Dave's Story
Friday, March 27th 2009 @ 10:43 AM
It was almost thirty years ago that I walked away from college. I did not know it at the time, but the start-but- by- no- means finish routine was not so much a bad habit as a bad break. I had gotten an “A” on a paper with a “You should be very pleased with yourself!” added for good measure. But something inside me was not pleased. Quite the contrary, the prospect of having to endure at least the same amount of pain to produce paper 2 left me cold. All I knew was that I didn’t have a normal reward system.
But three years ago, after some suggestions from my sister, I took a look at one of the books with a self-test ADD evaluation. And I passed with flying colors. I had ADD, and because it is the inattentive type, I never had any idea. Living in Ann Arbor, I had the good fortune to find Sari and got the kind of support I needed during this critical time for me. Sari in turn recommended a great person for meds. Now all of a sudden I had a lot of thoughts and ideas about what had happened, what might have happened and what could happen. And these thoughts were very happy thoughts despite the turmoil that had colored my life. I picked up a book I had abandoned years ago; I read it. It began to dawn on me that I was finding something I had given up on years ago. I felt released from blame, and my brain, having always been busy with self-recrimination, began to reformulate.
I called my college back in NYC to ask about getting my transcript and the registrar suggested that since I needed so few credits for a degree that I finish my courses through them online. And what did I need? Yes, the course I walked away from thirty years ago. As it happened the course was being offered as we spoke with the same teacher I had had thirty years ago! There were a couple of other obstacles to clear (arranging for an exam locally, completing a non-major course requirement)), but all is now said and done. And I am very pleased to report that as of Feb. 1st, 2009, I have graduated.
