It seems all the accomplishments in my life stem from one major accomplishment. I have changed the very person I was into a totally different person. I was born a shy and withdrawn person who could not learn well nor relate to other people socially. I hated this person I was but seemed trapped to live as that person for the first 18 years of my life. I wanted to change into a different person, one that was outgoing and socially skilled as well as able to learn at a higher level, but just could not grasp how to do that.

I never did particularly well in school prior to graduation from high school. My struggle with ADHD was real and left me adrift and at odds with teachers, parents and even my class mates. I was flighty and could not stick with a task at hand thus my problems with school began. Frustration overwhelmed me as I could not seem to grasp difficult concepts because I learned differently from how my teachers were prepared to teach me. I began to feel inferior and became super sensitive to teasing from classmates about my size and appearance. My lashing out at classmates just made this worse and my life seemed to be spiraling out of control with no hope to regain control or change this person I had become.

I did, however, begin to discover that I had an interest in athletics and was able to improve my skills at sports. I gradually became very good at athletics and I held onto this ray of hope in my life just like a shipwreck survivor might hang on to a life raft. This area of my life was improved by my practicing on my own in my spare time. It seemed that I began to be accepted and feel OK when I performed well in sports. Sports made school bearable for me and provided a few friends that I had otherwise been unsuccessful in obtaining. I poured all my frustrations into practicing sports. My coaches loved this aspect in me and I finally got some encouragement and some kind words for being successful. This began to offset my negative experience in class work.

After high school, I began working as a carpenter with my dad who built houses. My insecurities socially were deep and working as a carpenter did not equate to my success at being an athlete. I was very shy still and when my dad would send me for supplies I would beg him to not send me because I was too shy to talk to the store personnel. I had no confidence in myself outside of sports and could not stand to hear my own voice as I stuttered and stammered to try and communicate with

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