The Reason for my Difficulty

I opened my locker to gather my books to go home. Behind me I could hear people whispering. I knew exactly what they were saying.

I looked inside my locker, the center of attention. Papers strewn everywhere and books smashed in corners. I grab what I need and close my locker as soon as possible.

I sit on the sidewalk after school to wait for my mom. My sister comes and sits next to me while we wait. Linda walks by, with her usual smirk.

"Chloe, why is it that your sister manages to be neat like everyone else, but you can't even keep your books from being destroyed in the mess?"

My sister stands up and argues with her. My mind starts to drift. I start to think of ways to be more neat. I could get a shelf or a trash can or maybe even-

I come back from the clouds when I hear my mother yelling at me to get in the car. I jump in and we drive off.

I begin to tell my mother about my day. As we drive, I see a large bird. I point it out and think if the kind of bird it could be. Maybe a hawk? It couldn't be a crane, the legs weren't long enough.

"Chloe? Are you going to finish your story?"

I could not remember what I had told her. I finished what she repeated back to me and we arrived home.

Immediately I began on homework. Math was easy; I finished it quickly. But it took me ages to complete my writing assignment. We were told to copy a poem 5 times, in order to memorize it. I took an hour to do so, for a 10 line poem.

Once homework was done, I was told to practice my music for 30 minutes. I loved my music but I did not love to practice. I played a song and only 1 minute went by. Time seemed to go painfully slow. Why did this seem to hurt every time?

This was my normal for a long time. I was easily distracted. I couldn't focus. I was a mess. I couldn't work. It wasn't until my mom discovered something. She didn't tell me what but she started having me do things differently. When I did them her way, it wasn't so hard. My life got better.

Now I know my ADHD is not juat a label. It is an integral part of me that I can use to my advantage, once I work around it. Changes mean a different routine. A routine that allows me to work despite my issues. I am grateful for the tools I was given, that I use now with my clients.