I have always had trouble with left and right. It can be pretty frustrating when driving, especially. In order to overcome this constant hindrance to my ability, I have come up with a simple alliteration; “Radio Right.” This “hack” helps me remember that the radio is on my right side. So, whenever I need to turn right, I look for the radio. When I need to turn left, I turn away from the radio. This is just one example of how I overcome my constant disability. I, Stella Wright, have dyslexia. Many people believe dyslexics struggle with seeing language; this is false—people with Dyslexia struggle with manipulating language. Let me explain; Dyslexia is a Phonological Processing Disorder that affects 1 out of 5 people. The neurotypical(non-dyslexic) brain has multiple brain lobes active during reading and all-important in interpreting words. However, the Dyslexic brain only has the inferior frontal lobe active, which is the cause of Dyslexia. Common symptoms and signs of dyslexia include Poor spelling, Slow Reading, Messy handwriting, issues with spatial reasoning (confusing their left and right), and so many more. Dyslexia is not something that affects a person only during school hours. Dyslexia is a lifelong diagnosis that has no cure. Now. Despite all of these difficulties, Dyslexics can be highly successful students and adults. Most dyslexics use the right side of their brain as compensation for their lack of language comprehension. This causes dyslexics to be incredibly creative and intelligent. Creative individuals such as Muhammad Ali, Whoppi Goldberg, Picasso, Steven Spielberg, and Cher have all reported cases of dyslexia. My catchphrase is that Dyslexia does not equal dumb. And from that great list of people, it’s clear to see. The innovative world has made having Dyslexia not easy, but easier. There is one innovation that I and many other Dyslexics use almost every day. Voice to Text programs like Dragon Naturally Speaking or Google’s software. These softwares especially hep children with Dyslexia who have not gone through the full linguistic tutoring that I and other Dyslexic adults have. This helps dyslexics use long terms that they may know the definition of but not the proper spelling. That is why Speech to text is my favorite invention in the last 10 years. I plan to use my education to highlight dyslexia in girls, since they are severely under-diagnosed, and have accessible testing. Diagnoses and dyslexic tutoring are a privilege that I am lucky to have; however, many families cannot afford this expense. I plan to use my mathematical degree to research and develop a fundraiser. I want to highlight dyslexia in girls, lower the rate of OCD, Anxiety, and Depression based on neurodivergence, have testers volunteer their time for diagnoses and use the fundraising money to offer dyslexic tutoring to these children. All of this cannot be without my education.

"Your other Right," I hear this constantly. "Make a left turn here, " They say. Followed by an exasperated look from me. "This way, " They respond, pointing to the left and rolling their eyes. Left and Right have always been hard for me, mainly because I am dyslexic, but I have found two specific ways to help me remember my directions. Number one, I have a sizeable reddish birthmark mid-way down my right arm, so whenever I need to tell my left from right, I often motion to "push my hair behind my ears." However, I cannot look at my birthmark while driving, so I have another way to remember. A simple annotation Radio Right. I know that the radio is on my right side. My plague of directional dyslexia is cured with my skill of understanding my brain and, therefore myself. Every day I improve on this skill. I ask myself, How can I best study this subject? How can I memorize this? How can I learn this new thing? Usually, the answer comes after a few tries, but it eventually works out. I found that digital notecards are the best for English, History, and Science. In contrast, Physical notecards are best for Math. Also, Ten is the magic number. Doing something ten times repeatedly, like a chord change on my bass, builds up muscle memory. All these practices have taken a long time to build up, but they came to fruition through my skill of understanding myself.

There is an ancient Greek myth about a daughter/priestess named Cassandra. The priestess was wholly devoted to her divine, Apollo. Apollo saw this devotion as something else, affection. Apollo, in return for Cassandra’s loyalty, gave Cassandra the gift of prophecy. Then he tried to have sex with her. Cassandra, taking ownership of her own body, refused. As a reaction, Apollo let her keep the gift of prophecy but cursed her so that no one would believe the truth she was telling. This ancient myth is the basis for Cassandra Speaks by Elizabeth Lesser. In this book, Lesser ask the question: What if women were the storytellers too? She goes through multiple stories such as Adam and Eve, Pandora’s box, etc. These stories cast women as deceitful, untrustworthy, and the problem of humanity. She takes these stories and redefines what it means to be courageous, daring, and strong. Lesser redefines women in a modern age. Frequently, I feel like Cassandra. I say my opinions and speak my feelings calmly, collected way, but I get brushed off. When I read Lesser’s book, I felt my voice being her. It was the first time I had felt my feelings about being diminished validated. With the inspiration of Lesser’s novel, I have not let my was get lost. I speak my opinions if they are valid. I refuse to be Cassandra. Hear me now.

In my fourth-grade math class, I got a D. In high school, I was placed in honors math classes, doubled in math my sophomore year, and now taking the most challenging math class, you can take at my school, AP Calculus BC. This all happened because of one lady, Sister Nicolaus Marie. I was shocked when I tested into Algebra 1 honors at my high school. Honestly, I would fail out of the class. I walked into class early on my first day, and the teacher, a Dominican sister with a thick polish accent, came up to me and said, “You’re dyslexic?” “Yes,” I respond sheepishly. “Me too. We’re friends now.” From that day on, everything changed. Sister Niclous Marie taught me many things in and outside of class. She taught me to believe in my brain, and she taught me to laugh at my mistakes. Most importantly, she taught me the beauty of statistics and how it is not dull. Sister Nicolaus Marie showed me that math was not strictly applied to diseases, death, and voting, as it is commonly used in the media. She pointed me to how math can be applied to music and music management, which I am passionate about. I began to learn about Music Theory and the music business statistics. I learned the difference between freelance and signed artists. I learned how Spotify collected their data for the Spotify wrapped at the end of the year. I was fascinated by this and would talk about it constantly. It was the first time I found math to be interesting. The principle of statistics has taught me a lot about myself and my view of the world. It is comforting to know that some statistics like the crime rate of downtown Nashville, where I live, are low. However, it is also reassuring to know that I do not have to be a statistic, and I can be an un-average human. This is why I have decided to major in data science. It is nice to know that something my teacher taught me and something I take deep comfort in can be my job. I got a D in my fourth-grade math class. In college, I will major in Data Science. Life is and is not a statistic. The beauty of statistics has shaped my worldview, and It all happened because my teacher told me that we were friends.

There is an ancient Greek myth about a daughter/priestess named Cassandra. The priestess was wholly devoted to her divine, Apollo. Apollo saw this devotion as something else, affection. Apollo, in return for Cassandra’s loyalty, gave Cassandra the gift of prophecy. Then he tried to have sex with her. Cassandra, taking ownership of her own body, refused. As a reaction, Apollo let her keep the gift of prophecy but cursed her so that no one would believe the truth she was telling. This ancient myth is the basis for Cassandra Speaks by Elizabeth Lesser. In this book, Lesser ask the question: What if women were the storytellers too? She goes through multiple stories such as Adam and Eve, Pandora’s box, etc. These stories cast women as deceitful, untrustworthy, and the problem of humanity. She takes these stories and redefines what it means to be courageous, daring, and strong. Lesser redefines women in a modern age. Frequently, I feel like Cassandra. I say my opinions and speak my feelings calmly, collected way, but I get brushed off. When I read Lesser’s book, I felt my voice being her. It was the first time I had felt my feelings about being diminished validated. With the inspiration of Lesser’s novel, I have not let my was get lost. I speak my opinions if they are valid. I refuse to be Cassandra. Hear me now.