My Story by Josette

My Story by Josette - April 2016 Scholarship Essay

"Standstill". "Don't touch that". "Pay attention to me when I'm talking to you". That was all I heard growing up. I'd never seem to notice that when I thought I wasn't moving, I was actually bouncing my leg or tapping my fingers and bobbing my head. When I noticed, how frustrated I got when I tried not to move or focus! I felt I could be going insane. Going in for a test and noticing people complaining "I didn't finish!" made me think back how when everyone else's test was collected, I still have mine for a little longer. That struck me as odd for a while, but it soon became normal. I realized how throughout history, even the greatest of minds like Albert Einstein, were believed to have been destined to fail, because of something out of their control.
If you haven't diagnosed me by now, I have ADHD. For me, I have no doubt that I wasn't going to college, but I was shocked when I researched the percentage of ADHD graduates and saw the results. I always found it hard to concentrate in school, but never did I once think it would stop me from doing anything in life. According to an adult study performed by Milwaukee Young , that compared a control group of adults and adults with ADHD, it showed that the dropout rate was higher for students with ADHD. Milwaukee Young wrote, "On average students with ADHD had a lower class rankings (69%), lower GPA scores (1.7 vs. 2.6), and very few entered college, and if they did, they had a lower college graduation rate of 5% to 35%." I know that these percentages only showed a small margin of students with ADHD, but this shows how significantly low we are rated academically, even if we're trying our hardest.
I can still remember how I strived to excel back in the 8th grade. The excitement for high school motivated me to study and work my hardest to concentrate and focus on my assignments to pick up my grades. One day in the mail, I received some letters. My hands shook as I tore open a high school acceptance letter, my parents looking towards with suspenseful face , soon joining in my joy when I screamed, "I got in!" But that feeling of happiness didn't last for long. Not all of my teachers were proud, in fact, one doubted me. She expressed unnecessary concern to my parents, trying to convince them I was not fit for my choice. She was sure that with my lack of attention, I was destined to fall behind, and eventually fail. That only motivated me more to prove her wrong. I was driven to look past my disadvantage and excel from day one in high school to the rest of my life. I wasn't going to let my disability or even a teacher discourage me. Engineering fascinated me because I had the ability to create. Inspired by my great-grandmother, bound to a wheelchair because of her amputated leg, I hated feeling useless as a child and I wanted nothing more but to help her. This experience motivated me to work directly with individuals with disabilities, to lend them the helping hand no one offered.
It is a fact that I am pursuing a career in engineering. I am a hands on person, I learn the best that way and I have a desire to work in a field that allows me to aid others. I'll develop products that'll enable to achieve their goals and never be hindered by anything, including themselves.