Me, School & ADHD

Looking at this video this morning Adult ADHD I don’t know how I came this far without picking up the signs that I have ADHD. All the signs were/are there all along. Well I guess I should have known something was different about me by the words I’ve heard all my life….you’re “special”, you’re lazy, you’re slow, you’re so clumsy, the joke went over your head, pay attention, you don’t focus, learn to follow thru, you never make the connection, do you remember…..on and on and on. I go straight to lala land when someone starts a sentence with do you remember, no I don’t. Unless it’s in writing or impacted me greatly I really don’t remember. Back to what I was saying….so the signs were all there but as studies show, it’s harder to pick it up in girls as it is to pick it up in boys. As for me, the only thing that bounces all over the place are my conversations and thoughts. My thinking is very scattered, it’s hard to focus and when I can finally focus 100% on something pleaseeeeeee do not disturb me. It takes me forever to get back to what I was doing and even longer to re-focus.

Growing up & School 

I was an average student, did what I had to do to pass the class. I hated reading. I loved math especially Algebra but English I got C’s and D’s (so don’t judge me on my writing skills or lack there of). There was no FCAT to hold me back but we did have the ACT and SAT which I did horrible in both. So you can imagine I graduated with a very low GPA, to low to go straight to a university. College was not an option, so I went to a community college to bring up my grades. Long story short, started college in 1992 went to 6 different schools….Broward Community, Barry University, University of Miami, University of South Florida, Miami Dade College and then FINALLY FIU. Oh, mind you, I changed majors 5 times, started with Pre-med, Finance, Accounting, Early Childhood then Psychology. By the time I reached FIU I had enough credits (120) to graduate with a BA but none of the credits were enough for one major. What I learned from this experience is having ADHD you MUST major in a subject you love NOT a subject that others feel would be a good career for you and NOT because of how much money you can make. In January 2010, I registered to major in Psychology at FIU. Here I am at the age of 35, very nervous because I know I don’t have a great memory and I didn’t feel that I was smart enough to complete it. I was determined to prove to myself and my kids that when you start something no matter how old you are you can finish it. In December 2011 I graduated with a BA in Psychology. No one understood how I was able to work full time, go to school full time and be a single mom of 3 (help of family, thank God) and finished school with a GPA of 3.5 :-). I have a special gift that even I didn’t realize at the time, it’s called Hyperfocus (I love it). Once a person with ADHD taps into something they love they will hyperfocus on it…. school, work, kids, relationships, video games, T.V., books..it’s whatever captures that persons focus. Yes, I love school, love doing homework and love Psychology. One can also hyperfocus on the wrong things so be careful and direct your focus on the positive things that will help you grow.

 next post-growing up and relationships…..