Growing up for me when...

      Growing up for me when I was little, I was different from all of the other girls. I wasn’t the skinniest. I was always a little bigger. And I was jealous of them. All the other girls around me seemed to be perfect and then there was me. That’s how it’s always been. I also grew up with Dyslexia so in class I always felt weird because I read slower than all of the other kids. I remember in first grade all the other kids were starting to read small chapter books like Junnie B. Jones and everyday I came in grabbing the same book. I don’t remember the title exactly but, it had a caterpillar on the front and it was all picture with one sentence maybe a few words on every page. Everyday I would pick up that book and read it over and over and I never tried another book. Everyday in first grade doing math I was terrified if I were to get called on. There was this one kid in the class who was a boy who could add and subtract almost instantly in his head. Then there was me. I sat there with my hand counting and writing it down on paper taking longer to figure it out. When the teacher was on a problem I was usually about 2 behind and could never catch up. My mom worked hard with me. She had me study shapes and patterns in the books for the gate testing and we would review every night. I went to several and many tutors to read, write and do all sorts of work. When we took the gate test I scored advanced with the highest score. I worked hard and I made it out ok and even better than most of the other kids. Till this day I still read slowly but that doesn’t mean I can’t read. I wasn't ever bullied directly but, i knew that people talked about me behind my back and it hurt sometimes but, i never really let it get to me. I taught my self to keep my head up high and have strong confidence in who i am and what i look like because i am unique. Everything i go through doesn't knock me down it makes me stronger and Dyslexia was one of those things that made me stronger. It didn't set me back. I am different. And i am proud of that.