1. Learning the IPA alphabet is like learning a second language
2. Speaking of phonetics, you can't study it in the library without people glaring at you
3. You aren't 100 percent sure why you need to learn about spectrograms, or what exactly they are
4. Each time you hear someone speak, you are secretly looking out for speech or language disorders they may have
5. No one has any idea what a speech pathologist does, and if they think they do they are usually wrong
No I am not studying to be a speech coach or a drama teacher, that doesn't make any sense.
6. Each time you get a sore throat you are paralyzed with fear
It could be laryngitis, vocal fold thickening, vocal polyps, contact ulcers, or vocal nodules! Good thing you know how to treat them...
7. When people think that speech, language, and communication are the same thing
They are so wrong its not even funny.
8. Your guilty pleasure movie is "The King's Speech"
9. Thinking about grad school fills you with all kinds of emotions
From excitement about finally having your own patients and learning how to help people, to paralyzing fear about actually getting into the program you want (seriously though, what is with the low acceptance rates?).
10. You know like four things about the brain and you feel like you're Derek Shepherd
I know the basics of a TBI and where the Wernicke's and Broca's Area in the brain are located. Doesn't that make me a brain surgeon?
11. You spend your spare time looking up speech pathology memes
Some of them are gold.
12. When you talk about why you want to be a speech therapist, you start to get emotional
It's something about the idea of truly making a difference in someone's life that makes you really emotional.