{"id":2852,"date":"2013-06-21T11:36:07","date_gmt":"2013-06-21T15:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/?p=2852"},"modified":"2013-06-21T11:36:07","modified_gmt":"2013-06-21T15:36:07","slug":"2013-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-a-bright-future-is-in-store-for-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2013-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-a-bright-future-is-in-store-for-me\/","title":{"rendered":"2013 NJCTS Children’s Scholarship Award Essay: “A Bright Future is in Store for Me”"},"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

\"Francis,<\/a>Kindergarten to eighth grade, I attended I very small Catholic school. My graduating class was only 12 girls and no boys. I was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome in the first grade. I was fortunate to be in such a small classroom environment, as my classmates were familiar with my vocal and motor skill tics. I think they all just got used to me and what I did!<\/p>\n

Coming to Bishop Ahr, which is a large Catholic high school, I was apprehensive about how my new classmates would react to my disorder. I had a hard time adjusting my freshman and sophomore years. The added stress I put onto myself made my situation worse. My neurologist always told me to be hopeful, that most people’s symptoms lessen during the adolescent years.<\/p>\n

I started competitive cheerleading and gymnastics in kindergarten. It was something I could do well and be comfortable with. Performing in front of others is a scary thought for someone with Tourette Syndrome, but I soon found out I was a natural at it.<\/p>\n

I would have never thought I would be able to try out for a high school competitive cheerleading team. Bishop Ahr cheerleading has a reputation for being state and national champions, and they are very well known across the country for being one of the best high school cheering teams.<\/p>\n

When I was younger, I admired those girls and I strived to be just like them. When I was a freshman, more than 100 girls tried out for the three teams — freshman, junior varsity and varsity. As a freshman, I was one of only three girls that made the varsity team during their freshman year.<\/p>\n

Now, I am a senior at Bishop Ahr and captain of the varsity cheerleading team. Over the past four years, I have wontDouble International Champion, Grand Champion and State Champion titles, and my team has gone undefeated in our local competitions. I am now preparing to try out for Monmouth University’s competitive cheerleading team.<\/p>\n

When I am cheering, I don’t think twice about having Tourette Syndrome, and I barely notice the vocal and motor tics. When I am concentrating on my routine or tumbling pass, I don’t see to tic at all. Being able to tumble and do gymnastics has made me a much better cheerleader and sets me apart from the crowd.<\/p>\n

All of these positive influences have given me a strong sense of confidence in myself, and this is the exact reason why I want to help kids like me fight through their disabilities and become the kind of person I am today.<\/p>\n

I have wanted to be a speech pathologist for as long as I can remember. Personally, I know how it feels to be the kid that everybody makes fun of because of something they cannot control.<\/p>\n

In the fall, I will be continuing my studies at Monmouth University and majoring in speech and language pathology. I know I will do great in college, and I am determined to succeed in higher education. I have really improved my grades during my senior year.<\/p>\n

Having Tourette Syndrome has never held me back from anything I set my mind to. Tourette Syndrome has taught me how to be a strong person and has given me the drive and determination to be successful in college. All I need is the opportunity because I know that a bright future is in store for me.<\/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. Kindergarten to eighth… Continue Reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":456,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[69,76,116,138,143,212,264,265,285,289,294,314],"yoast_head":"\n2013 NJCTS Children's Scholarship Award Essay: "A Bright Future is in Store for Me" - 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-a-bright-future-is-in-store-for-me\/\" \/>\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: "A Bright Future is in Store for Me"\" \/>\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-a-bright-future-is-in-store-for-me\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Teens4TS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-06-21T15:36:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Francis-Lauren-181x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"LaurenF\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"LaurenF\" \/>\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-a-bright-future-is-in-store-for-me\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2013-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-a-bright-future-is-in-store-for-me\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"LaurenF\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#\/schema\/person\/e157321aeef540f73b164f077bbb6af6\"},\"headline\":\"2013 NJCTS Children’s Scholarship Award Essay: “A Bright Future is in Store for Me”\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-06-21T15:36:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-06-21T15:36:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2013-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-a-bright-future-is-in-store-for-me\/\"},\"wordCount\":624,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2013-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-a-bright-future-is-in-store-for-me\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Francis-Lauren-181x300.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"College\",\"Confidence\",\"Essays\",\"Future\",\"Goals\",\"NJCTS\",\"Scholarships\",\"School\",\"Sports\",\"Stress\",\"Success\",\"Tics\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Teens\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2013-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-a-bright-future-is-in-store-for-me\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2013-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-a-bright-future-is-in-store-for-me\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2013-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-a-bright-future-is-in-store-for-me\/\",\"name\":\"2013 NJCTS Children's Scholarship Award Essay: \\\"A Bright Future is in Store for Me\\\" - 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