Finding My Voice

Hi everyone! So I mentioned in my last post that I've been a bit ill recently, and to cut a long story short, I lost my voice for about 4/5 days last week! I have to say, having never been without my voice before, this was such a weird (if very frustrating) experience, which to me was rather like losing a limb, but I feel like I learnt a lot through this rather silent episode and especially as someone who's interested in linguistics and language!! So here are 5 things I've learnt about voice - appreciating it, using it wisely, and coping when you haven't got one!!

1. Your friends and family will very quickly see the funny side to it! I can't tell you the amount of times my mum's asked a question and had to stop herself and say 'oh you can't reply!' or 'tell me what's wrong? Oh dear I forgot you can't!' - don't worry, it was all in very good spirits and not to be taken to heart! If you don't know me well, you'll have had a lucky escape from my rather persistent speech (I could probably talk the hind legs off every animal in the farmyard, not just the donkey..) and so without it, there was a lot of humour to be found when I couldn't, for example, sing along (out of key..) to the songs on the radio, crack jokes or make my usual witty banterous comments! This provided much amusement to my family and friends!

2. Notepads are your saviour when you're voiceless - no joke, I carried a notepad and pen with me for the entirety of this week and had full blown 2 hour conversations in person with my friends (shoutout to Khushali and Hemali for bearing with me!) via the written word. I even had to write down my KFC and Nandos orders on paper because I couldn't explain them aloud.. Yes, shizz gets real when you need to non-verbally communicate that you'd like a wrap with halloumi and a mango quencher.. #notspon but I seriously want to thank everyone who was patient and understanding enough to stifle their giggles when I passed them notes! The guys at KFC were so sweet, I got a free bottle of water (which I didn't even ask for or initially accept) when I started coughing because they knew I'd lost my voice and was ill. Isn't that adorable??! Just goes to show that some people in this world are selfless and don't mind going the extra mile for others!

3. It's flipping frustrating! Now I only got to experience this feeling for a couple of days, but as someone who generally prides themself on being a linguist and fairly chatty, articulate person, losing my voice put me quite literally at a loss as to what to do with my day. I couldn't have heart to heart verbal phone calls with my friends at uni to see how they were settling in, or say hello, goodbye, please and thank you to waiters/bus drivers/cleaners which I usually do as an instinct. I felt so impolite and it made me sad to think that to these people, I looked like I didn't care. (Thankfully God always knows and I'm sure the good intention counts for something with Him ;)) Most interestingly of all, I'm a radio presenter at a local community station, and without stating (or miming) the obvious, I can't exactly present without a voice.. This meant I was restricted to behind the scenes producing that week (decided to go down nonetheless because radio is a big passion of mine, producing is fun and my team are so lovely!) - but to my surprise I found that even this was severely impaired by my lack of communication. Verbal communication is the fundamental basis of radio, even when you're producing (sorting out the show's order, talking to the presenters about what to say, planning ahead, briefing the team) - I was about a quarter as good a producer as I would have been with a voice, if not less. It's so hard to write notes to communicate your thoughts quick enough to keep up with a constantly buzzing show environment and when you can't raise your voice to get the team to listen, you lose authority! However I can't deny a really funny moment did arise from this - on my way home, fellow radio presenter Louis commented that the fact I could only whisper in his ear during a show freaked him out even more than if I was shouting!! This made my day as it must have been quite unnerving for him just hearing my whispered commands!

4. I never fully appreciated what I had in the first place with my voice. Deep moment, guys! It's so true that you don't know what you've got til it's gone *they paved paradise, and put up a parking lot* (if you got that reference you are very cool and I applaud you!) The use of my voice I missed most, other than general courtesies when out and about, was just having casual chats with my mum about what we're having for dinner, how my day was, exciting stories I had to tell.. It's those moments where having a voice matters most, not just when I'm presenting, or placing orders in a shop. Also it's infuriating when the phone rings and you have to contemplate whether to answer or not.. I mean it sounds rude if you answer and don't speak but is it worse not to answer at all..? For anyone reading this, I urge you to write now just speak to someone around you (I mean if you're on the tube this is best avoided.. I mean someone you know well!) about random life things, tell them how much they mean to you (again, strange bloke on the train = not the ideal target) and use your voice while you still have it! On a wider level, we are SO lucky to have freedom of speech and a democratic right to peaceful protest (something which sadly Spaniards don't have right now under new government laws :( ¡si alguien aquí habla español y quiere discutir este asunto conmigo, mándame un mensaje en el comentario!) so I urge you to go out and make the most of the fact that your opinion matters, and that you can change stuff, aided by a little (or maybe it's big.. I was never that good at Bio) voice box inside your throat! Your voice makes the difference between a country run solely by politicians and a country that you can help to change! Wow I sound like a politics speech writer.. (Shanita, that little pep talk was inspired by you for when you're PM and I'm your speech writer ;))

5. Actions speak louder than words (fed up reader: "oh for pete's sake stop with the cheesiness and the overly emotional idioms, Jenna" *slams laptop and runs away*) ok I'm sorry that I'm practically a mozzarella stick by now (yum!), but I can't count the number of times where a smile or a big hug (NOT the stranger on the train I assure you!) has transmitted my feelings more than a couple of words could. When I was catching up with an old friend, just being with her, her seeing my facial expressions and gestures, conveyed what I felt more than what I wrote in my notepad, and it's made me appreciate the power of non-verbal communication so much. In other news, I may even lean sign language one day.. watch this space!

So I hope this vaguely amused/informed some of you about my rather odd experience of life last week, and that you'll take something from it (perhaps it's just stranger danger.. Don't hug randomers on the tube: life advice!). Please understand that I in no way represent or aim to offend anyone with a permanent speech impairment or any form of disability (quite the opposite, I assure you) and this article is merely intended to entertain readers and provoke thought about the power of our opinions, voice and words! 

Sneak preview: my next post will be *drum roll* a top 10 under £10 makeup post! I love loads of drugstore / high street products so this is going to be such a fun one to write! See you then :) (unless you're a guy.. In which case, all the more reason to treat your mum/girlfriend/friend who's a girl/nan/ or even yourself!)