You’re Not Messing with Me Today!
I’m a business major and I hope to open my own gym one day. I grew up in Arkansas, before my dad and I moved to Temecula and I was big into boxing in the best shape of my life, chasing my dream. Then 2 years ago I got diagnosed with a medical condition that causes extreme fatigue and brain fog and I’ve learned to be really strict with myself. I take medications when I need to, but I have to apply a lot of extra effort and energy I have to everything I do. Before CoVid I had more frequent flare-ups but during the shut-down I had a lot of time to figure out what I needed to do, so that was a kind of silver lining – and I got a dog! Otis makes me get up and move around which is good because I need to move, I learn by being active. Eventually you get used to being tired all the time but then when I’m not, and I have a good day, it’s kind of surprising. But most days I just try to tell my challenges, Nope, you’re not messing with me today!
You Are Not Alone
I completed my military career after breaking my neck and retired after twenty years of service. Learning to manage my pain is a process. War also affects everyone in different ways. I have been lucky that I do not relive the horrors that I have seen after two deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, but many cannot move past that traumatic event in their lives. We all have different issues that affect our lives. All of us have unique struggles we go through, and they are personal to us. We all possess different gifts; I was told most of my childhood and young adult life that I was not smart enough, but now I am in my second Masters' Program. Being intelligent is not a quality easily quantified. No one can understand the level of pain you are experiencing. And no one can relive and understand the traumatic events that have happened in your life. In the end, only you are the one that can decide to move forward, but you don't have to go through it alone.
Looking Through My Eyes
I’m 28 years old, the oldest of four girls and I’m going to graduate in Spring with 3 AA degrees related to Social/Behavioral Sciences. I want to be a therapist because of the things that came my way in life, I want to help someone that’s going through similar things. I wasn’t born like this, I got sick when I was 3, I remember not being able to walk, it would come and go between the ages of 3 and 9, then one day when I was 8 it came back, and it stuck, and I got diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when I was 9.
I also started having seizures around that time but that is not part of MS, it’s hereditary. I’ve tried different medications for MS but they always have really bad side effects and so I only take medicine to control my seizures now. My vision problem is a rare side effect of MS and started changing when I was 9. I can see best up very close, but I can’t see small print letters. People don’t understand and think I could just blow up the images but then the images get blurry, and I have glasses, but they don’t make a big difference. I’m struggling with my visual impairment not only in school but also in society stigma and in my family. People judge me for my tremors and my eyes, someone once asked if I was on drugs. They tell me to just look at them or look at the camera and I have to remind them that I AM looking at them.
Understanding My Learning Space
I’m 19 years old and this is my first semester at MSJC. I plan to major in psychology. I live with my mom and brother and my grandparents in a very lively household in San Jacinto. I have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and so does my mom, and my older brother has ADHD, and it can be hard to study at home with so much going on around me. It’s harder to diagnose ADHD in girls and when I was diagnosed at age 9, I didn’t understand it at first and I wasn’t sure how to be myself with it. In San Bernardino, the school didn’t have a lot to support my ADD so all I knew was that I was different from the other kids and had a different space. We moved to San Jacinto when I was in the 5th grade and the school gave me rewards for getting my work done and I liked it and I wanted to get honor roles and those rewards helped me to focus on my issues and to understand what I needed help with. I want to do well for my family so I started learning more about my ADD so I can understand it better and what I need to learn better.
In a World of my Own
Growing up I was always the quiet girl with not too many friends. I always got asked “why don’t you talk.” It was for several reasons. I was one very anxious about social situations. I did not know what to say. I had that constant fear of being judged. Now, I suffer with generalized anxiety disorder, trichotillomania (compulsive hair pulling disorder) and depression. I have learned new ways to manage these disorders with help of my family, boyfriend and psychiatrist. Although, it is a constant daily battle. I thought I was never going to succeed at anything and was going to have these struggles.
Also, losing my best friend Savannah to adrenal failure in 2019 really impacted me as well as she was the person who gave me the best advice and I love and miss dearly. But, I know she is proud of me of how far I have come. Now, I am a fourth semester nursing student looking forward to becoming a mental health nurse as it is something I can relate to. I want everyone to know that a disability does not define you, even though sometimes you may feel as if you are alone in your own world.
Dreams Matter
I’m 32 years of age. I was born in Yokosuka, Japan with a cardiac defect. I underwent two major open-heart operations. I was 11 months old the first time and 21 years old the next time. Because of my heart condition and my learning disability, I’ve always struggled with education. I was a special education student in high school with an IEP and math was always especially hard. Despite the fact that I did not pass the high school exit exam, because of my learning disability I was given an extension to graduate. I’ve attended numerous schools and colleges, but I’ve never given up my hope of finishing my education.
After 4 years at MSJC, in May, 2020 I received my first associate degree in Social Behavioral Science. I've previously worked with Think Together and am currently employed by the Hemet Unified School District while I finish up associate degrees in Child and Adolescent Development and Early Childhood Education. I’ve decided to pursue a Bachelor’s degree and major in Education in order to give back to members of the community who have faced similar challenges as mine.