I am not perfect, this is something I learned at a very early stage of my life. The only thing is that I have never taken this as something that identifies me. Let me start at the beginning, in kindergarten, my mom was told that I may never be able to communicate properly ever. At this time, I had no idea what was going on, my mom never brought this to my attention. As I continued my education, things started becoming difficult for me. There were a lot of complaints about me, mainly that I wasn't performing up to standards. At this time, my mom did not know what was the reason for my behavior. I entered grade 3 and this is when my perfect journey began in my not so perfect life. My teacher, Mrs. G referred me for testing and this is where I found out that I needed services to help me overcome my weaknesses.  The person who did several hours of testing with me finally came out of her office with very little words of encouragement. She told my mother that, "I was showing some signs of having Autism, but I was high functioning. So, I may not qualify for certain services." Wait, high functioning, so I didn't qualify for some services, I thought this was good news. Here comes the reality check for my mom, she understood what she was being told and all she cared about was how to get me help, so I could succeed in life. For a mother, there is no way anyone can tell them that their child may not be able to accomplish anything in life. For my mom, even on the day of testing, I was perfect, she did not care about what anyone said about me. Till today, my mom does not say I have, "learning disability", she says, "I may have some weaknesses." After this day, my services at my elementary school started. I got all the help I needed from my teachers, learning centers and speech pathologists. My grades continued to improve, I was considered an honor roll student. I entered middle school, my grades got even better and now I'm almost at the end of my high school journey. Some teachers don't even know that I am an IEP student, they don't know about any weakness I may have and this is a compliment for me. At this time, I do not need as much services as I did in my elementary school. "Who am I today and what have I accomplished?," this is what you maybe asking. I am Saqif K, I'm a 12th grader who gets mostly A's and B's, I have a provisional driver's license and I'm in the top 20% of my Class of 2016. No, don't get me wrong, I am not bragging, I am still learning to overcome my weaknesses. I am not perfect, but guess what, neither are you. I do not think, "Why me?," because I know that this journey has made me a stronger person. I have accomplished things that I was told I may never be able to do. This journey of mine has taught me to be patient, responsible and respectful. The only think left to say is I have a success story in me.