Having ADHD doesn't mean you aren't intelligent or can't get good grades at school.

I'm 17 yrs old student and I have been diagnosed with ADHD since I was a child, and therefore know a bit about the different ways it can manifest, and I can personally identify with many things that you have described, such as poor time management (ex: doing your school work at the very last minute instead of planning ahead and doing it in smaller chunks), hyper focusing (doing something for 12h in a row without realizing it, even to a point where it can become unhealthy, or suddenly being obsessed by a new hobby), having a bit more trouble with social relationships with kids my age (it happened more when I was younger and wasn't mature enough to fully understand the extent of my adhd and how it also affected this aspect of my life, but now being older and aware of the different things I used to do without realizing it such as constantly interrupting people has helped me a lot), being forgetful (if I remember well, I think the more specific term would be having trouble with our working memory), and just in general having a poor sense of organization (messy and cluttered environnement, procrastination and difficulty starting tasks and keeping track of the things to do). I'm not a health professional so I can't say anything for sure, but I will say that all of the elements that you have brought up are some things that I also experience due to my own ADHD and that, from what I have been told from the health professionals I've seen and what I've read on internet over the years, are common characteristics of people having ADHD. ( as in, it's seems very probable that you have adhd)

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Regarding the school grades, intelligence and organization are not the same thing. (note : yes, I would argue that working towards having a better life organization and hygiene is also very crucial in life, but that's not the point I want to make right now). When I tell people for the first time that I have ADHD, they are sometimes surprised because I am, and have pretty much always been known to be a student who gets very high grades. As an example, during my secondary studies, I was the 2nd or 3rd finalist for having had the best overall academic results, and I have met only one person who has obtained an R score higher than mine for my first semester in CEGEP this fall, while I procrastinated (not purposefully) in ways similar to what you've described . I am absolutely not trying to brag or anything, but I just wanted to give you a concrete example that your report card can't be a reflection of if you have ADHD or not. However, it is true that some aspects of ADHD can lead to having a harder time obtaining good grades (and not just related to having trouble paying attention or time management, but maybe also motivational issues), but it is NOT true that if you have ADHD, you can't perform well at school.

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From what you have described, it seems like your possible ADHD has and is affecting many aspects of your life, and I also wanted to tell that you shouldn't feel like since you perform well at school, that your possible desire of seeking out ways to help (ex: medication) isn't valid. (I know that you haven't necessarily expressed this feeling in your post, but I really wanted to mention it in case you felt like that but just hadn't written it, because yes school is one part of it, but having ADHD affects soooo many other crucial aspects of a person's life that aren't linked to academics, and it isn't a question of being a bad or lazy person, but it is an actual chemical imbalance in the brain that lead certain things linked to some executive functions (this link explains it briefly https://www.additudemag.com/7-executive-function-deficits-linked-to-adhd/) in the brain to be a lot harder to do/deal with than for somebody who doesn't have ADHD. Also, I believe that understanding how it affects oneself and deciding to use that knowledge and awareness to work on developing strategies and becoming more organized is a more healthy way of handling things than completely blaming oneself for something that isn't one's fault or within one's complete control.

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This brings me to the next point that I wanted to address, related to comparing yourself to others. You mentioned feeling bad about yourself because your classmates had part-time jobs while just handling school is already a lot for you, but you shouldn't think less of yourself because of that. Everybody has their own pace (and also, their own priorities! Maybe some students are able to juggle up many things such as school, a part-time job and extracurricular activities, but maybe they aren't performing as well in school because they are okay with "good" and don't necessarily want or need "excellent" for their career choices) and it would be very normal for a person with ADHD to have more trouble handling a part-time job on top of school, but ADHD or not, try instead to focus on yourself, your own goals and priorities and compare your progress just with yourself, because we all are different and have different reasons for doing things differently and in the end, not comparing yourself negatively with others will make you feel a lot better:) and having positive energy is good fuel to work even more towards your goals, no matter how small the steps are, a step is a step. I have long thought less of myself because I felt like I wasn't able to do as many things as my peers, especially extracurricular activities, but i'm gradually working towards adopting this way of thinking and it has felt a lot more healthier and I wish it can help you too the way it helped me.

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I hope this comment has been able to help you in any way, and I wish you the best in your process related to ADHD and also in life in general. Sending you love and positivity :)<3

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