As a young child, I struggled with a lot of things that a neurotypical person would never have to worry about. I didn't sleep much, felt antsy and anxious, sometimes did not cry or show emotion, other times showed too much emotion, and I had a very hard time concentrating. By the age of seven I really started to notice that my mind was different than other kids. I grew confused as to why it was so hard for me to pay attention and to do well in school while all of my peers seemed to fly through it effortlessly. I asked my mom “Why do I feel so different from everyone else when I look just the same?” That was the day I learned that I had been diagnosed with ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. She explained how it is a learning disorder that makes my brain have to work differently to reach the same goals as others. In that moment I expected to feel sadness, but I only felt a sense of motivation and a determination to not let this diagnosis take a toll on my character.   Elementary and middle school were somewhat challenging but I had an IEP and I had incredible support teachers, many of whom I still keep in touch with to this day. I relied heavily on my accommodations and achieved good grades. I went through these years without much stress and I was hopeful that I would continue academic success without difficulty in high school.    When I entered the ninth grade, it really became apparent that other kids could easily stay focused and pay attentive in their classes without any additional support. As a fifteen year old girl this made me insecure of my abilities to succeed on my own. I knew my mind was different but I was determined to learn how it worked. I no longer wanted to have to rely on support staff and accommodations because my goal was ultimately to go to college and be on my own. I became determined to prove that although I had challenges, I was capable of coming out on top.    I still had never been able to take a test without asking for help or going to a separate setting. I started making little changes such as sitting in the front of class. This forced me to be more attentive in the lessons. I learned how to study and how to take tests on my own. Slowly, I found myself relying less on my IEP and more on myself. To my surprise, my grades remained high. Towards the end of my junior year, my counselor called me into her office and told me that I was being released from my IEP. I would be given a 504 instead to offer backup support should I need it, but I no longer needed supplemental instructors and instruction to succeed. I had conquered a tremendous hurdle by learning how to support my own education. I had become my own advocate and I no longer had to rely on help.    I now know that I can be successful on my own. I maintain an A average while continuing to play varsity basketball. I work hard but I also learned how to work differently, adapting to doing things on my own and problem solving when I get stuck. I know I can do anything I put my mind to and I am capable of being independent in my academic career. I feel ready to start my life as a college student pursuing a life-long career in radiological sciences.

As a young child, I struggled with a lot of things that a neurotypical person would never have to worry about. I didn't sleep much, felt antsy and anxious, sometimes did not cry or show emotion, other times showed too much emotion, and I had a very hard time concentrating. By the age of seven I really started to notice that my mind was different than other kids. I grew confused as to why it was so hard for me to pay attention and to do well in school while all of my peers seemed to fly through it effortlessly. I asked my mom “Why do I feel so different from everyone else when I look just the same?” That was the day I learned that I had been diagnosed with ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. She explained how it is a learning disorder that makes my brain have to work differently to reach the same goals as others. In that moment I expected to feel sadness, but I only felt a sense of motivation and a determination to not let this diagnosis take a toll on my character.   Elementary and middle school were somewhat challenging but I had an IEP and I had incredible support teachers, many of whom I still keep in touch with to this day. I relied heavily on my accommodations and achieved good grades. I went through these years without much stress and I was hopeful that I would continue academic success without difficulty in high school.    When I entered the ninth grade, it really became apparent that other kids could easily stay focused and pay attentive in their classes without any additional support. As a fifteen year old girl this made me insecure of my abilities to succeed on my own. I knew my mind was different but I was determined to learn how it worked. I no longer wanted to have to rely on support staff and accommodations because my goal was ultimately to go to college and be on my own. I became determined to prove that although I had challenges, I was capable of coming out on top.    I still had never been able to take a test without asking for help or going to a separate setting. I started making little changes such as sitting in the front of class. This forced me to be more attentive in the lessons. I learned how to study and how to take tests on my own. Slowly, I found myself relying less on my IEP and more on myself. To my surprise, my grades remained high. Towards the end of my junior year, my counselor called me into her office and told me that I was being released from my IEP. I would be given a 504 instead to offer backup support should I need it, but I no longer needed supplemental instructors and instruction to succeed. I had conquered a tremendous hurdle by learning how to support my own education. I had become my own advocate and I no longer had to rely on help.    I now know that I can be successful on my own. I maintain a A average while continuing to play varsity basketball. I work hard but I also learned how to work differently, adapting to doing things on my own and problem solving when I get stuck. I know I can do anything I put my mind to and I am capable of being independent in my academic career. I feel ready to start my life as a college student pursuing a life-long career in radiological sciences.

