I wish I could tell my 17 year old self that she would be a PhD student by the time she’s 24

I was diagnosed when I was 17 and I was miserable, socially, personally, and particularly academically. I was on track to fail high school and not be able to go to university. Once I was diagnosed I worked so hard to catch up and get myself through high school, I obtained university entrance and begun an undergraduate degree in Neuroscience and Statistics (both of which I was told I wasn’t smart enough to do by high school teachers). Two years in I realised I wanted to be a designer and started scratch with a design degree. I have been a masters design student for 7 months now working on the design of adaptive medical facilities for altered biomechanics and my supervisor suggested that I apply to transfer to a PhD so I can scale my research. This week I was told that I have been accepted into the PhD program, I was offered a teaching fellow position and will be finishing my first job as a research assistant producing a report that will be submitted for academic publication. I struggle to take moments to be proud of myself, but it all hit me today and it was the most emotional I’ve felt in a while. To the 18 year old girl who thought she would fail at everything she ever did, you’re freaking doing it! So much love to all the ADHD folks out there ❤️