I don't quite know where to begin. I'm sure those of you who actually still read are sick of hearing about the whole college process (I know I am, haha!), but this will be my final update on college/schools for a while! So basically, last March I had an academic conference with my school counselor. All the juniors have them, it's basically to discuss future plans, colleges, the works. I mentioned that I was particularly interested in a school, and she basically shot down my hopes and dreams by telling me it was out of my league and I had no chance of being accepted. She said it nicely and with a smile, but it stung! I had already made plans to visit the school over my spring break the following week, and I certainly wasn't going to cancel them. I went and tried so hard not to fall in love with it with this newfound knowledge that I had no chance of being accepted... I couldn't help myself. Like a hormone-crazed tween girl obsessed with Justin Bieber (or One Direction, or whatever pop sensation you so choose), I dreamily began picturing our future together despite the fact that it was out of reach. Well, just a couple of weeks ago, I got an email from the aforementioned dream school. I'm kind of embarrassed to say it because I make fun of people for being emotional, but I cried hysterically... Want to know what first line of the email said?
So, moral of the story: you never know unless you try! And ignore the naysayers, they always seem to have plenty to say!
It's nice to know where I'll be attending and to finally have all of my hard work payoff. I really do think it's a great fit for me and I can't wait until the fall. It's a small school- my college graduating class will likely be a couple hundred students smaller than that of my high school graduating class- but I think it's just what I need. My parents are also relieved because it's not across the country, but I am glad that it's not too close either- it's about a 4.5 hour drive from where I live. Thus concludes my talk of my college search!
On a completely different note, I have been having issues with my left (second) implant lately, and things are not looking too great. I had an appointment with my surgeon yesterday, and he thinks I may be in the early stages of a soft failure. I have been hearing crackling/popping for the past few months, and we have changed out all the external parts multiple times, to no avail. For now, it's a wait and see deal. I am still hearing very well, and the crackling is intermittent. Sometimes I am able to go all day (or even a few days at a time) without it occurring. It's possible that it's just a fluke and it will all settle down over the next few months, but it is also more likely that it will continue to worsen or possibly even completely give out on me. I am going to have an integrity test done next week, but my surgeon does not expect there to be any usual findings, as oftentimes in soft failures all testing shows that the implant is functioning fine. I will not be considering re-implantation surgery until it gets to the point where I feel that it's interfering enough with my hearing that I am no longer receiving the full benefits of being bilateral. Right now, that is certainly not the case. When I went in yesterday, I had a hearing test done and my left ear tested at 92% on single word recognition, which is pretty darn good! I am also having problems with a sharp, shooting pain under my left implant that has started up in the last few weeks. It only lasts for a few seconds at a time, but it is debilitatingly painful when it occurs- it's brought on if I move my head or face suddenly. The cause of that is more of a mystery and not really treatable with anything other than anti-inflammatories.My surgeon suggested leaving the processor off for a few days to see if it helps (this is just a short term solution, of course), and since I've pretty much just been at home cooped up with my sick self and my dog, that is what I am doing. If anyone has any experiences/knowledge to contribute on either of these issues, please do comment. I really value the knowledge that my readers offer because you all know so much more than I do!
One last thing- If you emailed me, chances are I got halfway though composing a long, thought out email, saved it as a draft, and never finished it. You can be mad at me, I feel awful about it, but I shall resume replying to 2 month old emails while I have nothing better to do over these next few days(not that I have 2 online courses I need to be doing in order to graduate or anything... You know where my priorities are!)
To those of you who read to the end of this ridiculously long post, thank you! You deserve a medial or some cookies or something. Now it's 4 AM and I am just rambling... I should probably try to get some sleep...Thanks for reading :)
