{"id":21430,"date":"2014-09-23T14:14:54","date_gmt":"2014-09-23T18:14:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=21430"},"modified":"2014-09-23T16:00:12","modified_gmt":"2014-09-23T20:00:12","slug":"hi-my-names-sarah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2014\/09\/23\/hi-my-names-sarah\/","title":{"rendered":"Hi, My Name’s Sarah"},"content":{"rendered":"\"the<\/a>Hi U of T! For my first post as the Arts & Science blogger, I wanted to introduce myself to my fellow students. But then it occurs to me how downright uncomfortable introductions to my own peers can be \u2014 especially online, which by nature, is a rather detached way to communicate.\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s not ALL personal introductions I have difficulty with. I can go to a networking event in a room full of professionals (and strangers) and generally hold my own. I participate in class if I have something I think is worth saying. By nature of my disability, introducing myself to instructors and teaching assistants is a must \u2014 it\u2019s my own peer group I have trouble with.\r\n\r\nHere\u2019s the thing: I don\u2019t consider blindness a hindrance on a day-to-day basis: it can be an inconvenience at times, but it\u2019s only one part of who I am. In the case of introducing myself to peers however, I feel it definitely holds me back.\r\n\r\nHow will I know, for instance, if the person I want to speak with (say, beside me in class, or in my residence common room) isn\u2019t otherwise occupied? Perhaps they\u2019re reading and haven\u2019t turned a page yet, thereby giving an audible clue? Perhaps they\u2019re on their phone or have earbuds in? Perhaps they\u2019re looking the other way, or have smiled or given some other visual acknowledgement of my presence and further attempts to engage in conversation might be considered pushy or \u201ctrying too hard\u201d?\r\n\r\nPerhaps I have met them several times before but haven\u2019t memorized their voice yet, so reintroducing myself would be incredibly awkward for all involved? (In a perfect world I\u2019d ask them to identify themselves from the moment they said hi, but I still don\u2019t know how to do that without feeling embarrassed). What if someone else joins us: how can they be brought into the conversation and introduced to everyone present without being weird? Worst of all, perhaps someone in a group\u2019s gotten up and moved away, leaving me to talk to thin air? I have a bit of vision, but not enough to always know whether the dark blob that was a human near me a second ago is still there.\r\n\r\nOf course, all of these concerns could happen with instructors, teaching assistants, or members of a professional networking event, too. But there\u2019s something about these groups that makes me feel less judged than by students, a perception I can\u2019t quite explain.\r\n\r\nPerhaps it\u2019s the notion that those \u201cadults\u201d\u00a0\u2013 who may indeed not be much different in age than myself \u2013 will be less intimidated by a blind person and therefore more willing to talk to me. My lack of vision limits conversation topics, but in more professional situations this isn\u2019t usually a problem. With students, however, since I can\u2019t talk to someone about a picture on our phones, any clothing or accessory they have, or anything at all on Snapchat or Instagram, I feel awkward and behind the times. My conversation topics can be a bit more personal \u2013 a person\u2019s program of study, the courses they\u2019re taking and what they think of them, their commute, their interests, even their future aspirations. I understand this can be off-putting to some, and I fear I sound like some weird hybrid of a person\u2019s mom, grandmother and social worker.\r\n\r\nIt is therefore with a great deal of hesitation that I seek out peers to meet. I\u2019m not unfriendly \u2013 on the contrary I think I\u2019m quite the opposite \u2013 but I usually let people come to me. Sure, I\u2019ll say hi to classmates and neighbours, but I\u2019ll hesitate to really get to know them. I let my fear they\u2019ll think I\u2019m \"too much\" rule my desire to make new friends and have company.\r\n\r\nSo, dearest U of T students and friends, I say hello to you now in writing, and will work harder to do it more in person. Maybe we\u2019ll be friends, or study buddies, or maybe just see each other in class and leave it at that. Just do me one favour, okay? Identify yourself when you see me: \u201cHi Sarah, it\u2019s Fred\u201d gets you instant blind street cred; \u201cHi Sarah\u201d alone (unless I really know you) doesn\u2019t do much for me.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? Do you hesitate to meet new people? Or are you one of those master communicators who can talk to anyone? Let me know in the comments.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\nHi U of T! For my first post as the Arts & Science blogger, I wanted to introduce myself to my fellow students. But then it occurs to me how downright uncomfortable introductions to my own peers can be \u2014…\n<\/div>
Continue reading “Hi, My Name’s Sarah”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>
Continue reading “Hi, My Name’s Sarah”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":248,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59,1,66],"tags":[153,152,1725,286,1837],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21430"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/248"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21430"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21446,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21430\/revisions\/21446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}