Overcoming the adversities of CHD-3

Oh my, we are now into the second week of the second marking period. I feel so overwhelmed! This afternoon, while I was standing next to my mom as she finished her day at the junior high, I couldn’t help but voice my feelings. She was loading kids into cars as their parents came to pick them up. I complained about being tired, and she told me she was feeling tired too.

What struck me is that she only has 35 more school days until her short-term substitute position is over. She’s counting down the days, working all the way up until Christmas break, which marks the end of the semester. So, just 35 more days until first semester ends and we have to face grades again. When I think about it, that really isn’t a lot of time! Compared to the first nine weeks of school, it feels shorter. Maybe it’s because this marking period has a few more breaks, which makes it easier to count down.

What surprises me the most is that I’ve made it to the 9th grade despite still struggling with reading. Every 9th grader should be able to read fluently, but I have faced difficulties since the beginning of my school years. I even repeated kindergarten because I thought it was due to missing a lot of school days. The truth is, my journey started differently. My mom experienced a stroke shortly after I began school, and she was often away in rehab, learning how to walk, talk, and eat—all those basics we normally learn as toddlers.

My parents always told me they held me back to allow my mom to learn alongside me. Little did I know that while I was struggling to hold a pencil and learn sight words, my mom was learning the same things. For a couple of years in grade school, we were on this learning journey together. I spent a lot of time in occupational therapy because I had low muscle tone, which made it hard for me to kick a soccer ball or master scissor skills. Physical therapy was part of my routine too; I even wore AFOs (ankle-foot orthoses) for my feet. That felt weird, especially since I later took up gymnastics and competed until the 5th grade. I was also in speech therapy while in grade school.

Even though I attended a regular school, I spent a lot of time outside the classroom at first. However, as you’ll learn, those challenges didn’t hold this girl back.

One major source of my stress this semester is the book I’ve been assigned to read in English: “Salt to the Sea” by Ruta Sepetys. With 418 pages to read, it feels like a massive challenge for someone like me, who struggles with reading and comprehending what I’ve just read. But I guess now is the time to tackle it!

We live in a world full of new technology, and there are tools available to help us express our thoughts. The amazing part is that this technology can take our stories and make them flow and make sense, turning our jumbled ideas into clear expressions. Although it can be very hard for me to put my ideas into words, I know that these programs can help make sense of my thoughts.

I can’t decide if relying on these tools is a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand, they make things easier for me, but on the other hand, I worry that I might lean too heavily on them and not work on improving my skills.

With all this swirling around in my head, I realize I just need to take a deep breath. Even though I have 35 days left in this semester, it’s an opportunity for growth and learning. Yes, it’s challenging, but maybe each page I turn and every breath I take can help me get through this busy marking period.

As time moves on, I’m committed to embracing both my challenges and the tools that are at my disposal. With some determination, I believe I can navigate through this overwhelming time and come out stronger on the other side.