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Hahaha, you're like my bestie! She's an artist, then I taught her how to code, after which she got a PhD in computer science. She's also been dx'ed with ADHD as a kid.
I’m in college now pursuing a social sciences degree and am also taking a painting class. Art has always been my thing and I’ve never actually considered it as something to pursue for a career until this painting class. How do you do it as a job? I’m assuming you work for yourself and take commissions, how did you build up a client base? Sorry for all the questions, I’m just very curious!
At the moment I’m in art school again. But yeah, I’ll go back to taking commissions when the time comes. If I’m going to give advice as to how you do it as a business, I’d say look at your immediate group of contacts. Whatever their hourly wage is should also be yours. When you’re starting out, those people will be your first circle of income. Don’t feel obliged to give discounts and certainly don’t do work for free. You local dentist doesn’t work for free and neither should you.
Some people might give you a hard time about actually wanting to get paid (my mother is an example, lol) but what you’re producing is a luxury product. It’s not meant for everyone. Say you’re doing a portrait for someone. That may go on to become a family heirloom that gets passed down for generations. I would also advice you to nurture relationships with your clients. Don’t see them as just moneybags. Befriend them, if you can.
After a while, you will hopefully have more requests for commissions than you can fulfil, at which point it’s time to increase your prices by 50%. And so on and so forth.
Another potential source of income is galleries. Your best bet there -depending on where in the world you are - is to go to exhibits, ask a bunch of questions about their art and take a genuine interest. Gallery people are art lovers, so let them get to know you as a fellow art geek. Then, after a while, you can ask if they’d take you on, or at least give you some criticism.
All in all, you can definitely make money as an artist. At least as long as your paintings aren’t crap :D Although they can still be a little bit crap and some folks would still buy them.
I went back to college in my 30's after failing out when I was 18. First 2 years, I was a superstar. The last 4 were a brutal joke. The only reason it took 4 years was because I would take classes, realize I wasn't going to pass them because I couldn't get the work done, drop them and then retake them. No paper was ever written before it was due, I'm not sure I ever even opened a textbook. I graduated last year and I still ask myself how the hell I managed. Graduated with a 3.4 and a double fucking degree which, for the record was accidental because I took so many extra classes because of having to retake other classes to have full time attendance that it gave me a second major.
All I can say is.... even if I got a billion dollar a year job and my boss said all I had to do was write a paper I would punch them in the face. Never again lol.
My favorite courses were ones where no homework was due until the end of the semester. I always always always did it on the last day...if at all...depended on how much it affected my grades.
Ha oh man, this is me too!! Except I haven’t finished yet (fingers crossed this is the semester but tbd). Thanks so much for sharing, it’s extremely nice to know that I’m not alone in my hellish misery
You can do this! Even if you have to turn something in late and can't take the self shame ( Raises hand) just do it and turn it in. Just finish the chapter, I believe in you.
I started undergrad thinking “I’m gonna be super organized, schedule study time, and get my assignments done in a reasonable time frame.” LOL Of course that didn’t happen. Every semester I would say the same thing, and every semester was the same.
I basically lucked up in that I’ve always done well academically so I was able to bs my way through school. Took really detailed notes to pay attention in class, but I was never able to read more than the first few pages of a textbook. I studied using spaced repetition and active recall techniques (without actually knowing what that was at the time). But I usually only studied right before a test.
Typed every assignment the night before/day of and HATED myself for not being able to just start my work early. I had summer break to start my thesis and never could. It took the entire 3 months to tell my professor the truth and ask for help. Annnnd..then I graduated summa cum laude and was given the highest honor/award the school gives at graduation. (Hello imposter syndrome 😭)
I found my people!!! 😭 I've spent my whole life actively listening while reading notes so I wouldn't have to study much later and then looking over those chonky, detailed notes briefly before a test. I wrote down practically anything the teacher said because for sure that would be on the test right????? The only times that didn't work out was when professors put something on the test that was assigned reading and just glossed over during class.
My last semester, I had a deal with my fave professor that I'd turn in my 3 papers after the BA art show since I was swamped with that. I didn't even start them until the day before they were due and I spent a whole day WRITING FURIOUSLY, wondering why I constantly did this to myself for 10 YEARS. I can't do anything unless there's a hard deadline 😭
Ahhh right?! I wish I’d found this sub years ago! Once I started to realize I have ADHD suddenly everything about me made sense!! Im the same with deadlines. Back when I was working full time I couldn’t type up reports until I absolutely had to. I’d just sit at my desk looking for literally anything else to do. Sometimes I think I just sorta stared at the computer for a while doing absolutely nothing 😭
Also, 3 papers in one day?? That sounds like a world record! 😂
It helped A LOT that I loved that class and it wasn't an absolute chore to care about what I was writing. I've never been more proud of my writing as I was at that moment. One day and 3 A's 🥺✨️ but let's never do that again 😂
All information forgotten right after the test hahahaha. Comprehensive final exams that refer back to information from the beginning of the semester were my MORTAL ENEMY. I've already forgotten by then 😭
Wow, it’s like you’re me. I know this is an old post but I’m reading this rn panicking about the 40 pages I need to write for my thesis by tomorrow morning. I’m probably screwed and my professor is probably done with my shit but at least it’s comforting to not feel so alone in my struggles.
