{"id":3586,"date":"2014-06-03T07:30:24","date_gmt":"2014-06-03T11:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/?p=3586"},"modified":"2014-06-03T07:30:24","modified_gmt":"2014-06-03T11:30:24","slug":"2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-tourette-doesnt-define-me-anymore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-tourette-doesnt-define-me-anymore\/","title":{"rendered":"2014 NJCTS Children’s Scholarship Award Essay: “Tourette doesn’t define me anymore”"},"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>I don’t remember anything from my middle school years. It’s such a blur to me. I made myself not want to remember. I didn’t want to hear the other students laugh at me; calling me “Twitch,” “Twitchli’ or hear them say, “Hey everyone! Let’s do the Julia!” That’s what I heard in those hallways.<\/p>\n

That’s the kind of stuff you would hear being said about a young girl with Tourette’s syndrome. Tourette’s syndrome is a neurological disorder that is characterized by uncontrollable tics, body movements and noises. It is caused by the nervous system. I was diagnosed with Tourette’s at the end of fifth grade.<\/p>\n

My tics started around the beginning\/middle of that year. Teachers weren’t attuned to bullying in those days, so I was left by myself to suffer. I would get in trouble with my teachers for making noises, rolling my eyes, raising my brows and having an episode. They wouldn’t believe me when I said I couldn’t control it. Some even made fun of it. They didn’t understand what I was going through. No one did. Not even my own family. They would yell at me to be quiet all the time.<\/p>\n

Memories from middles have returned and I’ve had flashbacks from that time I remember being in the guidance office at least twice a week, whether it was during lunch and recess or during a class. I remember eating my lunch in the bathroom, sitting in the corner on the floor or in the giant handicapped stall.<\/p>\n

During a huge science project in 6th grade, while I was giving my presentation in class, I became so anxious that my tics became uncontrollable, causing the other students to laugh at me. I finished my presentation, but as soon as I was done, I ran out of the classroom hysterically crying and embarrassed.<\/p>\n

Over the years, my tics have gotten better and people have become more understanding. Now, I have an amazing group of friends. I have participated in the musical at my high school since my freshman year. I can say that I sang the National Anthem at the basketball games for boys and girls and wrestling matches at school.<\/p>\n

I’m friendly to everyone I know and meet, despite how other treated me in the past. I am more outgoing than I was in middle school. I dance, sing act and even model now. Doing these activities have made me more confident. In everything I do now, I don’t let this disorder be such a conflict in my life.<\/p>\n

I have been a victim of Tourette’s syndrome for more than eight years and have learned to deal with it. It’s part of my life whether I like it or not. TS has made me stronger and I will not let it become my biggest deficit. I will not let Tourette’s define me anymore.<\/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! I don’t remember anything from my middle school years. 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