I am seventeen years old; I am a junior in highschool; and I have ADD. For a while I was embarrassed to say the last part because I thought it meant you were crazy or stupid. I know I’m not stupid, in fact I think on a higher level than most people. However, the problem is that I just can’t seem to get anything done. My mom thinks I’m lazy or just don’t care, but that’s far from the truth. I just get distracted easily. It’s not that I don’t want to get anything done, it’s just hard for me to focus.
I was diagnosed with ADD as a child. I’ve been on practically every medication known to man at some point in time. The medication sometimes helps, but it’s still hard. My mom just doesn’t understand and trying to explain it to people does no good. The people I try to explain it to just look at me like I’m speaking in tongue or something.
I’m such a procrastinator. I lose track of time all the time. It’s hard for me to get the simpliest things done; I lose things and forget what I was looking for in the first place; and I’m scared to death about what it’s going to be like on my own if I can’t even get simple tasks done.
I don’t know what I’m going to do because college is just around the corner. My grades aren’t exactly going to get me into Princeton or Yale, but I know I’m not dumb. I can carry on conversations with just about anyone and can understand a lot of philosophical questions. The only problem is actually sitting down and studying. It’s extremely hard for me to do that.
I have been promising myself to clean my room for months now. I just haven’t gotten around to doing it. I just don’t understand how something so mundane can be so complicated to me. Everyday I get up and wonder if I’m going to be able to get things done that day. I’m tired of this being such a struggle for me. This is my Achilles heel.
I love being creative and thinking outside the box, I love looking at the world with extreme hope and understanding, and I love being good at art. The only things I don’t love are all the disadvantages that go along with ADD.
My mom is more of a realist, but I am a hardcore dreamer. I believe that you can do anything you put your mind to as long as you work hard enough. The only problem is my mind is so clouded that it’s hard to see the ultimate goal that I’m working towards. It’s like I’m Dorthy in the Wizard of Oz, trying to find the emerald city but not being able to see the yellow brick road in order to follow it.
I just hope that a parent of a child with ADD is reading this and knows that their child isn’t stupid, or lazy, or just doesn’t care. That isn’t the case. It is a struggle that they’re going to have to deal with everyday. Encourage them. Let them know that they can do it, because they can.