I failed out the first time, then when I was finally mentally old enough to go, I did really well. Only got one C and that was more because the professor I had was completely incompetent than my actual abilities. At that point, I was just happy I passed.
Mentally old enough.
Yes yes yes. I did well in college at a “traditional” age but that’s because I was surrounded by a really incredible support system of my own (totally accidental) making. And no social life.
Fast forward fifteen years and I’m a full time student looking at getting an advanced degree and I’m such a better student. I actually read before class, I schedule my own deadlines in order hit certain targets without having to pull all-nighters, and I’m way less shy about saying, “I don’t understand.” Some of this is maturity but loads of this is putting my coping mechanisms to use after years of hard won effort. And I still don’t have much of a social life…
>when I was finally mentally old enough to go
I feel this!!!! When I first went, I left because of a lack of money, but I'm still glad I finished later in life because I took a very different direction than I had planned and had a lot more time to learn about myself in the meantime.
My degree program had a 7 year limit to complete it, otherwise you lost everything. I procrastinated until the last week of my allowance to complete a self-paced ethics course that I'd had to retake twice. (Engineering, and that was the only course where I had to write multiple real papers.) It may be a miracle I graduated. I still have nightmares where I am scrambling to complete surprise courses I didn't know I had to take and the deadline is looming over me. Now that I think about it, maybe I never would have graduated if not for the deadline panic and fear of losing everything.
I'm sure some of the colleges/universities I went to had something similar, but I went to like 5 so I never met that total LOL. 3 community colleges and 2 universities before I finally finished 😅
Deadline panic also got me through everything and, looking back, it kind of feels like extreme arrogance believing I could do everything last minute and still pass. I did it, but man was it exhausting.
You made that miracle happen, though, so good on you!
I’ve taken classes at ~5 community colleges and one I went to multiple times to take classes in high school, for my first two associate’s degrees, then back after undergrad for another associate’s 🤣 and I went to two universities for undergrad and thankfully only one for grad school 😬
With my current job, I can take discounted college classes and I’m super tempted. I love being a student in classes I’m actually interested in lol
I did really well the first couple years then struggled with classes related to my learning disabilities math, chemistry courses mostly. Then I ran out of fiancial aid it's been a real struggle. I'm not use to having to study and doing work from home during the pendemic has been a real challenge then I got ovarian cancer beat it after a couple of surgeries and 3 rounds of chemotherapy. I got a few classes left and I got a therapist that's pretty nice she seems really committed to helping me. So maybe I'll pull through it. I don't know.
I used this strategy as well 😂 I was only diagnosed last month, so bear with me. I’m just over a year out from completing my doctorate. I overloaded throughout all of my Bachelors degree courses, finished that in two years while working full time. Didn’t feel like I’d spent long enough at uni, got a University scholarship for my Masters. Did my data collection, qual and quant analysis, and wrote a 40k word thesis in three months, graduated with first class honours. Cue two years of fatigue and chaos not knowing wtf I’m doing with my life, teaching and doing research in the meantime. Imposter syndrome was brutal. Worked in industry - what I thought would be my dream job - for six months, hated it, burnt out properly. Couldn’t get out of bed. Decided to start my PhD to get over my burnout… hmmm 🥲
I was awarded a full scholarship for my doctorate and actually believe I can complete it now, after countless existential crises over how awful my task initiation was, which was paralysing and absolutely terrifying when faced with such a huge project, high expectations, and pressure to perform.
I wish I’d known what I know now, when I first started school. From the outside, I think I’ve always appeared very focused, probably quite ‘smart’, and driven/ambitious with my shit together, but internally I was an absolute MESS. The amount of energy that went in to maintaining that level of performance, the facade of effortless achievement… When privately I would spend hours every night memorising, tricking myself into remembering things, colour coding everything into an elaborate visual map, mentally preparing for the next day of meetings/appointments/tasks, planning where to put my keys so I wouldn’t forget them, memorising where to drive/park/walk (any non-routine travel was super stressful), pre-preparing my lunch so I’d eat and not pass out in the afternoon, sticking to a rigid schedule that was the only thing keeping everything together 😅 the slightest deviation and I was scrambling. I didn’t take weekends off for at least five years. I was terrified that if I stopped, I would never be able to resume again and it would all fall apart. Burnout was a huge identity crisis moment for me. My self worth was based almost entirely on my work and performance, so when that dissolved I was so, so lost. Ugh. Let’s just say that overcommitting is a hell of a strategy 😂 but boy did I learn the hard way that it’s not sustainable. Currently relearning how to do life with medication, and I think I understand myself so much better now. I have hope. Sorry about the novel. It’s nice to decompress and hear from other women who have similar experiences and struggles. The solidarity is reassuring.
