Hafa Adai!

My names Jennifer, I am 26 years old and I have ADHD and Dyslexia. I was diagnosed back in third grade when my teacher noticed a number of different difficulties I presented in the classroom. Growing up with this diagnosis came with a handful of challenges. I've started this blog to share both my past and current struggles in hopes of it being somewhat personally therapeutic but also to help others who may see similarities within those struggles, and know you're not alone. 

For my first post, I plan on sharing a little bit about myself. I was born in Provo, Utah where I lived and attended school until fourth grade. This was the beginning of my ADHD and dyslexic journey, from being diagnosed, trying medication for the first time, and being on a first name bases with my principle because my teachers "couldn't handle me". In fourth grade my family moved to Ft. Lauderdale, FL... Changing up my daily routine and attending a new school wasn't the easiest transition. The only reason I didn't fail 5th grade, was due to the No Child Left Behind act put in place by Present Bush at that time. My family decided to look into my options. For three years I was fortunate enough to attend a school that specialized in students with disabilities like mine. My family wasn't the most wealthiest but those three years taught me more then just subjects in the classroom. They helped me understand how my brain worked with understand the basis of how I retain information to organizing my thoughts. Although it was what 

My sister Paige, myself and our older brother Chase 

I needed at the time and owe a lot to those teachers who put a lot into help their students, I still struggled with the personal acceptance of being different and those want to be "smart". In 2008 my family made our last move to Guam. For those that don't know its a U.S. territory, located in the pacific ocean near the Philippines. the transition was tough but surprisingly was easier then our move to Florida. The school I attended was a baptist christen based high school, which my family was not religious at all... so that came with its own set of change lol but my overall experience was different then expected. Education wise, it was a great school but I never excelled in my classes and even though I never had to repeat a class, I never let my dreams get to big because I truly believed they couldn't be reached. While everyone was preparing for the SAT or planning what college they wanted to attended, I always settled for the idea of being a hair stylist... now don't get me wrong, i love cosmetology and playing/doing hair but at the end of the day it wasn't my passion. My confidence in doing cosmetology came from knowing I was good at it but underneath I wanted to attend college and major in either nursing or biology, but because I didn't excel in the classroom i figured it would just be another attempted failure.

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I plan on going more in depth in my upcoming posts with more life details and struggles but to bring us to the present day... I am currently in my Senior year at the University of Guam majoring in Biology. I have a number of different certifications in including my Scuba instructor certification and have found a love and appriciation for knowledge that I never knew existed. I don't know what the future has in store for me but I don't plan on just stoping at my bachelors, I want to continue to gain knowledge on things that feed my passion and interests while implementing that into my growth has an overall person.

I hope you've enjoyed the little read. My goal is going to push out a new post every week, every topic will change and it'll be more based on what I'm either struggling or inspired by that week. Again I'm really trying this out for personal therapeutic reasons but in doing this I hope that whether you have ADHD, dyslexia or you may know someone with these disabilities, you find knowledge and understanding of what it means to have a mind of a wildflower. I am no were a physician or phycologist but I am a person who has ADHD and dyslexia with her own personal experiences and I hope you find this blog a safe space.

❁