I finally got diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in the first semester of my Senior year. I spent most of my time in high school not believing in myself, and most of my childhood believing I was stupid. When I got into the college I wanted, I couldn't believe it. As someone who was homeschooled all her life and has never been to in-person school, I've always dreamed of what college would look like. I plan to further my education beyond high school by going to Arizona State University in Fall 2024. Recently I applied to my school's Early Start Program and I was accepted, which means I'll move in early, get started on my work, and earn credits for being in the program. I am eager to learn and excited for this new chapter of my life. I plan to work hard in school so I can eventually receive a Graduate degree in addition to a Bachelor's degree. I am interested in many different fields of study. However, I've always been particularly fascinated by the Humanities and Social Sciences. My major is Anthropology, but I plan to explore Psychology, Sociology, Philosophy, Human Development, and so much more. The way I see it the possibilities are endless. In my Anthropology degree program, I will get to take courses in Archaeology, Sociocultural Anthropology, Biological Anthropology, Physical/Evolutionary Anthropology, and Ethnography. There are so many subgroups and focuses so I truly feel that it is the major for me. I'd also like to explore Mythology, Ethnology, and the connections between culture and food. I want to learn everything that I possibly can. Most of all I want to study humanity and hopefully find answers to some of life's biggest questions. After pursuing higher education I hope to accomplish many things, most of all I hope to have a stable career where I get to do what I love every day. There are so many important connections between culture and mental health, so mostly I hope to help play a part in the destigmatization of developmental and intellectual disorders and mental illness. I hope to put my degree to good use and explore different cultures and communities, eventually conducting a study to research the effects of things like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder on different groups of people. Something that spans across cultures and gender-based stereotypes and helps remove the stigma of being neurodivergent.

A lyric from Olivia Rodrigo's GUTS that resonates with me is from "ballad of a homeschooled girl" where Olivia sings "I'm on the outside of the greatest inside joke." Growing up as someone who was not only homeschooled all her life but also neurodivergent, too often I felt that I had missed out on some unspoken social rulebook that I didn't understand. The lyric captures the essence of adolescence and the challenges that come with it by highlighting how it feels to be the odd one out. Since we were young, we were told that adolescence is all about finding your group of friends and carving out your place in the world in which you belong. But once you reach adolescence and you are right in the middle of this period in your life, it can be hard to find yourself and to get along with others. This is especially true if you were homeschooled like me and you never properly learned socialization skills. As you grow older and you start venturing out, you begin to feel this difference and you begin to question if something is fundamentally wrong with you. Like no matter how hard you try, you will never understand how other people appear to socialize and interact with their peers so effortlessly. This lyric captures the feeling of not being good enough and highlights how it seems you can never find the right words to say. It captures the feeling not only of not being understood but also of not understanding other people. The lyrics shed light on how it feels to see everyone around you with their designated groups and simply you're just alone. The rest of the song does an amazing job of capturing the essence of adolescence as well. Some challenges that the song mentions are laughing at the wrong time and googling how to flirt. As someone who never quite understands social cues I feel so seen by these lyrics. Going through your adolescence and being homeschooled can be tough, it almost feels as if socially, you're inept. This can be difficult to navigate, especially if you don't have many friends. And since we teenagers usually make friends at school, being homeschooled often entails being lonely. That's where the lack of social knowledge comes from. Not being well-versed socially promises embarrassment, which is a key factor of adolescence. There is always a pressure to fit in, and you feel that pressure the most when all you can seem to do is stand out.