Restless, excitement less, and silent in my 9th grade classroom. Quiet in that I’m supposed to be working on the assigned google docs workpage, but rather I’m tapping my feet on the multi colored floor and my fingers tapping on the beige desk instead of clacking on my keyboard. I make sure to look around and then perform my irritation habit of biting the skin around my fingers as I wait for the clock to strike 2:30 so that the anxiety producing assignment can vanish by way of my ADHD.

I think to myself Aghh! Why do I have to be so dumb?! Then comes the next usual  thought process that I wish I was more disciplined and maybe I’d finish my work.

I remember days where I would be sitting on a tin can school bus getting driven home while try to think of all the hours of busy-work that I was expected to do while everyone else had it turned in and graded by the end of class. After the bumpy and banging sounds of my underpaid bus driver making sure to run over every pot-hole in Pennfield, I finally arrived at my home. I would usually do as many short termed activity  to distract myself from the work that need to be completed. My Mother would almost daily ask me “Jared now before you do anything make sure you do your homework.” I unconsciously replied “No mom I did it all at school.”

Now to skip ahead to where I am at now, I look back on those routine days  that I had been struggling with and I’d have to admire my progress and I’m sure my mother is glad she doesn’t have to ask that question anymore.  I’ll  have to admit I haven’t always been working on my concentration skills because the problems were buried in the constant changes in thought processes and the highly believed idea that I was just an unintelligent student.
Right when 9th grade started, I was diagnosed with adhd. A unexpected diagnoses in my book.  For most people would’ve been kinda upsetting to hear news like that or maybe just not too exciting? But that wasn’t the case for me, I saw it as a trail in front of me and I didn’t correct it in just one night, but I’ve always kept building on new little skills to help me. Every once in awhile and here and there and it has really assisted me to become very effective to snap my concentration back on.

Habits such as making a weekly calendar of my assignment to remind me of all I need to accomplish each week. That really helped. Another habit I formed was time management. I believed that had to be by far the most important skill.

I can remember how faithless I was when I was told that these two skills will help me. I really believed that this was something my counselor said to just get me to stop worrying about my assignments. These “tips” sounded like they were scrapped off a click-bait website trying to get you to subscribe for hourly notifications to your Gmail. Although they most likely are, I am so glad that they helped me start these beneficial habits because that’s exactly what they are!

Later down the road, habits became stronger and more and more rewarding than achieving level 100 in Call of Duty: Nazi zombies! Now when any sort of project, test, busy work, homework, etc, you name it I had it finished. Many people find peace from multiple sources, but honestly I would have to say that life really becomes so, so, so euphoric and peaceful when the work is complete.

That makes me so happy.  It truly does.