As a young child, I struggled with a lot of things that a neurotypical person would never have to worry about. I didn't sleep much, felt antsy and anxious, sometimes did not cry or show emotion, other times showed too much emotion, and I had a very hard time concentrating. By the age of seven I really started to notice that my mind was different than other kids. I grew confused as to why it was so hard for me to pay attention and to do well in school while all of my peers seemed to fly through it effortlessly. I asked my mom “Why do I feel so different from everyone else when I look just the same?” That was the day I learned that I had been diagnosed with ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. She explained how it is a learning disorder that makes my brain have to work differently to reach the same goals as others. In that moment I expected to feel sadness, but I only felt a sense of motivation and a determination to not let this diagnosis take a toll on my character.   Elementary and middle school were somewhat challenging but I had an IEP and I had incredible support teachers, many of whom I still keep in touch with to this day. I relied heavily on my accommodations and achieved good grades. I went through these years without much stress and I was hopeful that I would continue academic success without difficulty in high school.    When I entered the ninth grade, it really became apparent that other kids could easily stay focused and pay attentive in their classes without any additional support. As a fifteen year old girl this made me insecure of my abilities to succeed on my own. I knew my mind was different but I was determined to learn how it worked. I no longer wanted to have to rely on support staff and accommodations because my goal was ultimately to go to college and be on my own. I became determined to prove that although I had challenges, I was capable of coming out on top.    I still had never been able to take a test without asking for help or going to a separate setting. I started making little changes such as sitting in the front of class. This forced me to be more attentive in the lessons. I learned how to study and how to take tests on my own. Slowly, I found myself relying less on my IEP and more on myself. To my surprise, my grades remained high. Towards the end of my junior year, my counselor called me into her office and told me that I was being released from my IEP. I would be given a 504 instead to offer backup support should I need it, but I no longer needed supplemental instructors and instruction to succeed. I had conquered a tremendous hurdle by learning how to support my own education. I had become my own advocate and I no longer had to rely on help.    I now know that I can be successful on my own. I maintain a A average while continuing to play varsity basketball. I work hard but I also learned how to work differently, adapting to doing things on my own and problem solving when I get stuck. I know I can do anything I put my mind to and I am capable of being independent in my academic career. I feel ready to start my life as a college student pursuing a life-long career in radiological sciences.

As a young child, I struggled with a lot of things that a neurotypical person would never have to worry about. By the age of seven I really started to notice that my mind was different than other kids. I grew confused as to why it was so hard for me to pay attention and to do well in school while all of my peers seemed to fly through it effortlessly. So I asked my mom “Why do I feel so different from everyone else when I look just the same.” That was the day I learned that I had been diagnosed with ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. She explained how it is a learning disorder that makes my brain have to work differently to reach the same goals as others. In that moment I expected to feel sadness, but I only felt a sense of motivation and a determination to not let this diagnosis take a toll on my character.
  Elementary and middle school were challenging but I had an IEP and I had incredible support teachers, many of whom I still keep in touch with to this day. I relied heavily on my accommodations and achieved good grades. I went through these years without too much stress and I was hopeful that I would continue academic success without difficulty in high school. 
  When I entered the ninth grade, it really became apparent that other kids could easily stay focused and pay attentive in their classes without any additional support. This made me insecure of my ability to succeed on my own. I knew my mind was different but I was determined to learn how it worked. I no longer wanted to have to rely on support staff and accommodations because my goal was ultimately to go to college and be on my own. I became determined to prove that although I had challenges, I was capable of coming out on top. 
  At this time I still had never been able to take a test without asking for help or going to a separate setting but I was determined to be more independent. I started making little changes such as sitting in the front of class rather than the back. This forced me to be more attentive in the lessons. I learned how to study and how to take tests on my own. I found myself relying less and less on my IEP accommodations and more and more on myself. To my pleasant surprise, my grades remained high. Towards second semester of my junior year, my counselor called me into her office for my annual ARD meeting with my mom and teachers. There she told us that I was being released from my IEP. I would be given a 504 instead to offer backup support should I need it, but I no longer needed supplemental instructors and instruction to succeed. I had conquered a tremendous hurdle by learning how I could support my own education. I had become my own advocate and I no longer had to rely on help. 
  I now know that I can be successful on my own. I maintain a A average while continuing to play varsity basketball. I work hard but I also learned how to work differently, doing things on my own and problem solving when I get stuck. I know I can do anything I put my mind to and I am capable of being independent. Now I finally feel ready to start my life as an independent college student pursuing a life-long career in radiological sciences at an esteemed educational institution.

