{"id":2827,"date":"2013-06-19T07:30:30","date_gmt":"2013-06-19T11:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/?p=2827"},"modified":"2013-06-19T07:30:30","modified_gmt":"2013-06-19T11:30:30","slug":"2013-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-ts-has-shaped-my-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2013-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-ts-has-shaped-my-life\/","title":{"rendered":"2013 NJCTS Children’s Scholarship Award Essay: “TS has Shaped My Life”"},"content":{"rendered":"
This is the essay I submitted to the New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome & Associated Disorders (NJCTS) for their 2013 Children\u2019s Scholarship Award contest. I hope you enjoy it! And here is\u00a0my profile<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0on the NJCTS website.<\/em><\/p>\n Similarly, I rarely went on play dates after school because I wanted to go home so I could tic, and I never went on sleepovers because of the same reasons.<\/p>\n I continued to try and hide the “real me” until my freshman year in high school, when my doctor suggested I tell a few close friends about my TS and OCD. She related it to diabetes — a problem that you cannot control. I was hesitant about the idea and not convinced that it was OK, normal, cool or any combination of those words to have Tourette Syndrome — until my mother and I came across the NJCTS website.<\/p>\n Two weeks after the discovery of NJCTS, I told my two best friends about my TS, OCD and tics. They were wonderful and understanding. It became so much easier to relax with them, since I did not have to worry about hiding my tics. I even slept at one of their houses that night!<\/p>\n In April 2010, my life really changed forever for the better.<\/p>\n I was selected to represent NJCTS at the National Tourette Syndrome Youth Ambassador training in Washington, D.C. There I met other teenagers with TS, and from then on I understood that I was not alone and that I was really OK.<\/p>\n After training, I began speaking with students and teachers on a regular basis at schools about TS — a disorder that affects 1 in 100 people. I would explain what TS is and why you should not bully a person with TS or any disorder that they cannot control.<\/p>\n To reach an even wider audience, I wrote, illustrated and published the children’s book “Emily’s Tic.” This book depicts the pain and fears of children afflicted with Tourette Syndrome.<\/p>\n The sour diagnosis of Tourette Syndrome has turned into a sweet experience, helping me to become the person I am today. It was truly a making-lemons-into-lemonade moment when I found NJCTS. Its staff, programs and participants have given me the courage to be ME!<\/p>\n Because of what I learned through NJCTS, I now know that it is OK to have TS. I did nothing wrong to get it. I am not ashamed of who I am. I am just like everyone else. And no one is going to bully me!<\/p>\n With the support of NJCTS, I have come clean and will tell anyone and everyone that I have TS! And I will openly discuss my experiences — especially in the hopes that I can help someone else who has TS or any other disorder be proud of who they are.<\/p>\n My TS diagnosis and NJCTS have shaped my life. They have made me a more confident person, have given me the opportunity to gain leadership skills and have formed my career path. I hope one day to be a pediatric psychiatrist and help those with TS.<\/p>\n My journey with TS used to be a downhill roller-coaster — now it is only going uphill. and getting better and better!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is the essay I submitted to the New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome & Associated Disorders (NJCTS) for their 2013 Children\u2019s Scholarship Award contest. I hope you enjoy it! And here is\u00a0my profile\u00a0on the NJCTS website. I was diagnosed… Continue Reading <\/a>I was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder when I was 6 years old. As I got older, I tried to control my “tics” because I was embarrassed and afraid someone would make fun of me. I would try to hold my tics in all day long while at school and couldn’t wait until I got home so I could tick all I wanted.<\/p>\n