{"id":3582,"date":"2014-05-30T07:30:17","date_gmt":"2014-05-30T11:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/?p=3582"},"modified":"2014-05-30T07:30:17","modified_gmt":"2014-05-30T11:30:17","slug":"2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/","title":{"rendered":"2014 NJCTS Children’s Scholarship Award Essay: “I Can Accomplish Anything”"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the essay I submitted to the New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome & Associated Disorders (NJCTS<\/strong><\/a>) for their 2014 Children\u2019s Scholarship Award contest. I hope you enjoy it!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>“l’ve been from the bottom of the deepest and darkest\u00a0 abyss, to the top of the\u00a0highest and brightest mountain” (from the book “Against Medical Advice” by fames\u00a0Patterson and Hal Freidman). This quote is a great description of what it has been\u00a0like living with Tourette Syndrome for most of my life.<\/p>\n

Since my diagnosis at the\u00a0 age\u00a0of 3, my TS has caused me much trouble, stress, and difficulty, TS has caused me to\u00a0be bullied, to get in trouble at school, and to have an almost impossible time\u00a0focusing.\u00a0 Good behavior? Sitting still? Forget it!\u00a0 TS didn’t allow me to have it.<\/p>\n

Tourette Syndrome changed my life by teaching me how to persevere and\u00a0overcome very painful (almost torturous) life obstacles. My tics were very\u00a0disruptive and painful for most of my childhood and early teens. For example, I\u00a0would bite my thumb, my neck would twitch constantly, and I would scream in the\u00a0middle of\u00a0 class. My muscles would become exhausted, would\u00a0 ache, and would\u00a0 cause\u00a0me continuous physical pain.<\/p>\n

My sleep was impacted due to the muscle pain, tics,\u00a0and exhaustion. I would lay awake at night crying because\u00a0 I couldn’t sleep or was in\u00a0pain. When I began taking medication as a young child, I had negative side effects\u00a0such\u00a0 as extreme drowsiness, weight gain, increased appetite, and loss of memory.\u00a0 I\u00a0also struggled with OCD, which played a big role in making the TS worse because I\u00a0would feel the need to continue certain tics after the initial tic urge went away.<\/p>\n

Along with the physical pain, TS hurt my social life.<\/p>\n

I had no friends. Kids.\u00a0would not talk to me,\u00a0 I was bullied.\u00a0 I was afraid to talk to other kids for fear of being\u00a0teased, I felt like the monster in the school. I was depressed, anxious, and constantly\u00a0hyper, In sixth grade,\u00a0 I left public school and began attending a smaller school to get\u00a0more support. Over the next six years, I went from the bottom of the abyss to the top\u00a0of the mountain.<\/p>\n

In high school I did well.\u00a0 Each year\u00a0 I grew a little bit more mentally and\u00a0physically. My tics improved\u00a0 as each year went by. Throughout high school\u00a0 I\u00a0received helpful medical treatment, and worked on coping skills in school.\u00a0 Hallfway\u00a0through this school year (my senior year) I\u00a0 ceased taking medication and have been\u00a0able to manage myself well. Luckily I happen to have a\u00a0 case of TS that improved as\u00a0 I\u00a0got older, Now at age 18, I am happy to report that my tics are basically\u00a0unnoticeable, I no longer experience physical pain or problems sleeping.<\/p>\n

TS\u00a0 has taught me to be careful about how\u00a0 I handle social situations for fear\u00a0of being teased about having TS. In the past, I tended to tell everyone I met my\u00a0whole life story. After all these years with TS,\u00a0 I have learned to have patience, slow\u00a0down, and think before I speak. I am comfortable talking about my experiences with\u00a0someone I know and trust, but when meeting new people, I will now hold back\u00a0personal, information.<\/p>\n