As a young child, I struggled with a lot of things that a neurotypical person would never have to worry about. I didn't sleep much, felt antsy and anxious, sometimes did not cry or show emotion, other times showed too much emotion, and I had a very hard time concentrating. By the age of seven I really started to notice that my mind was different than other kids. I grew confused as to why it was so hard for me to pay attention and to do well in school while all of my peers seemed to fly through it effortlessly. I asked my mom “Why do I feel so different from everyone else when I look just the same.” That was the day I learned that I had been diagnosed with ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. She explained how it is a learning disorder that makes my brain have to work differently. In that moment I could have felt sadness, but I only felt a sense of motivation and a determination to not let this diagnosis define my character. Elementary and middle school were somewhat challenging but I had an IEP and I had incredible support teachers, many of whom I still keep in touch with to this day. I relied heavily on my accommodations and achieved good grades. I went through these years without too much stress and I was hopeful that I would continue academic success without difficulty in high school. When I entered the ninth grade, it became apparent that other kids could be successful without any additional support. As a fifteen year old girl this made me insecure of my abilities to succeed on my own. I knew my mind was different but I was determined to learn how it worked. I no longer wanted to have to rely on support staff and accommodations because my goal was ultimately to go to college and be on my own. I became determined to prove that although I had challenges, I was capable of coming out on top. At this time I still had never been able to take a test without asking for help or going to a separate setting but I was determined to be more independent. I started making little changes such as sitting in the front of class rather than the back. This forced me to be more attentive in the lessons. I learned how to study and how to take tests on my own. Slowly, I found myself relying less and less on my IEP accommodations and more and more on myself. My grades remained high. At my annual ARD meeting towards second semester of my junior year my counselor told me that I was being released from my IEP. I would be given a 504 instead to offer backup support should I need it, but I no longer needed supplemental instructors and instruction to succeed. I had conquered a tremendous hurdle by learning how I could support my own education. I had become my own advocate and I no longer had to rely on help. I now know that I can be successful on my own. I maintain a A average while continuing to play varsity basketball. I work hard but I also learned how to work differently, adapting and problem solving when I get stuck. I know I can do anything I put my mind to and I am capable of being independent in my life. Now I'm ready to start my life as an independent college student pursuing a life-long career in radiological sciences at an esteemed educational institution.

By the age of seven I started to notice that my mind was different than other kids. I grew confused as to why it was so hard for me to pay attention and to do well in school while all of my peers seemed to fly through it effortlessly.    I asked my mom “Why do I feel so different from everyone else when I look just the same.” That was the day I learned that I had been diagnosed with ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. She explained how it is a learning disorder that makes my brain have to work differently to reach the same goals as others. In that moment I expected to feel sadness, but I only felt a sense of motivation and a determination to not let this diagnosis take a toll on my character.   Elementary and middle school were somewhat challenging but I had an IEP and I had incredible support teachers, many of whom I still keep in touch with to this day. I relied heavily on my accommodations and achieved good grades. I went through these years without too much stress and I was hopeful that I would continue academic success without difficulty in high school.    When I entered the ninth grade, it really became apparent that other kids could easily stay focused and pay attentive in their classes without any additional support. As a fifteen year old girl this made me insecure of my abilities to succeed on my own. I knew my mind was different but I was determined to learn how it worked. I no longer wanted to have to rely on support staff and accommodations because I knew my goal was ultimately to go to college and be on my own. I became determined to prove that although I had challenges, I was capable of coming out on top.    At this time I still had never been able to take a test without asking for help or going to a separate setting but I was determined to be more independent. I started making little changes such as sitting in the front of class rather than the back like I always had. This forced me to be more attentive in the lessons. I learned how to study and how to take tests on my own. Slowly, I found myself relying less and less on my IEP accommodations and more and more on myself. To my pleasant surprise, my grades remained high. Towards second semester of my eleventh grade year, my counselor called me into her office for my annual ARD meeting with my mom and teachers. There she told us that I was being released from my IEP. I would be given a 504 instead to offer backup support should I need it, but I no longer needed supplemental instructors and instruction to succeed.  had conquered a tremendous hurdle by learning how I could support my own education. I had become my own advocate and I no longer had to rely on help.    I now know that I can be successful all on my own. I maintain a A average while continuing to play varsity basketball. I work hard but I also learned how to work differently, adapting to doing things on my own and problem solving when I get stuck. I know I can do anything I put my mind to and I am capable of being independent in my academic career. I now finally feel ready to start my life as an independent college student pursuing a life-long career in radiological sciences at an esteemed educational institution.