Soft Whale Noises

Julia. 21. UNH Music Ed 2019.   Bassoon/Contrabassoon/Baroque bassoon

[baroquen-reed]

lol I forgot about tumblr but here’s a quick scoop: I turned 21 and also transferred colleges but i’m still a music major and wow life is better

[baroquen-reed]

ayy sup

[setheverman]

my dishwasher is giving me electric shocks everytime i touch it and i have a feeling that this is Not Great

[homosexualtictacs]

[fuck-customers]

The Devil went down to Georgia. He was lookin’ for a soul to steal. He was in a bind ‘cause he was way behind. He was willing to make a deal When he came across this young woman scannin’ an item and playin’ it hot. And the Devil jumped upon the conveyor belt and said “Hon, let me tell you what!” “Sir, the conveyor belt is for items only, please get down NOW.”

[baroquen-reed]

Oh hey Tumblr

[baroquen-reed]

i hate when people make “i wanna die” jokes because it’s not funny when it’s actually true.

[vintar]

i used to get self-conscious over the smallest things but friends let me tell you that today i had to smuggle a furious 8ft python onto the bus during the school rush and not a single person noticed. not one. if people don’t care enough to notice a shopping bag writhing and seething with barely-contained reptilian hatred then i promise you that no-one will pay any attention to that blemish you’re fretting about or how you’ve done your hair

[fidefortitude-deactivated202011]

this is extremely concerning and also very reassuring, thank you and please stop bringing pythons onto public transportation 

[baroquen-reed]

.

[distinguishedbaloney]

[mugicha1]

how my semester is going

[charlesoberonn]

“Describe your music taste”

[tahthetrickster]

who wants to see the worst thing ive seen this week

[tahthetrickster]

too bad, im showing you anyway

[meqabitch-deactivated20200901]

[baroquen-reed]

sorry i’m never on here anymore but i’m just vastly less interested than i was before

[asterkid-deactivated20150106]

accidentally stuttering while saying your snarky comeback

[juelzsantanabandana]

You're a med student? You can barely type English 😕

my internet persona, vernacular, and typing style that I use on here for fun has no direct correlation to my academics nor my ability to rehabilitate patients u bitch 

[sonoanthony]

I'ma keep reblogging this.

[crvwly]

my latest work of art

[chronicallypainful]

Why Academic Accommodations Are Important (Even When They Aren't Perfect)

Let me tell you a story.

About five years ago, when I was in an earlier stage of developing my disability (and before that condition was diagnosed), I took a math test. The physical act of writing was a painful for me, and I had no academic accommodations to help me complete the exam. For the first couple questions, I did okay. Writing hurt, but I was able to focus my brain on the math in front of me. By the time I got to the middle of the test, though, the pain was starting to break through my focus. I made many little mistakes, but I couldn’t focus well enough to find them. I knew my answers were wrong, but I couldn’t process mathematics over the screaming cacophony of my pain. By the end of the exam, it felt like someone was twisting a knife inside of my wrist while simultaneously stabbing me with a fork in the elbow. I could not think. I could not reason. I could barely contain my tears. I turned in an incomplete exam, and I started sobbing as soon as I got out of the classroom.  I failed the exam.

Just a few months ago, I took another exam. This exam was much longer and much more important. It was scheduled to last nine hours across two days, and I absolutely had to pass it in order to progress in my PhD program. And there was one other important difference: this time, I had academic accommodations. I was registered with disability services, and I had had extensive discussions with my program director to negotiate appropriate accommodations for this crucial exam. I received twice as much time to work on the exam, and I was allowed to take four days instead of two to complete it. I had unlimited rest breaks and a physically comfortable workspace, including a mat where I could lie down during my breaks. I also had assistive technology. I “wrote” all of my answers by speaking to a computer.

The exam was still exhausting. At the end of it, I still wanted to collapse in bed for an indeterminate amount of time. And I did make a couple of errors near the end of the exam that I would not have made in a well-rested and pain-minimal state. I also know that I was still somewhat limited by my restricted ability to do hand computations (due to hand and arm pain made much worse by repetitive fine motor activities). So, no, the accommodations were not perfect. They did not remove my disability or put me on “a level playing field” with my abled peers. But that does not negate their importance. This exam went much better than predecessor. This time, I was actually able to demonstrate my mastery of mathematics. This time, I passed.

Just as important: this time I didn’t leave the room almost sobbing. I didn’t return to my bedroom afterwords and cry for hours while clutching an ice pack to my wrist. I didn’t spend weeks afterwards questioning whether I could succeed in math. I didn’t spend those weeks hating my body for failing me. With accommodations, I am a successful graduate student. Without them, I would not have been able to finish my undergraduate program.