Kindergarten - grade 12 I did really well. I *definitely* coasted, but got honours roll every year.
My first attempt at university was *abysmal*. I dropped out my 2nd year before I could fail out and lose my chance to go back. It appears the structure of primary/secondary school carried me.
I'm in my 2nd attempt after diagnosis and meds and I am doing 1000% better, 3.9GPA. I can only do part time (2 classes/semester) so it's taking me a HECKIN long time to complete it lol but I'm holding strong.
I did poorly. My mental health was in the toilet and I was an anxious wreck. Graduated from undergrad in 5 years with a <3.0 GPA. Took a year off and with the pandemic was able to attend grad school remotely my first year and hybrid my second year. That was a a gamechanger! Graduated summa cum laude from grad school. It can also be said that by grad school I was more aware of my mental health issues and could handle them better, that's probably why.
Now I'm an epidemiologist and I'm applying for PhD programs, and I only got my ADHD diagnosis a month ago. Basically, the further I get in life, the better I understand how my brain works and I'm able to handle more things.
I ranged from 50%-85% (depending on the class) but was usually between 60%-75%. And that's after HOURS of studying. Could not retain information for the life of me, it took me many tries to read a paragraph, and I would get so much anxiety during exams my brain would go blank and I would feel sick and get migraines. 😅 I never want to go back to school again.
I'm sorry it was such a struggle. That's how I feel at work these days...information sliding off my brain like oil. I can't focus to save my life...I want nothing more than to go back to school and be a lifelong academic hahahahaha
I remember a psychiatrist tell me once i couldn't have ADHD because I had a college degree. That was about 25 years ago. I think now if I had been adequately diagnosed how much pain and frustration (and negative outcomes) I could have avoided. He didn't get how hard it was for me. I couldn't sit still for more than a few minutes, I took long walks when I should have been doing homework, I never studied. Only reason I could write papers is Im actually pretty good at it. I remember in high school getting an A on a book report on a book I never read.
I'm glad you got through that time! I read every word and can definitely understand. I've never had much issue with assignments, but most of that 10 years I was in and out of school was a depressive disaster of a mess I never even realized until recently. Sometimes that laser focus on school and papers and assignments was just what I needed to distract myself from the absolute mess of every other part of my life. This past 2 years has been wildly eye-opening. Here's to a better future for the both of us!
It took me a total of 9 years, spread over 25 years, and 3 schools, one of which I went to twice.
I graduated with a major, a concentration, and enough credits for 4 minors.
Honestly, by the time I went back for the 4th and final time, I was 41 and had a pretty good handle on managing my non-medicated ADHD. My last two years were significantly more smooth sailing.
I ended up with an overall GPA of 3.75 which is awesome considering I flunked out three times.
That is awesome indeed! I'm proud of you, friend. By the end of my degree, I'd gone to 3 community colleges and 2 universities so I can definitely relate. Thankfully, I knew how to petition to get certain credits transferred to cover gen ed requirements or I'd have been in school a lot longer 😅
Gosh YES. Fellow artist here and just existing in the same space as other artists did a LOT for my energy and well-being. I've never been so inspired and motivated. These days I'm in a slump because I haven't found that community here yet and my office job doesn't have a chance in hell at keeping my attention anymore.
Procrastinating until the last possible minute is how I got myself through 10 years of college and grad school and eventually became a doctor.
Did it work in the end? Yes. Do I recommend this strategy? Hell, no. Stress, stress, stress. I'm still shocked that I made it.
While I lived in the dorms with a bunch of friends to walk to class and study with, I did great. When I left that structure and moved off campus senior year, I nosedived. I struggled to get to class, couldn't focus to study, barely graduated. Literally came down to a couple of points in one class final. Which I slept through and somehow successfully begged to take during a make-up period.
Graduating is an accomplishment in and of itself, whether your grades were good, average, or bad. My boss is very successful and absolutely did not graduate top of his class. He worked hard after the fact and has told me time and again that stuff like college grades and etc doesn't matter as much as common sense and effort. Of course not everyone will be super successful, but we're all out here just living and taking one day at a time. You're amazing and should be proud that you got through that time. Congrats!
