It's almost here. Like that week before Christmas, or those few days before you leave for that trip you've been planning for months, I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of summer.
Because that means my first year of graduate school is over.
It means I'm that much closer to earning a real salary, and it also means that from now on, I'll have real time to write. (Because a few hours every couple of weeks is a joke, one that I've been living for the past four months.)
This is Graduate School Barbie. Seriously.
In case you're wondering, I'm a graduate student in speech-language pathology. I'm learning to help anyone from children to stroke patients communicate, as well as how to help someone swallow when their oral and pharyngeal mechanisms aren't quite doing the trick.
It's pretty serious stuff. Everyone has to communicate and eat, right?!
As much as I value my program, I'm thrilled the hard part is about to be over. And I pose this to you, readers-- what do you want to know in terms of speech and swallowing? Do you have a child who's three and can't pronounce his /r/ sound? (Which is totally normal.)
Do you have a parent who forgets where her house is when she leaves the grocery store? (That's not normal.)
I'm not a doctor, and I'm not clinically certified yet... but maybe I can shed some light on your questions. At the very least, I can give you a good idea of whether you need to go see a professional.
In other news, Briony and Sebastian's Enspelled was released back in March! The fourth book in the Crescent City Creatures series, Healed, is set to be released July 18th. Healed follows Aiyanna and Cael.
Yes, Cael did make that one particularly impossible to write. I'll reveal the cover soon!
What are you excited for this summer?
XO,
Sammie Stone
