I’ll Get It Done - Página 2

I remember Ms. Boeck reading aloud. I was distracted, bending and unbending a paper clip taken from a sheaf of papers whose contents reviewed and outlined my IEP. I hear some phrases only once or twice a year--executive functioning, time management, organization, written output, auditory processing--but their result, their cumulative affect, shapes my life. Every night, when I sit down to do my homework, I have one phrase hammering itself through my body: "Get It Done." It's always there and always loud, by necessity. I know that I'll get distracted; getting distracted is as inexorably unavoidable as the biting cold of a Chicago winter.

Get It Done means staying up until 2:30 to finish my AP Art History PowerPoint.
Get It Done means waking up at 5:00 to do my Calculus homework.
Get It Done means skipping lunch in order to complete my Physics lab.

I will never wake up one morning with all of my learning disabilities suddenly gone. Get It Done means I have to learn how to accept them and compensate for them.

I will never use my learning disabilities as a cop out. One of my greatest areas of growth has been overcoming a sense of shame I knew about my disabilities. I remember the turning point at the beginning of this school year. I would be in for a difficult year; I had signed up for four AP classes at the behest of my college counselor and at the protest of my parents. By the first week I knew I would eventually miss an assignment and would have to utilize my IEP. I steeled myself and talked with each of my teachers about my LD and my needs. I'm still disinclined to ask for extra time, and I would certainly get more sleep if I used my IEP more often, but achieving on the same level as my peers is a point of pride.

After taking AP Psychology last year I decided I wanted to major in Psychology and obtain a Ph.D. I want to incorporate creative writing as a second major. I've combined the two interests into an independent study where I am researching Twice-Exceptional kids like myself (both gifted and learning-disabled) with my psychology teacher, and will work with my English teacher next semester on short stories based on my research and personal experience. Perhaps I can use writing, one of my greatest challenges, to speak to others who have walked the same path as I do, and a college education will enable me to do that.

I know I like to give back. Since my freshman year I have been tutoring young kids who are struggling in school. Establishing a mentoring relationship with my students at the Brain Boosters program is probably my most important contribution to my community. I value the opportunity to provide a strong, supportive, positive role model for young students whose self-esteem and confidence needs a boost. I've been on the receiving end of a lot of help in my life, and it feels good to be able to make a difference in somebody else's.

I am very close to my grandparents who live two doors down. My grandfather has many of the same learning disabilities as I do. I've spent the past few weeks teaching him how to use the computer and "Google the internet."

I've applied to small liberal art schools where the teachers will interact with me, and where I can get a more individualized education. That's what I need to thrive. I need somebody to notice if I'm lagging behind, somebody to talk to if I need guidance. Being a "success story" with learning disabilities means being able to identify what I need to do my best. In college, I'm expecting a challenge, and I'm expecting to rise to meet that challenge.

I'll Get It Done. I always do.

I can't wait.