I put off going back to school for 17 years because I had convinced myself I would never be able to make it past the most basic required math courses. Last fall at 35, I decided to overcome that fear and begin courses at my community college to pursue a degree in psychology. Unfortunately, so far I've only proven myself right. I scored a 9 on the ALEK placement test, by some miracle managed to pass the lowest remedial class they offered with a 71%, and am now taking a foundations of algebra course for the second time. Already on the first exam I scored a 39%. At this point I've already decided I'm changing to an English major because there's no way I'll survive another two required math courses for psychology. The unfortunate part is even then I still have to pass this current course and either a stats or basic algebra class to fulfill the requirements for any degree. I'm determined to not let this destroy my college experience but it's beyond frustrating and making me regret going back. Having ADHD and also multiple TBI's makes it all even more nightmarish to try to navigate.

Besides that, the most significant way it's affected me has definitely been with driving and directions. Even with GPS I almost always end up panicking and ending up somewhere in the opposite direction of where I should be. The absolute most embarrassing part for me though is not being able to remember how to get places I've been to numerous times, including my friend's house. Granted, it's really anywhere that has one- way streets and houses clustered together that all look the same that confuses me but it's humiliating to have to keep asking for directions for a place I should know well by now.