Heartsong Interpreting

Putting The Heart Into Interpreting

Kyla Wilkenfeld

Mindful organization…. or is it organizing your mind?

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I didn’t realize the connection of my physical environment and my mental organization until much later in life. When things get crazy in my head, the things surrounding me start to pile up and get crazy. When the laundry piles up,I find that the unanswered emails have doubled overnight. Basically my messy mind becomes my messy world.Sometimes, things get so over whelming that I feel like Alice in the court room with the Queen of Hearts and the cards flying around. That is how I know it is time to take a step back no matter how busy or overwhelmed I feel. It is in that moment, I try to take small steps to reach out and physically touch the mess.

I am slowly learning to make myself a priority. Self care is a thing and yes we have talked about that before. The self care I am talking about is actually cleaning up the physical messes around me. Folding the laundry and putting it away makes room in my mind for the list of clients I need to contact. Putting up the gifts into the gift closet (yes it is a thing in my world) reminds me of the contracts I need to send thank yous to. Getting the floor vacuumed makes it super easy to put all of my tasks in a check list.

Today was one of those days. I folded, organized, made the bed (yup sometimes I don’t, I’m human), and vacuumed. Once all of that was done, I created forms for collecting Data, answered emails to prospective clients AND employees, and began writing out proposals. I made room for upward movement by clearing out the stuff physically laying in my way.

What do you do to give yourself the forward momentum you need? Is there something that blocks you in that movement?

 

The Hard Stuff

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Recently I have been sitting back and looking at who I am as an Interpreter and what I want my business to look like. These are super hard questions. Like really who the heck are we anyway? I exist in a world with two perspectives simultaneously existing in one world. I have access to both worlds via language and connections.

So therefor HOW do I define myself within these communities. I am a hearing Interpreter providing access to communication. I am hearing and yet, I have access to a whole world with a different and distinct culture, language, rules, and pleasantries.

I want to be the invisible interpreter. I want my work to be so seamless that I am not seen. I want to emote as the consumers emote, stutter or yell like they do, keep pace and mannerisms as close to the source as possible.

I want my business to reflect the CPC put forth by RID. I want to work with Interpreters who cherish the work we do, respect the consumers that use our services, and work hard to provide their best every day. I want Heartsong Interpreting to develop trust within the Deaf community, and a reputation to stand on in the hearing communities. Heartsong Interpreting will always have a soulful connection to Performance interpreting. Our interpreters strive to provide equal access to all of the music, plays, conferences, or festivals. I want Heartsong Interpreting to be a safe place for Interpreters to come, discuss ways to improve and eliminate or navigate the frustrations of the profession. Maybe most important, I want Heartsong Interpreting to be a place for continued education specifically connected to performance Interpreting. I want to provide mentoring and shadowing opportunities to the up and coming interpreters in the hopes that they have a strong base on which to grow.

Now it is time for us to grow, learn, reach out and keep moving forward.

Keep your hands up and your heart open.

Kyla

And now, you

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                love yourself.jpg

So many people throw around the phrase “self Care”. Really, what does it look like? Once I stop working and giving to others, what the heck do i do next?

This is a journey I am still in the young stages of. I am GREAT at helping others decompress. I know how to support my team, family, really anyone who needs me. Supporting me, thats the hard part.

Here is a list of the things that allow me to take a break to breathe.

  1.  Audible
    1. I listen to Audible books on my drives. They allow me to focus more on the books than the traffic and drivers.
  2. Coloring Books
    1. Seriously, coloring books are Awesome. There is NOTHING connected to work. They give your mind something to focus on and the colors recenter your world. How can anyone be stressed when coloring a page of their favorite things?
  3. Disneyland
    1. Yup, I am “one of those”. Disney is truly my happy place. i love strolling through the park at my leisure.  The cast works hard to make everything pretty and pleasant. Its a nice stay-cation for a couple of hours.
  4. Shhhh…..
    1. Online shopping. Retail therapy is a thing!
  5. My Kitties
    1. My babies make my world so much better. They know when I need a snuggle. How can I be upset with a warm, fuzzy, purring, pile of mushy love in my lap?
  6. Checking in with my friends
    1. I know this is about self care, honestly having the right person to be your “safe harbor” to vent to, share, and talk smack with makes everything better (and usually more fun).

Tell me what You do to decompress. I always need more ideas!

Flashback!

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flashback.jpg

I can’t give you the cool wavy focus you get in TV shows. I CAN offer you a glimpse of a turning point!

“So, Wha ha happen was”…..(All the best stories start that way you know) I was in my second semester of the Interpreter training. I  was one of two black students in my class. I was carrying a solid B in my assignments and had received no negative feedback (that I knew of) from classmates, mentors, or clients. The program required a one-on-one with the instructor at the end of each semester. I scheduled mine and was actually looking forward to it. I was looking forward to telling the instructor of the upcoming NAOBI (National Association of Black interpreters) for which I was going to be a student volunteer.

I walked into the classroom and the instructor went over my assignments letting me know where I could improve and what to look forward to in the next year. It was then that the meeting to an interesting turn.

“There is one thing I want to talk to you about. You sign……” I sat nervously waiting for her to locate the word to describe my sign style, “You sign very culturally black.”

I am going to pause here to mention that while yes I am a black woman, I was also raised by Caucasian parents and have been told I am the whitest black girl around.

“I am concerned that if you keep signing this way, you may not be successful.”

I was seriously thrown for a loop. What does signing Black even look like? I was devastated! This was something I was immersed in. I want to be an interpreter and I was being told I will not be successful because I was to “black” of a signer.

I decided to honor my commitment to volunteer for the conference. Off I flew to the conference. When I arrived to the hotel and walked through the door, I saw BLACK interpreters everywhere. They were skilled educated and amazing. I was given a mentor, given a song to study, and for the first time, i felt like I belonged and could be successful.

If I had not gone to the conference, I would not be an interpreter. I had decided I would not be continuing in the program. The comment about my signing being “Black” was both incorrect and inconsiderate. NAOBI offered me an introduction to musical interpreting, the ability to see myself in the people around me, and the ability to see success in my future.

Often times people say horrible things thinking they are being helpful. YOU are the only person who can decide the direction of your dream. Do not let ANYONE tell you that you are “Too” anything. You are you and you are AWESOME!

Pah!

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Kyla Pah.jpg

Pah – is the sound and mouth morpheme(movement) that goes with the ASL sign meaning Success.

This picture is by far one of my favorites. I remembered it was captured while interpreting for a celebration of life. There were many speakers, music, poems, and readings. Everything was beautiful. This picture caught the moment I was interpreting  moment in an emotional song full of love and hope. Often, when interpreting, the pictures captured of the work does not have any pictures without a funny face or “terp face”.  This picture captures the emotion of the song, It also captures how I feel when interpreting music. I was in a grove, feeling the rhythm and connecting with the consumer, the song, and the widow.

Share a picture you feel shows your connection with your Heartsong. What makes your heart sing?