Talk To Me

It is amazing to me how much my life has been affected in the past 10 years by one little device, the iPhone.  I remember when I first made the leap to be the Apple product and how I was sure I would never rely on it as much as I had seen others around me.  After all, I went years without my own "cellular device" and really never enjoyed talking on the phone all that much. I thought my friends needed phones because they had spouses and children who needed to be in touch with them.  It just didn't seem like a necessity for me to carry around a phone.  I knew that there were other things you could do with an iPhone but never thought they would catch my attention.  Well, I was quite wrong.  From streaming music to reading books on the go to driving confidently to new places (thanks to Mapquest), I have not only relied on my iPhone but have, at times, been obsessed with using it.  Texting has become a favored way of communicating with friends and family near and far (have I mentioned how much I hate talking on the phone?),  and waiting for appointments is no longer an act of frustration for me.  Yes, the iPhone has become an essential part of my daily routine.

Recently, I discovered a new hidden jewel in this treasure trove of communication aides: streaming recorded books.  My preferred app of choice is the audible.com one which is associated with amazon.com.  Every month I receive 3 credits to purchase a new audible recording for a very reasonable price.  I first joined this service because I wanted to hear a BBC radio play called "Neverwhere" which is based on a book written by Neil Gaiman.  This recording had some of my favorite actors reading the parts.  I found out it was being offered through this service so I decided to join for a month and see if there were any other books/recordings I would be interested in. It was an Anglophile's dream! I've been able to hear poetry read by my favorite British  actor, Benedict Cumberbatch and learn about the tumultuous life of another favorite, Alan Cumming. Alan's memoir, Not My Father's Son, actually became my "reward" for exercising.  I would only allow myself to listen to his lilting Scottish accent telling me all about his dynamic life while walking the lap track at the YMCA. My purchases on this site seem to be split between "celebrity" readers (Amy Pohler, Steve Harvey) and my usual go-to genre, nonfiction.  And within the nonfiction genre by far the greatest number of titles read/heard are of the "self improvement" variety.  

 When I was hired to teach in Troy, I discovered that by hooking up my iPhone to my car stereo I could listen to my books and avoid all the nonsense of morning radio which I used to numbly listen to as I drove in the darkness of 6:15 most mornings.  As my time in Troy passed, I realized that  every so often I could use the mini "pep talks" that my favorite motivational authors like Joel Osteen would provide in their recordings.  Unfortunately,  my stress level got to the point in Troy that I needed these little pep talks more mornings than not.  In my effort to remain positive in a rather repressive environment, I discovered new authors who became my virtual mentors.  Authors like Brene Brown and Marshall Goldsmith became my own personal cheerleaders who serendipitously  seemed to dole out just the right words that I needed to get me through another day.  I don't believe in coincidences, and more than once I was amazed about how much better I felt after listening to these authors even though their topics seemingly had little to do with my career or my personal life.  In fact, Brene Brown's book Rising Strong was instrumental in my ability to leave Troy mid-school year in order to go after my dream of returning to teaching primary students.  Brown's words also helped me get through the uncomfortable span of time between my giving notice and last day of work.  Every morning as I would get out of my car in the school parking lot, it felt like Brene had my back.

Flash forward to my current situation.  I have completed one week at my new position in another inner city school district.  The class I have has experienced some turbulent changes that have left them a bit unruly although I did see progress daily.  I am thrilled to be starting over in a new district in a school where I have been made to feel so welcome.  And while I'm still listening to my "future-looking" authors, I have to say I am pretty content to just focus on the here and now.  I'm searching for my new audio mentors to help keep me full of gratitude and patience as I live out my dream. Hopefully, by writing this blog entry I will encourage someone else to take another look at their "cellular device", not to shut out reality but to get some inspiration from it like I did.  Yeah, I never did like talking on the phone...but I love listening to it.