TS has molded me into\u00a0 a confidant college bound young adult. It makes feel\u00a0strong, tough, and proud that I overcame\u00a0 so many obstacles. I am now confident in\u00a0my abilities, and my future because I conquered the TS “monster.” After living with\u00a0TS for all these years,\u00a0 I wake up\u00a0 each day feeling that I can accomplish anything.<\/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 2014 Children\u2019s Scholarship Award contest. I hope you enjoy it! “l’ve been from the bottom of the deepest and darkest\u00a0… Continue Reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":469,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[29,53,116,188,212,216,222,264,265,278,289,314],"yoast_head":"\n2014 NJCTS Children's Scholarship Award Essay: "I Can Accomplish Anything" - 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 2014 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\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2014 NJCTS Children's Scholarship Award Essay: "I Can Accomplish Anything"\" \/>\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 2014 Children\u2019s Scholarship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Teens4TS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-05-30T11:30:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/HendersonD-Headshot1-150x150.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"DanielH\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"DanielH\" \/>\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\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"DanielH\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#\/schema\/person\/18a930cef70ad537598687b5eefef4c1\"},\"headline\":\"2014 NJCTS Children’s Scholarship Award Essay: “I Can Accomplish Anything”\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-05-30T11:30:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-05-30T11:30:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/\"},\"wordCount\":620,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/HendersonD-Headshot1-150x150.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Anxiety\",\"Bullying\",\"Essays\",\"Life\",\"NJCTS\",\"OCD\",\"Pain\",\"Scholarships\",\"School\",\"Social Life\",\"Stress\",\"Tics\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Teens\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/\",\"name\":\"2014 NJCTS Children's Scholarship Award Essay: \\\"I Can Accomplish Anything\\\" - Teens4TS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/HendersonD-Headshot1-150x150.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-05-30T11:30:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-05-30T11:30:17+00:00\",\"description\":\"This is the essay I submitted to the New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome & Associated Disorders (NJCTS) for their 2014 Children\u2019s Scholarship\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/HendersonD-Headshot1-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/HendersonD-Headshot1-150x150.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"2014 NJCTS Children’s Scholarship Award Essay: “I Can Accomplish Anything”\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/\",\"name\":\"Teens4TS\",\"description\":\"For Teenagers with TS, by Teenagers with TS\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Teens4TS - New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2018\/03\/njcts-bug.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2018\/03\/njcts-bug.png\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":537,\"caption\":\"Teens4TS - New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#\/schema\/person\/18a930cef70ad537598687b5eefef4c1\",\"name\":\"DanielH\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fe2a2f4b011940f76f53b9b853c55ccd?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fe2a2f4b011940f76f53b9b853c55ccd?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"DanielH\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"2014 NJCTS Children's Scholarship Award Essay: \"I Can Accomplish Anything\" - Teens4TS","description":"This is the essay I submitted to the New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome & Associated Disorders (NJCTS) for their 2014 Children\u2019s Scholarship","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"2014 NJCTS Children's Scholarship Award Essay: \"I Can Accomplish Anything\"","og_description":"This is the essay I submitted to the New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome & Associated Disorders (NJCTS) for their 2014 Children\u2019s Scholarship","og_url":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/","og_site_name":"Teens4TS","article_published_time":"2014-05-30T11:30:17+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/HendersonD-Headshot1-150x150.jpg"}],"author":"DanielH","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"DanielH","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/"},"author":{"name":"DanielH","@id":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#\/schema\/person\/18a930cef70ad537598687b5eefef4c1"},"headline":"2014 NJCTS Children’s Scholarship Award Essay: “I Can Accomplish Anything”","datePublished":"2014-05-30T11:30:17+00:00","dateModified":"2014-05-30T11:30:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/"},"wordCount":620,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/HendersonD-Headshot1-150x150.jpg","keywords":["Anxiety","Bullying","Essays","Life","NJCTS","OCD","Pain","Scholarships","School","Social Life","Stress","Tics"],"articleSection":["Teens"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/","url":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/","name":"2014 NJCTS Children's Scholarship Award Essay: \"I Can Accomplish Anything\" - Teens4TS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/HendersonD-Headshot1-150x150.jpg","datePublished":"2014-05-30T11:30:17+00:00","dateModified":"2014-05-30T11:30:17+00:00","description":"This is the essay I submitted to the New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome & Associated Disorders (NJCTS) for their 2014 Children\u2019s Scholarship","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/HendersonD-Headshot1-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/HendersonD-Headshot1-150x150.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-i-can-accomplish-anything\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"2014 NJCTS Children’s Scholarship Award Essay: “I Can Accomplish Anything”"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#website","url":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/","name":"Teens4TS","description":"For Teenagers with TS, by Teenagers with TS","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#organization","name":"Teens4TS - New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome","url":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2018\/03\/njcts-bug.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2018\/03\/njcts-bug.png","width":1080,"height":537,"caption":"Teens4TS - New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#\/schema\/person\/18a930cef70ad537598687b5eefef4c1","name":"DanielH","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fe2a2f4b011940f76f53b9b853c55ccd?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fe2a2f4b011940f76f53b9b853c55ccd?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"DanielH"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3582"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/469"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3582\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}