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One of the biggest frustrations I’ve had during this surgery process, besides the pain, is not being able to talk properly. Due to the swelling in my right tonsil, I cannot pronounce certain words correctly. It’s frustrating because it’s hard for people to understand me and then it makes me want to just give up on talking instead of repeating myself, causing pain in my throat. Some of my friends have tried to make me feel better about it by jokingly mocking the way I’m talking or just laughing at me to lighten the mood of the situation. But it hit me today that while it’s funny in a difficult situation, it seems like it’s all fun and games until you realize that someone with a disability actually talks like this permanently. That stings a little bit. The frustration that I’ve been feeling temporarily while my throat is still healing is a frustration that someone has to deal with daily. I’m going to be around quite a few people this weekend and I started to become hesitant about it because of the fact that my talking is still a little “off” right now. But after thinking about the fact that people have to go day to day talking this way, it made me realize that I too can go this weekend not talking the best. If someone wants to make fun of me or criticize me for the way I’m speaking, then that says more about them as a person than anything else. I will just have to accept the fact that I had surgery which resulted in my speech changing right now. Fortunately for me, my speech will go back to my normal and I won’t have to worry about it anymore, but not everyone is that lucky.