They cut all four of my wisdom teeth out of my mouth last week. My jaw hurts. But worse, it turns out that I am one of the special ones who is gifted with indefinite numbness. The technical term is Paresthesia, and it means my nerves have been damaged. It’s neurological, so apparently I appear normal, despite the fact that my bottom lip feels about four inches thick and I cannot feel my chin at all. They say it could last eight months, or even longer, and I will need to be seen regularly by a doctor until it resolves. How did I get so lucky?!
It actually is an opportunity to check my privilege. I have healthcare. I have teeth. I have pain meds. I get to work from home and avoid public drooling. This could definitely be worse.
This experience has gotten me thinking about all the reasons why people choose to work from home. Surely, there are barriers greater than a numb mouth. I spent nearly the entire three years of my online graduate school program defending online education. It became my mission to convince others of the validity of my education — defending my decision to conduct myself from behind a screen, to avoid hours of commuting to campus, to attend office hours via Google Hangout. I passionately advocated for the quality of instruction and engagement with my peers, and to dispel the judgement that it was merely an easy way out.
Online education and working remotely have evolved with our technological advances, and they deserve a new reputation. These are not workarounds that have the ability to be just as good — they are innovations that offer superior outcomes! Eliminating travel time, streamlining content, and effectively utilizing communication is not a shortcut — it is advancement. As I enter a new professional field with a fresh degree and imagine my niche in the world, I am focusing on ways to utilize the digital tools at my fingertips in order to reach a broader base. How can this misunderstood alcove of working from a computer reinvent itself in our contemporary society as a solution for deepening our interconnectedness?
As I embrace the chaos of my imagination and think about how realistic each of my digitally-based entrepreneurial ideas might be, I always circle back to the curiosity of who they are that I am so passionately wishing to reach. The single mom without child care support, the person with a disability who cannot leave their home without assistance, the post-op patient who fears drooling in public…. I am grateful for my privilege. I am grateful to be in a position of creating something noble that can promote inclusivity. I am grateful for my daughter’s humor, as she reminds me that now would be a good time for a lip piercing.
Jenny Simone Beaudoin believes that words matter. She found Maya Angelou before hitting puberty, and got into journalism when copy was still run through a waxing machine. With a Bachelor’s in Communication and a Master’s in Social Work, Jenny hopes to use her super powers to make the world a little better. And, more importantly, she hopes to help her daughters discover their super powers.
