To the hundreds of The Oracle readers, I am hereby outing myself as a victim of ADD. Yes, Attention Deficit Disorder. And it’s not just self-proclaimed either—I have been officially diagnosed with medical ADD, with a doctor’s letter and everything.

ADD is an actual disorder, despite the fact that people often misconstrue it as an excuse that lazy people use. The effects reach much farther than getting easily distracted or forgetting things. If you have ADD, you think slower, process things slower and don’t always see the best choices—not to say that you don’t know how. For example, it just takes more time to think about a math problem, even if we know the concept behind the solution.

In elementary school, my report cards would come home with comments like “has difficulties following directions” or “cannot complete class assignments on time.” But the fact was that I didn’t have the ability to keep my mind on one activity for too long—something teachers often misread. Consequently, they often took their red pens to note that I “exhibited inconsiderate classroom behavior.”

Now, every morning, I cut open my pouch of Daytrana, peel off the sticky backing, and place it carefully on my side. These “patches,” which use transdermal technology, contain twenty milligrams of methylphenidate that dissolves through my skin and is absorbed into the bloodstream. In turn, the chemical helps my brain focus and maintain attention longer via the blood. Sounds like a great solution, right? Not quite. There are tons of side effects including vomiting, nausea, severe rashes, inability to sleep and changes of mood—all things that I’ve experienced at some point or another.

When I first announced my diagnosis, people didn’t believe me. Why should they have? I had never flunked a course or had visible problems in class. But some people don’t realize that you don’t need straight Ds on your report card or troublesome behavioral notices to have ADD. People scoffed “You don’t have ADD,” simply because I was taking difficult classes. A student who has ADD isn’t synonymous with one who is failing, not trying, or giving up at school. There are plenty of students who suffer from the mental setback but continue to be high achievers because of their hard work and determination.

Some nights, I can’t fall asleep until five in the morning. But my message about people with ADD is that we aren’t less intelligent or less capable, and we certainly aren’t lazy. ADD may never seem to leave a trace on our report cards or transcripts at all; we simply have to work through tangled cords to get to the end result.

—Ma, a junior, is a Features Editor.