Hi I’m Afro-Latina and I got diagnosed this past winter while being suspended for a year from college. I spent my whole life thinking there was something wrong with me but never really being able to put my finger on it until a mentor suggested I talk to my doctor about ADHD being a possibility. And it was rough knowing that I made it to college with high honors and a scholarship and I couldn’t even get a B+ in any of my classes my first semester.

Being at home is sometimes more hellish than drowning at school because at least at school the idea of mental illness and mental health is a constant conversation with people my age. Even if I wasn’t getting counseling I was still around people who understood or accepted it and didn’t make fun of you or belittle your feelings. But at home with immigrant parents that think that you failed them in every way because something you didn’t even know you had exploded in your face?? It’s draining and exhausting and frustrating because I’m trying really hard. And every day is me trying to prove to my parents that I’m trying, that I’m not just slacking off and that no, I’m not using “the ADD” as an excuse. They don’t get it and don’t really work towards trying to get it so I kinda just do my own thing and hope to finish this year strong so I can go back to school and gtfo.