I.S-M. ISABELLA STEVENS-MERCADO

“Third and fourth grade was really hard in elementary school, especially fourth grade. My teachers didn’t know how to deal with ADHD. They thought that dealing with ADHD meant more discipline. I used to do this thing where I couldn’t sit obviously because I have ADHD. So I’d stand at my desk and I would do my work, but she had a problem with it. One day she just took my desk completely and forced me to sit in a chair. It progressed to her taking my pencil and trying her best to take away field trips. I used to never speak. I always used to do my work and now I talk to people and I can be social. I like who I am. I don’t feel like I have to be confined to doing what is expected of me because what’s expected of me isn’t what was expected of me in middle school if that makes sense. At Community they understand that not everyone can be that way. They’re a lot more open and accepting. It took me a really long time to adjust to that and it took me a really long time to adjust to it. And then I finally found more of who I was like Junior and Senior year, especially when I went off my meds. Every time I took my meds I just reverted back to being that person [from elementary school]. So when I stopped taking my meds I was able to speak and not feel like I had to be someone that I wasn’t.”