{"id":3663,"date":"2014-06-16T07:30:53","date_gmt":"2014-06-16T11:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/?p=3663"},"modified":"2014-06-16T07:30:53","modified_gmt":"2014-06-16T11:30:53","slug":"2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-tourette-is-a-blessing-in-disguise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-tourette-is-a-blessing-in-disguise\/","title":{"rendered":"2014 NJCTS Children’s Scholarship Award Essay: “Tourette is a Blessing in Disguise”"},"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>My grandmother always told\u00a0 me that every person\u00a0 was put\u00a0 on this\u00a0 earth for a\u00a0 purpose.\u00a0Some people bring music to the world or find new\u00a0 cures for different\u00a0 diseases. I,\u00a0 on the other\u00a0hand,\u00a0 was placed\u00a0 on this\u00a0 earth to\u00a0 spread tolerance for\u00a0 those living with Tourette Syndrome.<\/p>\n

I\u00a0could go on about how horrible it is to\u00a0 have Tourette Syndrome\u00a0 and how it\u00a0 has been\u00a0embarrassing, depressing\u00a0 and sometimes painful. I could go on\u00a0 about how it has negatively\u00a0affected my life. However, I\u00a0 am past that stage in my life.<\/p>\n

Through my work as a Youth\u00a0Ambassador\u00a0 and a Patient-Centered Educator, I\u00a0 have become confident about living life with this\u00a0disorder\u00a0 and have become grateful that I\u00a0 was blessed with the opportunity to make a difference\u00a0in the Tourette’s community. I will share that Tourette Syndrome has positively\u00a0 changed my\u00a0life.<\/p>\n

Tourette Syndrome has molded me into the person I\u00a0 am today. Having this disorder has\u00a0brought\u00a0 me to new\u00a0 and exciting\u00a0 places to meet amazing and inspirational people. I want to show\u00a0people the positives over the negatives of living life with Tourette Syndrome.<\/p>\n

Having Tourette Syndrome is like living your life\u00a0 on repeat. Same tics every day, the\u00a0same sideways looks from others, and the same\u00a0 need to explain myself over\u00a0 and over again.\u00a0Every day I\u00a0 share my story in order to\u00a0 educate the world\u00a0 about the disorder, to clarify that having\u00a0Tourette Syndrome rarely entails shouting\u00a0 curse words\u00a0 and absurd phrases.<\/p>\n

I\u00a0 can truly say that having Tourettes Syndrome is a blessing in disguise. It\u00a0 has brought\u00a0me closer to my friends\u00a0 and family. It\u00a0 has brought me to make new friendships\u00a0 and go places I\u00a0never thought I would go. I\u00a0 can confidently\u00a0 say ” Hi my\u00a0 name is\u00a0 Grace Hawruk, and I have\u00a0Tourette Syndrome.”<\/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! My grandmother always told\u00a0 me that every person\u00a0 was put\u00a0… Continue Reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":480,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[25,38,76,89,116,127,136,188,212,228,264,358,359],"yoast_head":"\n2014 NJCTS Children's Scholarship Award Essay: "Tourette is a Blessing in Disguise" - 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-tourette-is-a-blessing-in-disguise\/\" \/>\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: "Tourette is a Blessing in Disguise"\" \/>\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-tourette-is-a-blessing-in-disguise\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Teens4TS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-06-16T11:30:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Hawruk-G-Headshot-150x150.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"OwenT\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"OwenT\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 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-tourette-is-a-blessing-in-disguise\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-tourette-is-a-blessing-in-disguise\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"OwenT\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#\/schema\/person\/a4605a3e5d3b6a7b8d1abb8fdba0287f\"},\"headline\":\"2014 NJCTS Children’s Scholarship Award Essay: “Tourette is a Blessing in Disguise”\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-06-16T11:30:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-06-16T11:30:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-tourette-is-a-blessing-in-disguise\/\"},\"wordCount\":344,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-tourette-is-a-blessing-in-disguise\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Hawruk-G-Headshot-150x150.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Advocacy\",\"Awareness\",\"Confidence\",\"Depression\",\"Essays\",\"Family Members\",\"Friends\",\"Life\",\"NJCTS\",\"PCME\",\"Scholarships\",\"Youth Advocate\",\"Youth Ambassadors\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Teens\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-tourette-is-a-blessing-in-disguise\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-tourette-is-a-blessing-in-disguise\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/njcts.org\/teens4ts\/2014-njcts-childrens-scholarship-award-essay-tourette-is-a-blessing-in-disguise\/\",\"name\":\"2014 NJCTS Children's Scholarship Award Essay: \\\"Tourette is a Blessing in Disguise\\\" - 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