Voice

I know my cold is getting better, because now I am hoarse. Barely able to speak above a whisper. It almost always happens when I get a cold, that toward the end of the illness, I lose my voice. Isn't it funny how I refer to it as losing my voice?

The other day a friend used a phrase in an email, and I knew immediately it came from Alexander Pope. I knew that, because I know how he sounds. Although obviously I have never heard Pope's voice. It just sounded like him.

At work I make intercom announcements, and I try to be pleasant. I don't want the sound that hits people's ears to be annoying or shrill. A customer remarked that I should do voice overs. I am often told that I have a nice voice. When I call someone on the phone, I always identify myself. A pet peeve of mine is when someone calls me and if there is no caller ID, he doesn't identify himself and I am supposed to guess who it is. So I try not to be that person. A big part of my day at work is communicating with my managers on their portable phones. I always start off by saying, "Hi. It's Susan." One of them commented the other day that I always do that, but I never need to. "No one sounds like you," she said.

No one sounds like me. And no one sounds like you, either. Each of us is unique, with his own special voice. One of my old default positions in life was to just shut up when I felt I was not being heard. I was very good at being quiet, of not having a voice.

One of my intentions for the new year is to use my voice more. Last year I began asking for what I needed or wanted, with great results. This New Year's Day, when I have lost my voice, my intention is to make my voice heard. In a positive way. For good.

What about you? I hope you have not lost your voice, because we need to hear what you have to say.

Happy 2013.

Susan