A unique experience that helped my overall development is my challenge with a learning disability at a young age. When I was in pre-kindergarten, my teacher recommended that I get evaluated by a psychologist, as she noticed certain behaviors of mine that were consistent with children who have learning disabilities. My parents complied had me evaluated.  After several visits with the psychologist, I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Luckily, I was diagnosed early, and functioned for a period of time without medication.  However, in elementary school, my grades began to suffer and my pediatrician recommended Adderall as a medication to increase my attention span. Adderall helped me focus and as a result, my grades improved, the downside was that it made me irritable. At the end of 6th grade, I stopped taking medication altogether. Although this required me to work much harder to stay focused and do well in school, I felt much better physically. Throughout middle school, my grades began to improve and my friends noticed that I seemed much happier. Because of my disorder, many of my teachers did not believe that I would be able to have success at a normal high school. I was unconvinced.  Although I had complied with all previous recommendations from therapists and educators, at this point I believed that I could achieve anything I wanted to achieve for myself. My parents asked my preference as to which high school I would attend; they let me make the decision.  I knew that I had learned to manage ADD and thought I would succeed at any high school.  As a senior in high school, a normal high school, I am thriving as a student scholar, citizen, and athlete. What I’ve learned from this experience is that challenges can either lead you to failure or to success - the choice is yours.