Today is one of those days where I worry and feel like others view me as simply a collection of my symptoms or “that girl in our class who has Tourette’s.”
Sometimes I feel proud to have Tourette’s because it makes me different and unique, and I feel proud of how I have handled the cards I have been dealt. Today, though, I don’t feel this way.
The first week of the first semester of college is always a rough time for me. I have to tell my classes and professors about my Tourette’s before they know anything else about me. Telling group after group, person after person that I have Tourette’s and explaining what it is to a bunch of people who know nothing else about me really takes its toll.
I know it’s something I have to do to make my semester easier in the long run, but during this first week I just feel like “that girl in our class who has Tourette’s.” It’s pretty rare that I feel this way, but I just don’t know how to shake this feeling …
I try to think of all my amazing friends here at college and back home who see me as so much more than my tics, who support me so much and love me for who I am. I try to think of my co-counselors and campers from Camp Twitch and Shout and how grateful I am that having Tourette’s has given me my amazing camp family, but today nothing seems to be helping.
Today is just one of those days where I feel not just a little bit different, but a lot different. Today is one of those days where I feel alone.
