I have been diagnosed with ADD for several years now. I don’t like sharing because I think people won’t believe me and make fun of me for “making it up,” and I am ashamed that I have it.
It truly is A Debilitating Disorder. I can never stay focused for more than 5 minutes without needing a reminder. My mind wanders constantly thinking about any and every topic under the sun. I space out constantly because I am thinking so hard. I get made fun of for looking like a stoner when it’s really because of my ADD. My grades always seem to fail regardless of how hard I try. The classes that I do the worst on are the classes that I can’t turn work in late. My grade suffers because teachers put a limit to punish the people that procrastinate, but I do not procrastinate by choice. I do all that I can to get things done. It never is enough; the classes that I am best at are the classes with little to no homework because the setting of school constantly reminds me of what I have to do. I have tried writing in my planner, but it didn’t make a difference because even if I put it right in front of me I might not notice it.
I still believe that I have a choice to have ADD or not. I can take drugs or I can simply surround myself with reminders, but that hasn’t been proven yet. Those actions merely lessen the effects of my ADD. I fail to see why I am held to the same standard as every one else; if it’s because I am smart enough to keep up with average students at my age then I am going to fight that every chance I get. It is unfair because even compared to the average person I cannot stick with things as long as they do; I can keep coming back to it though. I will never stay with it consecutively though.
