so old! I think that I graduated college before some of my classmates were born! (technically, I could be their father…) HAHAHA! I thought I stuck out before… now I really stick out! (I look and act young, but have the soul of a 60 year old.) I actually contacted the Office of Students with Disabilities (AKA “OSD”) before the first day of classes to make sure the process of going back to school was an easy transition. They were very accommodating! They were able to get me a note taker for lectures, private testing spaces for exams, and priority seating in the front of the classroom/lecture hall to eliminate distractions. Luckily the campus is very wheelchair accessible. Some of the older schools I’ve visited are not as handicap friendly. In-class quizzes for my “psychology in healthcare” class are only 10 mins, but I’ve discovered that it’s very difficult to read/process all the multiple choice answers on the projector. I’ve found that 45 seconds is not enough time for me to visually/cognitively/physically process the questions and select the correct answer. Writing for essay quizzes in my other class will be done on a lap top, and immediately emailed to the professor. I had to follow up with the Disability Office after my first set of classes to let them know how things went. The cool thing is that this process is completely confidential between the professor, OSD, and the student! I really don’t care because I can’t hide my disability… It’s something all survivors in college SHOULD look into! For the first time since rehab I’ve confirmed how serious my physical impairments are! I guess for the longest time I’ve been focusing on what I can do, not what I can’t do. To actually see the reality of my physical impairments in writing by people that I don’t know is still a huge wake up call because this is how strangers see me. When I first went out in my wheelchair, it used to bother me when people used to stare at me. I could feel all the looks of curiosity and pity. It almost made me feel ashamed to go out. Good thing I have no shame… People that I hangout with say that this still happens when I’m in my scooter/wheelchair, but I’ve learned to simply ignore the stares.
Anyways, I’ve really noticed that academic/scientific journal writing is very different from public publishing. While I was in college and grad school, I had been so used to reading academic articles. My friends who helped edit my first book, had so many publishing suggestions on my first draft of Reversal: When A Therapist Becomes A Patient. For one of the classes I’m currently taking, I have to read a lot of psychology journals. Typically, scientific journals are different to read with many run-on sentences. Those run-on sentences are intended to elaborate on key concepts. It is just another adjustment back into academics that I have to adapt. Things will get interesting the next couple weeks with classes and exams/quizzes. These last few weeks in San Diego are going to be BUSY before I move to Houston! ComicCon is coming up in a couple weeks, so I’ll be sure to make time to get downtown then for the festivities!!!