That Deaf Dental Hygienist…

Ya’ll must be thinking, “how many careers can she possibly have?”

Guess what buttheads! Sky’s the limit! And I can’t believe I said ya’ll. I must be a virginian now. Yay?

In high school and early 20s, I would catch myself watching ER or grey’s anatomy. My mom and her coworkers are Registered Nurses. I admire them so much. I hear them complain so much about their job, it’s a love/hate relationship that they have. Seriously, they have so much balls to get on their scrubs, march into work in bad weather and deal with guts, poop, and blood. Kudos to you guys. But inside I always knew this was something I couldn’t do. A large hospital with a large staff and everyone wearing masks? Hahaha. You all know I read lips right? (Blows raspsberry)

Then I remembered how much I loved having a relationship with my clients in a massage therapy setting and realized I could do this but in a different career. So I applied to Dental Hygiene school. Twice.

What the hell was I thinking? It was the hardest program to get into and I legit couldn’t believe it from my first rejection letter. Their program requirement was ridiculous. At first, it used to be 5-7 years experience of dental assisting. Like what? hello? Do people not know how hard it is to get a job like that with NO EXPERIENCE behind you? I was new in the area and knew no one in the field. Like thanks a lot guys. Self esteem level down.

All the adversity I had to go through (it will be discussed on “That Deaf Student…” blog coming out soon) to finish to the program made it all worth it. This was sweat, blood and tears day in and day out. 3 hour round trip to go to class, home at the late hours of the night, studying til you fall asleep, do it again the next day. Working over the weekend to supplement some bills. My skin was harsh and had bags under my eyes constantly that people wondered if I was sick. My brain was mush that I could barely remember what was taught the day before. I always wondered if this was the right career choice for me because I always receive praise for my work as a Massage Therapist.

Today, I work in a cute office in Leeburg. I’m constantly striving to find my place within the office and their patients. Adversity or not. There’s always challenges. There’s always a change in the dentistry world that makes you stay on top of your toes.

You’re always in a better position if you’ve been thoughtful as to why you want something different. You’re looking towards another career than running away from your current one. You always have to be prepared to start from the bottom. Again. Don’t be afraid of change.