Personal Educational History, Overcoming Obstacles
             When I was in second grade, I was diagnosed with a mild case of ADD and Dyslexia. My teacher had noticed that I had a hard time sitting still and that I was constantly writing my numbers and letters backwards. Several complicated tests later, I was diagnosed. My life immediately changed. Everyday I was taken out of class to a special tutoring session where I worked on my reading skills and other activities that I can't remember. I hated going to these sessions, I wanted to be back in a regular class with my friends and just be normal. I remember constantly wondering why I had to go to tutoring and no one else did.
             After my diagnosis my parents were told that I would have particular problems with math and English and that neither of these two areas would be my strong suit, that I would have to work extra hard to succeed in these areas. My parent, always trying to be helpful, immediately began doing everything in their power to help me overcome my "problem", this included continued tutoring sessions, silent reading time every night, a never ending stream of practice worksheets sent home by my teacher, and medication. I was willing to accept all of the above except for the medication. No way was I going to walk down to the office every lunch time to take a pill, I saw the kids who had to do that and they were constantly made fun of. Unfortunately, I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Only a few weeks after I was diagnosed, I began taking Ritalin, twice a day every day.
             I did not like being on Ritalin. I remember sitting in class staring at the teacher, unable to do anything other than space out. The Ritalin kept me focused and I was less distracted but that was only because I was so doped out I couldn't do anything else. I tried to tell my parents how I felt but, thinking they were doing the right think, they just followed the ...