This will have to be a short post because I have now been without power for 52 hours and my small generator only lasts a stretch of a few hours. If Covid has taught me anything, it’s to learn how to be more flexible and to lean on others for support, neither of which I am very good at.

The stride and pace of my life for roughly the last seven weeks has been one that someone might think I was setting for a short-distance run. All in, right from the beginning. Study, study, study. (I told you I’m a student, right?) I am on summer break for work, so my schedule has allowed for me to sprint toward my first quarter’s finish line. The thing about a virtual program, though, is that you need the internet. My sprint came to a screaming halt on Tuesday, August 4, at around noon. If this all sounds ridiculously dramatic, it’s because it kind of is. I can’t believe how much anxiety I have felt over the last two days about not being able to do my work. I dragged my kids in the car while I searched for prime 5G service, finally settling in front of Domino’s Pizza a few minutes from where I live. I mean, my professors were so understanding and wonderful, reassuring me that I could take my time on the work. But I am less wonderful and understanding (and, as you can see, quite self-deprecating!) I posted, I commented, I annotated research articles in between shushing my kids in the backseat. I am an intense student. It’s not pretty.

I awoke this morning in nearly a full panic. It’s Thursday and I’m usually well into my project for my Advanced Scientific Clinical Decision Making class. I haven’t even done the demo yet. (Yes, yes, I hear the drama.) I shared my anxiety on Slack, and the love and offers for help poured in all morning and afternoon. Very quickly, I discovered that the best remedy for my intense, anxious, dramatic academic inclinations is my cohort. I cannot say enough about these incredible and brilliant people who also happen to be SLPs. I certainly lucked out being chosen to be a part of this SLP supergroup.

All that to say…oh yes, this post was suppose to be short. In public schools (and other settings, too), SLPs don’t usually have a team that they can lean on, can bounce ideas off of, can challenge, can collaborate with, and who will talk them off that SLP cliff. They’re usually lone rangers or perhaps working with one other SLP. I’m fortunate to have another SLP with whom I work. But for those of you who are without a cohort or a community, I urge you to find other professionals. This is where social media can come in handy. I’m not much for following the latest and the greatest, but I’d suggest doing a little digging on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. Find SLPs you align with and don’t align with. Vet them. Google them. Follow them. Talk/ write/ interact/ learn with and from them. I’m in the process of doing the same. I have, of course, befriended all of my cohort and have already learned so much. Leverage technology and social media to work for you. I’m learning this in my other class – Digital Literacies for the SLP.

For both of you reading this 😆, I’d love to connect with you. I just started a Twitter account – @e_debbielee. And if you search the people I’m following, you’ll likely find some of my amazing cohort. Follow them too!