Sometimes I seem to have trouble writing a post – I know what I want to say, but I can’t seem to say it. This is one of those times. I’ve been getting a message, it seems, everwhere I look. Usually when that happens, I feel as though there is a lesson there for me, but in this case, the message is about something that I aspire to every day – being yourself.
My youngest daughter was watching a documentary on tv the other night, and I remember hearing the subjects of the program saying over and over that all they wanted was for others to see them as just another person – not as male or female, black or white, old or young, but just as another person. At our most basic, we all have at least that much in common.
A book I’m reading – The Short Bus by Jonathan Mooney – echoes the same theme. Don’t see us as disabled or as freaks – just see us as people, just like you. (This really is a wonderful book, deserving of it’s own space. I’ll review it for you next time.)
Another place that this same theme came up was with my older daughter. She recently broke off a long term relationship and moved back home. She told me the other day that her former boyfriend had a problem with her ADD symptoms at times, and expected her to get them under control. Apparently, he was under the assumption that once she got things under control, it was done, sort of like taking an aspirin once for a headache and never expecting to get another one for the rest of your life.
Obviously, this isn’t realistic – for headaches or AD/HD. For those of us who have it, Attention Deficit Disorder and it’s symptoms are a part of us, as much as our eye color or our height, or anything else that makes us who we are. People who love us or who choose to spend their lives with us, need to learn that, and to accept it, otherwise, we can’t live a life that’s true.
It isn’t always easy living life with AD/HD; in fact, sometimes it’s really hard. But the struggles we go through shape us, and make us who we are. Each of us on this planet, AD/HD or not, is unique and wonderful. We all have special gifts to give and talents to share. Be proud of who you are, ADD and all.