New Experiences

Happy Monday! I hope this blog gets your Monday going a little bit. We all know how Mondays can be painful. They are for me! I have heard a lot of parents tell me that there child has a hard time adjusting to new experiences, new people, and things of that nature. I'm not here to tell you that new experiences are all good. Not all of them are. Some will be bad. It will happen. They happen all the time.
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I have had a new experience, and that is crew. Most of you are probably saying, "huh?" It's the same thing as rowing. My brother did it his senior year as a "novice" they call it, which just means the people that have never rowed before. You can look at it as the Junior Varsity team if you wish. Anyways, I have had some issues with my right wrist so the winter training on the Erg's was interesting. We are in the boats now and the hardest thing for me in the boat is this: There is one person in the boat called the "coxswain" which is pronounced coc-sin. That person has a microphone and there are speakers in front of every rower. There is also a coach in a little motor boat with a mega phone watching us row and telling us tips and stuff. A lot of times both the coxswain and my coach are talking at the same time. For the novice boat, there is a lot of instruction from both persons.

Yesterday, my coach wanted to try me out in a different part in the boat to see if it would be better on my wrist to "feather" which is another rowing term that involves the paddle moving using your inside wrist/hand. It was the worst experience. Not only did I have two people talking to me at the same time, but I just couldn't keep up. I "crabbed" two times which makes my paddle get stuck in the water and it's kind of scary. It's rare, but you can get ejected from the boat if you get a bad crab. I almost ejected.. My feet came out of the shoes in the boat that you put your feet in. I was so frustrated after the second crab. I almost crabbed a third time, and we all stopped rowing. I started crying. I was done. I did the best I could do, and nothing was going right. It was just an overall bad experience. Our boat went back in, so I could get off.

I tried it though, and I stuck with it. If I never tried it, I wouldn't know if it would be a good or bad experience. The least you can do is try. You always have to ask yourself, "What's the worst that could happen?" Then after you ask yourself that, you try it, and if you find yourself experiencing the worst, you don't ever have to do it again, but you tried. 

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I guess I am writing to share how bad experiences happen to me, too. I don't write about them too much, but when they do happen I just have to get back on my feet. They are going to happen, and it's just something you and I have to except. Cry about it. Scream about it. Laugh about it.

I'm a message away! 

The Moment I Found Hope Was.....

So I haven't blogged in a while, and was trying to think of what to write about. Five minutes later I had it. I want to write about the moment I found hope. I guess I was looking for hope, because I was feeling hopeless that there wasn't another sole in the world like me. 

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I was fumbling my fingers across my keyboard on my computer, on Facebook. I was desperate and determined to find one person with Auditory Processing Disorder. Having gone through middle school, and knowing how bad I had it, I just wanted some reassurance that I wasn't alone. I didn't want to be alone, because I felt alone. But anyways... I typed in my search box "Auditory Processing Disorder", I waited a few seconds, and clicked through some pages, and then I stumbled upon a group. Before my hopeful eyes was relief. 

Not only did I find a person with Auditory Processing Disorder on Facebook, but I found an entire GROUP! This, my friends, was the moment I found hope. Hope and understood for once. I posted something on the Facebook wall like "I had no idea there were real people with APD out there. I thought there was only like 4 or 5 people out there. I am so relieved. Is there anyone who is 16 with APD on here?" 

This is when I knew I was dealing with a miracle. I met someone the same age in the same country (yes I did say country haha) who has the same learning disability. Just like me. And as I talked to her, which was a lot, we both realized how similar we were. It was weird, comforting, and jaw dropping. "You're a perfectionist too?!" "No way, me too!!!" Lindsey if you are reading this, you are my miracle friend!!! 

Finding people with APD gave me hope that this thing called Auditory Processing Disorder will not ruin my life anymore. I can actually talk to someone about it who can relate. It's the best feeling ever. Absolute best. Experience it sometime :)

You stumbled upon my blog for a reason. My blog will give you comfort for a reason. I have Auditory Processing Disorder for a reason and that reason is to help you understand your reason. Everything happens for a reason.