I need honest advice

Post Reply New Topic

I'm 19 years old, and very anxious about the things I should be getting into right now. I'll begin with my experiences in grade school. This paragraph below is more or less a chance for me to express my past troubles, and not necessarily important for anyone to know.

I hate to bring a depressing story to a place like this, but I just can't explain my school experiences in a positive way. It was no place for me. Life in general seemed fine in the first few years. It was in about fourth grade that the realization that I was different started to grow on me. I threw fits of rage and did other things that are just embarrassing to look back on. I also hate thinking about it because, while I didn't realize it at the time, my physical appearance was just ridiculous, and it makes me cringe to look at my pictures from around that time. This distanced me from all of my classmates, and I was left with no friends at all, not that ever had any real friends. This sent me into serious depression, which I still haven't recovered from in a little less than a decade later. By junior high, I had probably become the most reclusive, closed-off student in the whole school. I absolutely hated it being that way, but here's the thing, with my communication impairments, I would have made a fool of myself trying to socialize with my classmates, and most of them were typical grade school students I wouldn't want to be involved with anyway.

With that out of the way, how did this affect my grades? Short answer, they suffered. They were actually pretty good in the beginning, I seldom got D's or F's. But it dropped off a steep cliff when I was about 12, as my life got in the way of my education. With very strong will and perseverance, I could have accomplished what almost everyone else either did, or could have done with some dedication and effort. I don't mean to downplay their problems as if their lives were all easy, after all, peer pressure is one weight on others' shoulders that I was absent of. Besides, I'm sure I wasn't the only one feeling disconnected, and that there are, have been, and sadly will be many people out there faced with similar struggles. I did manage to graduate from high school without having to repeat any grades; the staff really had to bend the rules to get me through. I can't imagine how I'd feel if I'd been put through an entire extra year while everyone else moved on, just because my grades made me look stupid. I'd like to point out that many of my standardized test scores were among the highest in my class.

Here's the most important part. Feel free to skip reading everything above, I know it's a bit extensive. The future is now, I can't put it off much longer, and I really don't want to procrastinate either. But my Asperger's speech problems, ADHD lack of focus, and Bipolar emotional roller coaster ride are a serious hindrance to my future. I'm also worried that my bad grade history will jeopardize my opportunities. The big question is, how do I work through this? I'm open to anyone's ideas on how I could get a higher education and eventually a worthwhile career, perhaps what programs are available for people like me. I feel kind of egotistical about writing this whole chronicle predominantly oriented to myself, forgive me if it's out of place in this forum.

Community colleges don't care about your high school grades--not one bit.

All they care about is that you graduated high school, or got a GED. And each credit in community college counts THE SAME as credits earned at Harvard.

I've known quite a few people who did not do well in high school, who flunked out of a four-year college, but did much better in community college, to the point where they were academically decent enough to get into a decent four-year college again, and graduate.

Don't give up, my friend. Your new life begins now! Forget the high school crap.