'I've always been the most unfocused kid'

I think it’s safe to say that most people don’t really like school. I mean, we are teenagers. We’d rather be at the lake, cruising around, hanging with friends; anything other than sitting in the same seat for countless hours. But add ADHD on top of that, and things can spiral out of control.

Schoolwork is hard, regardless of how much you try. There’s always going to be at least one challenging unit in the semester, or test, or even a quiz that’s really difficult. It’s inevitable!

For me, I had a lot of troubles focusing in school. Ever since I was young, I’ve always been the most energetic and unfocused kid in the class, maybe even in the school. My teachers all thought I had ADHD, but my mom was in denial. I don’t really know why she was…She always said that my teachers stereotyped me because I wasn’t a typical ‘passive girl,’ I was more like the boys in my class.

Either way, it became clear in high school that it was more than just energy. My grades were never spectacular, but they started really plummeting in grade 9. I failed all my classes, except the exams brought me up to no higher than a 60% in every class. It still is really hard for me to focus in class, with all of the thoughts racing through my head, and not being able to keep my eyes on the paper. My left knee constantly bounces as well. Hell, I’m even having a hard time focusing on writing this!

School has always been something I’m afraid of, or more or less intimidated by. I feel like an outcast because I barely skim the passing mark, yet I try so hard in school. My inability to focus really set me off track this year in particular; I just couldn’t focus on one thing. I had billions of things going through my head all at once, and it would be when I was in bed at 12:30 at night when I would remember the math formula to how to solve pythagorean theorem.

School also has its upsides, though. It allows you to meet new people and learn new things you never thought you would. I’m on medication now for my ADHD and it‘s really helped put my focus back on track. School is incredibly stressful, but in the end is highly rewarding.

Even though I have extra challenges, I still plan on going to university. Now that I’m being treated for my ADHD I feel confident that I can do it.