Carried by the travelling wave
Magda Cernea – psychologist / audiologist / drama therapist
Hey! Hello! Do you remember what was written on the note hanging on my doorknob since we stopped talking?… It said, “Don’t disturb me!” and I see you’ve taken it seriously! Come on! Come on! I was just kidding! I really want you to “bother” me with questions! I can’t wait to give you an answer and I’ll be sooo happy to do it! Since then I’ve become a hero in a story, carried by my travelling wave. It’s no joke, even if it looks like a figure of speech! I’m telling you honestly that’s exactly how I’ve felt and I still feel because I hope that the WaveforMe story will continue and be told for a long time from now on!…
If I had been able to choose, I would have attended all 3 online workshops proposed by the coordination team, because they all seemed interesting, but you know…. I’ve already told you… I was very upset! My school timetable only allowed me to attend one- the “Public speaking” one, which was a-ma-zing! I’ve never attended anything like this before and I’ve never felt more creative and confident than here! The workshop was full of: fun, effervescence, creativity, good mood, freedom, collaboration and trust! It was very cool!
I got a challenge for each workshop. What? Don’t you know what a challenge is?! It’s like homework, but the difference between homework and a challenge is that homework feels like a chore, while a challenge is something you look forward to and can’t wait to complete. Oh, it would be so good to be the same at school, or at least a bit similar!
Do you know what?… I don’t know if I can ever get to speak in public even though I’d like to, but I’m confident that I can do it anytime! I understood that nothing can stop me if I really want something. I understood that I’m not lonely and that I can always turn my disability into a skill that the others could appreciate. I’ve learned that I’m valuable, intelligent and that my creative input can be helpful at any point in my life because I have all the resources and skills I need.
I’m usually more reclusive…however, as strange as it may sound, I really want to belong to a group, but when it happens, I feel embarrassed, courageless, clumsy, and somewhat inappropriate. The presence of the others makes me feel uncomfortable and I feel like running and hiding. That’s why I don’t really have many friends because I’m afraid to make them. I know! You’ll say that I contradict myself and you’re right! I really hate this ambivalence of mine, but I’ve decided to change something in this regard! Guess who I’m meeting tonight!… Ha! I won’t tell you because I want to keep talking about the WaveforMe experience!
As I wasn’t able to attend all 3 workshops, I tried to find out what was going on there through online means and information. As an enthusiastic and skillful follower, I got on my travelling wave and hung around all the project events like a drone.
Thus I found out that the young percussionists learned to play the glass, bottles and using a lot of objects and containers which, at first sight, looked strange : cans, medicine boxes, sticks, wooden spoons, metal knives and forks, balloons and many others. I was really amazed when I saw what they were doing!
They were so funny when they played them together and the group’s fun was at its highest level every time! You should have seen them using their lips, palms and cheeks and improvising strange sounds produced only by their bodies! I found out that this is called “beatbox”. Oh, I would have liked it too! After watching them, I tried to do the same but my mother was scared, she came from the next room and disrupted me, thinking that the furniture had started to crack. We laughed together when she saw what I was doing.
In the 3rd workshop, the art workshop, the atmosphere was very peaceful, leaving room for creativity, talent and inspiration. They were all very focused and passionate about what they were guided to do. They made stencils, they used collage, wallpaper canvas on which they painted, they used elements from nature: leaves, shells, stones, straw, cones, dried flowers and many others. When you’re watching them working, you felt like in a temple where you had to make yourself invisible so as not to disturb the act of creation in any way. I “stole” many ideas from here. I’ll tell you immediately what I did with them. I’ve already told you that one of my passions is painting! So, I used the ideas in my paintings and I sent one of them to the WaveforMe team who selected it, and now it is exhibited in the virtual gallery that you can also watch right here, if you want: https://waveforme.org/galeria-virtuala-de-arta/
It is an unique art gallery in the world, designed especially for hearing impaired young people with cochlear implants or hearing aids.
I am so proud! And so are my parents! Do you get it? Having my work in an international exhibition that anyone can watch, no matter where they are in the world? I feel exactly like a real hero with magical powers, being able to change the world! I have access to a new perspective, that of a winner and not of a victim! The revelation I had means a lot to me and I think it will be decisive for my future!
And I haven’t told you everything yet! My work, like the ones of the other young participants from Romania and abroad, travelled to emblematic areas of the country: Iași, Sibiu, Timișoara and Bucharest, where it was viewed and admired by dozens and hundreds of people in a highly appreciated exhibition. Every day I was breathlessly watching the itinerary. The big surprise is that at this moment its copy is lying on the wall of a virtual friend, of my age, who chose it over all the others and who sent me the following message: “What I see is part of me. Do you want us to be friends?” I had tears of joy and sweaty palms. How would you have reacted if you were me?… I felt like the most precious person in the world! I know for sure that I’m not a true artist but what I’ve created represents what I feel, what I live, what I think and my imagination was unlimited throughout this creation process!
And even if I’m not already a true artist, I believe I can become one. I am sure of this! Following the special section of the WaveforMe podcasts very carefully, I found out about the experiences of other charismatic young people from Romania and abroad, who managed to achieve exceptional things in various artistic fields. I’ve been very inspired by these youngsters and their impressive life stories and I can say that I’m seriously thinking about applying at least some of their tricks and secrets in order to succeed.
Oh! I could talk to you for a whole day and even more, but… as there is always a BUT…
Now I have to go, because guess what is waiting for me! Holiday homework…Actually, I will surprise you! I’ll happily ignore them and get on with my new artwork instead and then go out to the park with my new friend…the virtual one I’ve told you about and whom I’ll meet for the first time today! Bye-Bye! Don’t disturb me!… but, this time, don’t take it so seriously!