Advocate! by Ryan

Advocate! by Ryan - September 2022 Scholarship Essay

If I needed to give one piece of advice to my past self it would be to advocate for yourself. Let me explain what this means. I have been struggling with ADHD and Dyslexia my entire life. School work didn’t come easy for me. I had a hard time with homework, school work and tests. My parents didn’t want me on medication for ADHD so I had to work hard at school work. Even with my hard work, I would barely pass. I would go through the motions day in and day out.

I was getting frustrated so one day I told my teacher I just don’t understand; that I needed things explained to me differently because I had ADHD and Dyslexia. My one teacher was amazing. She understood me and what I needed. I excelled in school that year. I knew there was a better way and I had found it (with the help of my teacher). However every year was a different set of new teachers but I used my past successful experience as a foundation of what I needed. Every new year I would tell my teachers what worked and what was successful for me. Nobody was going to speak for me because they didn’t know me - how I was feeling, thinking, how I learned. I had to advocate for myself! That’s how I became successful both in school and life!