Wilson by Brystal

Wilson by Brystal - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

I, like most people, have had my share of challenges in life. One of my biggest struggles has been with reading. I remember when Mrs. Kenny, my second grade teacher, sat down with my mom and explained that I was behind the other kids in reading, and that, perhaps, I needed “a growth year”. She comforted my mom and me by explaining that I started school at four years of age, and the other kids were just developmentally more ready to move on to third grade. All of my friends moved on, and I was left behind. I was devastated. That’s when I started to feel different. That’s when I knew that I wasn’t as smart as some of the other kids. Reading seemed so easy for them. For me, it was a struggle. I pretended to hate it and pretended to have no interest in reading, but I was hiding the truth. I wanted to read. I was just ashamed to let anyone hear me read, and ashamed to admit that I just didn’t get it.

I carried on this masquerade throughout each year thinking I could keep the truth a secret. I never even told my parents, and my teachers were apparently fooled, as well. However, things only got more difficult. It’s hard to explain, really. Words are a jumbled mess on the page. Often, the sequence of words is not right. Numbers are difficult, as well, but that is somewhat easier to manage because there tend to be fewer shapes on the page than with reading. Reading anything is a laborious task.

As I began my freshman year of High School I was starting to feel like everyone, including my teachers, were looking at me as if I were the “dumb kid” whenever I was asked to read aloud because I struggled. I then went to my mom and we took the next step to figuring this all out. I realized that I had Dyslexia. Even after I found out I still tried to keep it all a secret until my senior year when I began my English 12 class with Mrs. Wilson. Throughout the year I was ashamed to tell anyone that I struggled with Dyslexia. Mrs. Wilson would explain to me that no matter who you are, you should never be ashamed. Every flaw that someone has is there for a reason. I eventually broke out of the bubble that I placed around myself to try and hide who I really was. I began reading aloud more and not letting what others thought get to me. This is and always will be the most valuable lesson I have every gotten from a teacher. As I finish my senior year I now regret being so ashamed of my difficulties with reading because as Mrs. Wilson would say, “Every flaw is there for a reason, don’t be ashamed.”