Running On Empty...No More

About a year and a half ago, I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy . It was not a fun experience at all. It took about 9 months for me to get my face back in its original position, but I was not 100% back to my former self. That didn't happen until yesterday morning. I've been a musician for as long as I can remember. I like to try lots of instruments but am only really good at one - playing the flute. It comes as naturally to me as breathing. When Bell's hit me, I lost control of the right side of my face; and with that loss, I could no longer play the flute. I could not control the muscles that allow me to hold my embouchure, the position of the lips, facial muscles, tongue, and teeth while playing a wind instrument. It took me years to perfect the position to get the most beautiful sound out of this instrument. Once I had it, my face just remembered it. I did not have to make any effort to hold this mouth position; until December of 2015, that is. I was devastated

I remember a math teacher who encouraged me because he saw something in me, a potential to problem solve like none of the other kids in my class. It was unusual at the time to have a girl who was better than a boy in mathematics, and I have to be honest - that alone was thrilling ! He made me believe in my own capabilities when I didn't even know that I had such capabilities. He believed me right into a math degree in college, where I was surrounded by all-male classmates and teachers. The struggle was real at times, and I recall encountering a teacher who made me feel very small, like my contributions were not worthy of his classroom. I was even told by another teacher that no females were able to succeed in his classroom, so I might as well consider dropping his class before it showed up on my transcript. What an arrogant ass he was. I'm happy to say that he is no longer teaching, but my confidence was quite bruised that semester when I flailed in class. I'm certain he wa