The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXX
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“My act <strong>of</strong> courage<br />
is this very moment.<br />
You, the reader,<br />
reading about<br />
my ADHD.”<br />
On the day people were presenting I had forgotten to take my medicine.<br />
I was out in the open, with no help from my medicine, a kid with ADHD.<br />
Sitting right in front <strong>of</strong> these people who talked about ADHD like they<br />
knew everything about it. <strong>The</strong>y didn’t explain that ADHD was different for<br />
everyone. I wanted to just shout out at that moment “Hey! You guys have<br />
known me for over a year, I have ADHD!” (I didn’t actually consider doing<br />
this.) I just sat <strong>and</strong> watched, feeling like at any moment people might look at<br />
me, look at my leg that was lightly bouncing, my h<strong>and</strong>s that were fidgeting,<br />
<strong>and</strong> the deep breaths I was forcing myself to take. But they didn’t, <strong>and</strong> I sat<br />
through it.<br />
I haven’t told many people about my ADHD. I know I don’t have to, <strong>and</strong> I hope<br />
it doesn’t change the way people see me, especially people who don’t know me<br />
that well. But I am writing about my ADHD right now, in the hopes that my<br />
classmates, my teachers, other friends, <strong>and</strong> people who I know see this. My act<br />
<strong>of</strong> courage is this very moment. You, the reader, reading about my ADHD.<br />
I have second-guessed this essay so many times. I know that to most people this<br />
is barely even courage, but I know how much it takes out <strong>of</strong> me to talk about<br />
it, <strong>and</strong> I know how my fingers are fidgeting as I write this. I can’t say I have<br />
accepted that I technically have a disorder, but I know that there are a lot <strong>of</strong><br />
upsides to having ADHD. It is a sign <strong>of</strong> a person who is really smart <strong>and</strong> can<br />
h<strong>and</strong>le the complicated school life. My brain loves a million different things<br />
to focus on, <strong>and</strong> the rush <strong>of</strong> people all walking <strong>and</strong> talking. I am not saying I<br />
have some sort <strong>of</strong> superpower, but if I look on the upside <strong>of</strong> what having ADHD<br />
means, then I can realize that some things would be harder to do if my mind<br />
weren’t so active. So, am I emotionally ready to show this? No, but am I going<br />
to do it anyway? Absolutely. Because that is what it means to be courageous.<br />
Volume <strong>XXX</strong><br />
19
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