So, I haven't been blogging for a while due to being busy with studying for finals, the holidays and all, but I'm back! I'm beginning a new semester in preparation for Nursing school and I feel like this is the first semester I'm actually going to be able to manage my symptoms and take charge of my grades towards the beginning and middle of the semester.
I've started semesters with similar feelings before, but not with the tools I've recently acquired to manage my symptoms and actually be able to learn. (What a concept!)
I've started semesters with similar feelings before, but not with the tools I've recently acquired to manage my symptoms and actually be able to learn. (What a concept!)
Along with gaining back control of my grades I'm also recovering my self-esteem. (Slowly but surely.) Failing over and over again takes its toll after a while, especially when you feel as if you, and/or you actually are disappointing someone. But like that quote that talks about running a race (or something...can't remember): It's not how you do during the race that matters, but how you finish it.
I've decided the direction I'm going to take this blog in a more personal direction. I'm still going to be posting resources and articles I've found, but I want to document my experiences in a brutally honest way for a few different reasons. First of all, not a lot of people really know what its like to have to deal with this on a daily basis. Secondly, ADD'ers all have varying symptoms and most have humerous quirks that we all like to joke about, but for those with serious and/or worsening symptoms, it's no joke.
I've found that explaining your symptoms to those in your life that may have never noticed nor known about your symptoms before, often don't take you seriously or don't understand the gravity/extent to which ADHD affects you life. This can be especially true if you weren't diagnosed when you were younger like me. It's also hard to talk about at first because you're admitting that you have a problem to people that have never known you to have this problem, and it can be hard to decide who to tell and who not to tell (a whole other issue in itself!).
I want to talk about Adult ADHD in order to inform and/or help someone out there, but I also know that blogging about my experiences will help to remind me: 1) What I should be doing 2) Why I need to be doing it 3) That blogging about my experiences feels a lot better and helps me more than being hard on myself, just like many ADD'ers can be. 4) That everyone is a work in progress and I'm not alone.
Everyone may come to this realization (or at least maybe they should) eventually, but I've come to realize that I'm not going to be the person I thought I'd be before, so I might as well start living for who I am now, than waiting for my life to change, trying to change things that can't be undone, or wishing some things had never happened Some people might find that depressing, but after you deal with that part of it(maybe grieving for your loss of family, friends, opportunities, or yourself), it's incredibly uplifting to know you can be something else. You don't have to be who you or other people thought you would be.
Warning: Results may vary......lololol.
So anyway......
Blogging on a regular basis will keep me thinking about how I can improve on a regular basis. A way to keep me on track, should I fall of the wagon.
I've decided the direction I'm going to take this blog in a more personal direction. I'm still going to be posting resources and articles I've found, but I want to document my experiences in a brutally honest way for a few different reasons. First of all, not a lot of people really know what its like to have to deal with this on a daily basis. Secondly, ADD'ers all have varying symptoms and most have humerous quirks that we all like to joke about, but for those with serious and/or worsening symptoms, it's no joke.
I've found that explaining your symptoms to those in your life that may have never noticed nor known about your symptoms before, often don't take you seriously or don't understand the gravity/extent to which ADHD affects you life. This can be especially true if you weren't diagnosed when you were younger like me. It's also hard to talk about at first because you're admitting that you have a problem to people that have never known you to have this problem, and it can be hard to decide who to tell and who not to tell (a whole other issue in itself!).
I want to talk about Adult ADHD in order to inform and/or help someone out there, but I also know that blogging about my experiences will help to remind me: 1) What I should be doing 2) Why I need to be doing it 3) That blogging about my experiences feels a lot better and helps me more than being hard on myself, just like many ADD'ers can be. 4) That everyone is a work in progress and I'm not alone.
Everyone may come to this realization (or at least maybe they should) eventually, but I've come to realize that I'm not going to be the person I thought I'd be before, so I might as well start living for who I am now, than waiting for my life to change, trying to change things that can't be undone, or wishing some things had never happened Some people might find that depressing, but after you deal with that part of it(maybe grieving for your loss of family, friends, opportunities, or yourself), it's incredibly uplifting to know you can be something else. You don't have to be who you or other people thought you would be.
Warning: Results may vary......lololol.
So anyway......
Blogging on a regular basis will keep me thinking about how I can improve on a regular basis. A way to keep me on track, should I fall of the wagon.
So, towards the end of last semester, when I was killing myself trying to save my grades. I started using mindmaps to understand and organize certain Anatomy & Physiology topics. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to do a lot of them, so I did a couple of nice ones for bones and the nervous system.
This semester, I'm started incorporating them into my note taking during lectures and at home. There are many different types and styles you can use to customize your notes for the way that YOUR mind works.
I'm a very visual learner and I love to doodle, so my notes include lots of illustrations and colors to help me visualize the concepts.
A testament to the fact that I'm a visual and tactile learner is the fact that I aced all of my lab practicals in Anatomy, but struggled in the lecture exams. (Of course, I know now what I should have done then, but regardless, it takes me much longer to study information than most others.)
This semester, I'm started incorporating them into my note taking during lectures and at home. There are many different types and styles you can use to customize your notes for the way that YOUR mind works.
I'm a very visual learner and I love to doodle, so my notes include lots of illustrations and colors to help me visualize the concepts.
A testament to the fact that I'm a visual and tactile learner is the fact that I aced all of my lab practicals in Anatomy, but struggled in the lecture exams. (Of course, I know now what I should have done then, but regardless, it takes me much longer to study information than most others.)
Incorporating mind maps and creative note taking throughout the semester will dramatically improve my performance on quizzes and exams. Once I had started using them last semester, my grades went up.
I also learn well from watching videos and listening to people talk. However, I have to supplement that with reviewing the information at my own speed or else I may not retain it.
So, I have to share what happened towards the end of the last semester with you as a testament to my improvement. I hate to say it, but on average my Anatomy & Physiology exams were D's and....lets just say that quizzes at the beginning of class and me being late all the time didn't turn out to well.
Like I mentioned before, I worked my butt off studying for a week and 1/2 before the lecture exam and final lab practical. It was humorous and to my advantage, but I actually thought the exam was a week before it actually was and I was pleasantly surprised to find out it wasn't that day! I can and can't believe it but I got an A on both! I still wasn't sure if it would be enough for me to get a C, but it pulled my grade up and I did it!
So, I made to A&P II and I'm positive things will be better this time around. My classes this semester include A&P II, Microbiology, Medical Terminology, Developmental Psychology starting the B semester in march, and a class called "SF Singers" (Sounds fun & it'll boost my GPA!).
That's it for now.
Everyone's a work in progress. Don't forget that!
That's it for now.
Everyone's a work in progress. Don't forget that!
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