I have made a promise to myself to remember that I have started a blog so I will try and update it as often as possible.
Dyslexia has been a part of my life since I was about 7 years old and even before that I remember struggling with reading and writing in school. I didn't learn to read properly until I was 10 and I have always felt there is a huge gap between my peers and through out the course of my education.
When I was a child I thought having dyslexia was the most embarrassing thing in the world. So for a long time I tried to pretend that I wasn't dyslexia and didn't have a problem or need special help with my reading and writing. All through primary school I hated been taken out of class away from my peers to have help with my reading , writing and spelling.
When I got to secondary school they school initially did offer me help but I refused to have help in school. But my parents could still see that I was struggling with keeping up with my peers at school so they sent me to a tutor to help me with my spelling and reading. But I was still very embarrassed that I had to see a tutor to help me spell and read so I used to lie to my friend about where I had to be on Tuesday night after school. I stopped seeing my tutor when I finished my GCSE which I somehow passed. But I did have to work very hard just to get mostly C grade GCSE. Once I recall my English teacher being surprised that I had got a B in the English coursework as she knew that I had dyslexia and she asked me if I had done the coursework myself.
Then I started my A levels and somehow forgot that I had dyslexia and ended up getting 3 B's. Which at the time I thought was a breeze but I didn't realize how had I had worked to get the grades I did. So when I got to university and found myself struggling with all the readings and the coursework I finally stopped denying I didn't have a problem. Now at university is the first time in my life where I have come to understand that I have a problem which is not a burden. But something that I need help and support with. And is a part of who I am.
Having dyslexia is one of the reasons I have started a blog. I want to be able to clearly communicate what I am saying via writing as recently I have been thinking of becoming a journalist when I eventually graduate form university.
That is why I hope this blog will help me in learning how to write clearly so I can improve my writing skills which I will then be able to use in my university assignments and for a future career.
I just realized I confused had for made in the first line. Because I didn't proof read my bad.
My life is pretty much like a dyslexic man walks into a bra.
I still for ever make spelling and grammar mistakes on Facebook in emails and via text so I always have a fear that people won't grasp what I am trying to convay.
Hope this helps.
Thanks so much for sharing your story! It can be tough accepting your differences, especially when it comes to something like dyslexia, but it seems as if you've done so quite well.
ReplyDeleteI still have issues with proof reading from time to time, too. I tend to beat myself up about it a little more than may be necessary, because I was once a writing tutor, and I have been writing on a more professional level for the past couple of years. I'm hoping to have some fiction published by the end of the year, and a novel at least accepted by a publisher within the next couple of years.
The more practice you get, though, the better you'll get at proofing reading and all that fun stuff, even if it might never get more enjoyable. (Proofreading and editing are my two least favorite parts of the writing process. Blech.)
Good luck with your journalism degree!