"teacher, it's NOT a phase!"

IMAGINE THIS:

you are in second grade. you aren't even 8 years old yet. you are sitting at your desk, cutting each INDIVIDUAL LETTER of your spelling words out and gluing them to a piece of paper. sounds fun, right? this should be easy. I mean, these are easy spelling words, and there are only 5 of them. these aren't the crazy hard "advanced bonus spelling words" that your teacher makes you do because you're so smart. and since we are, you know, in second grade, we should be able to cut and glue the letters down without a problem, right?
except for whatever reason, you can spell the word "Fahrenheit" but you just CAN'T CUT OUT THE LETTERS OF THE WORD "cousin" AND GLUE C-O-U-S-I-N ON A PIECE OF PAPER. it exhausts your brain. but, since you are so smart, you are supposed to be done by now. this is embarrassing. how do you get out of this?
well, you already went to the bathroom an hour ago. but maybe, maybe you need to go again.
"Teacher, I NEED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!"
"didn't you just go an hour ago?"
"I HAVE TO GO AGAIN! I have a really small bladder!"
".....okay. please hurry back. and PLEASE do not go again today."
you run outside the classroom. you run into the bathroom. the teacher was right. you didn't even need to go. but hey, you aren't cutting and pasting. then, somehow, you end up running a lap around the whole school. you come back in the classroom.
you try and cut and glue letters again, but UH-OH. you're stumped.
you just cut your whole paper to pieces and throw it away.
and for the 12th time, your teacher says, "I just don't understand how you are reading at a 4th grade level, but you just can't do this simple task."

fast-forward 12 years. you are in college. you like college because you are able to pick your own classes (for the most part) and what time you have them (for the most part). you are studying something that you actually enjoy, and you aren't cutting or gluing anything.
except, the one class you have to take to start your major classes is 4 hours long. every day.
and you can't miss anything, because it is all important information.
so you try and sit still and be mature and focused, but after 30 minutes in, you start to get restless.
1 hour: you are squirming and fidgeting in your seat, resembling the one 9th grade boy that your fellow teaching majors like to make fun of as being the "bad" kid.
2 hours: the teacher asks the class if they need a break. everyone gets a drink, runs to the bathroom. this, for you, is the best part of the class.
but shouldn't you be enjoying this? after all, this is the class you have to take to get into your major.
2.5 hours: you are ready for another break. nope. your teacher starts another powerpoint about the methods of teaching high school. THIS. IS. SUPPOSED. TO. BE. FUN!
3 hours: teacher asks if we need a break. then she answers her own question and says, "no, we don't have time."
3 hours 15 minutes: OH NO. you start kicking your desk.
3 hours 20 minutes: are you, an almost-20-year-old, throwing your pencil on the ground and picking it up again...on PURPOSE?
3 hours 25 minutes: you start talking to the person next to you. BUT WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT CLASS DISCIPLINE, RIGHT?!
3.5 hours: AUGHHHHHHHHHHHSDFOIUSFDJLFSDJ:DFJLKFD J:
4 hours: your brain is fried. never mind the fact that you have 2 other classes. you are DONE. you will never graduate college. you will never become a teacher. you can't even sit still for 30 minutes.


and that, my friends, is how attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder works.
it's not "just a phase".
it's not an excuse for bad parenting.
it's not something you can, you know, outgrow.
and yes, it can still affect you as an adult.
but, I mean, besides the inability to sit still for long periods of time and pay attention, you are filled with high amounts of energy, so it doesn't completely suck.
and, as a teacher, it will help me better relate to my students.
I will never make them do tedious work, like cutting and gluing things all day.
so yes, I am very grateful for my ADHD.