{"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

\"Fleischman,<\/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

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 →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":400,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[49,53,76,116,136,212,216,264,265,305,314,359],"yoast_head":"\n2013 NJCTS Children's Scholarship Award Essay: "TS has Shaped My Life" - Teens4TS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This is the essay I submitted to the New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome & Associated Disorders (NJCTS) for their 2013 Children\u2019s Scholarship\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2013-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-ts-has-shaped-my-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2013 NJCTS Children's Scholarship Award Essay: "TS has Shaped My Life"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This is the essay I submitted to the New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome & Associated Disorders (NJCTS) for their 2013 Children\u2019s Scholarship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2013-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-ts-has-shaped-my-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Teens4TS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-06-19T11:30:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Fleischman-Emily-201x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"EmilyF\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"EmilyF\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2013-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-ts-has-shaped-my-life\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2013-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-ts-has-shaped-my-life\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"EmilyF\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#\/schema\/person\/4e8365a5483765fdcf44314128e372d0\"},\"headline\":\"2013 NJCTS Children’s Scholarship Award Essay: “TS has Shaped My Life”\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-06-19T11:30:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-06-19T11:30:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2013-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-ts-has-shaped-my-life\/\"},\"wordCount\":613,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2013-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-ts-has-shaped-my-life\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Fleischman-Emily-201x300.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Books\",\"Bullying\",\"Confidence\",\"Essays\",\"Friends\",\"NJCTS\",\"OCD\",\"Scholarships\",\"School\",\"Teachers\",\"Tics\",\"Youth Ambassadors\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Teens\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2013-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-ts-has-shaped-my-life\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2013-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-ts-has-shaped-my-life\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2013-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-ts-has-shaped-my-life\/\",\"name\":\"2013 NJCTS Children's Scholarship Award Essay: \\\"TS has Shaped My Life\\\" - 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