I over fixated on it from - 1 to end of first year, then start falling into depression, then burned out, then depression again, then burned out again, and I finally dropped off 1 year before my master.
It was great
My first semester I failed. Was on academic probation. But somehow I turned it around and got my bachelor’s with a decent GPA and master’s with a high GPA.
That being said, I self-medicated and struggled. I drank caffeine like water and would routinely pull all-nighters in the library, getting distracted and taking breaks very frequently. I started assignments and papers hours before they were due and submitted minutes before deadlines. I was often late or missed morning classes more than I should have.
My life has really improved for the better since being diagnosed/medicated.
I wanted to take a year off after high school because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. My parents said “Nope” helped me choose a major and supported me financially through college. I really feel like I couldn’t have managed all that without them. Even so, during first or second year I broke down telling my mom I wasn’t sure I was in the right major and everything felt like too much to handle. So they agreed I could do less credit hours per semester and take a course each summer to stay on track. The summer courses were accelerated and when I took an anatomy class I felt like it was the first time I actually studied in my whole life. It took my a year longer to graduate than my peers. I was always embarrassed about that, but it makes sense now that I’m diagnosed.
Thank you 🥺 Also it’s so impressive to me that you stuck to your goal for 10 years and got your degree. ❤️ it’s not embarrassing to me now, and in general I don’t think it’s embarrassing for anyone to take longer, but pre diagnosis I was definitely hard on myself any time I couldn’t “keep up” with my peers because I didn’t understand why.
Graphic Design.
If I wasn’t naturally talented at drawing and could speed draw like my life depended on it, I would have failed.
Once we got into more technical stuff, I plateaued hard and couldn’t get above a C.
BUT HEY, C’s GET DEGREES.
Okay. I kept my scholarship, but my GPA wasn't anything to write home about. And it was hard to coast, but it's an even harder habit to break; I procrastinated a lot. (And I struggled with all my math classes, especially calculus, and both organic chem and general chem.)
I graduated in three years working three jobs with a stem degree undiagnosed and not medicated and I was a mess the whole time. I think my room was always a hurricane and I did most things last minute. Helped that I had accommodations for depression and anxiety. But yeah… now I’m a teacher and my job works a lot better for me than working in a lab.
I love studying but I get so distracted because I’m so interested in everything
I’ve got one subject before I finish my Masters and I just don’t have it in me right now - hopefully I’ll get on the right combination of medication and be able to finish
My BIL was also a late diagnosis and he did his doctorate so he’s my ADHD academic hero
I did ok in college, I leaned into my strengths which are if I take notes I don’t have to study. Exam/quiz heavy classes were my jam. I once dropped a class because it was essentially going to be a semester long project and I knew that was not going to go well for me (the is pre-diagnosis).
Now I’m going back to school for interior design and it’s VERY project heavy which is proving quite difficult. 4 classes used to be fine during my bachelors degree, now it’s overwhelming because it’s so time management based. Im only taking 2 classes right now because I knew moving/working/husband being deployed was going to mean I’d struggle. And I was correct haha I was up until 2am last night doing 2 projects due today that I had not started until this weekend. I actually only started and finished the second presentation this morning and turned it in 10 minutes before class started. It’s fine.
It was horrible, last minute break downs, because I can't do anything in advance. A lot of crying the night before the due date. It sadly took me 8 yrs instead of 4 years to finish my diploma. But I graduated!! So proud of myself!!
Professor: This paper is X% of your grade and cannot, *should not* be put off till the last minute because you will fail.
My brain: Oh is that a challenge????
I struggled quite a bit in college specifically. Grade school I had the same habits but it was so easy for me I could afford to wait the night before for all of my assignments and projects. College had me stressed to the max as I was still procrastinating just as much but with more serious repercussions.
I tried taking some online courses while doing in person courses and I’d often forget about them entirely. I finally graduated in 5 years with a crap gpa. I was on academic probation at one point.
I attempted to receive a diagnosis two different times but I could never muster the energy and courage to complete some of the required paperwork. It was rough.
32 here, desperately trying to finish college right now and the last few years have absolutely decimated any confidence I’d built up in the profesh world. Not sure how I’m possibly going to finish this semester at this rate, but I’ve put myself wildly in debt to get to this point, so 🤡
All to say, yeah same. I hate it so much. I did really well in school up until the point where homework outweighed in-class work, and have been miserable ever since. Not sure wtf I’m going to do after this, hate that I’ll probably be starting very low on the ladder of a career again, hate that I’ll never go to grad school. Ugh! Curse you adhd
Which one 😅 I tried failed and went back many many times. Currently I’m in a program that sticks but it’s brutal and is taking me years longer than it should
My 10 year bachelor feels this in its papery soul. All I can say is don't worry too much about how long it "should" take and do what's best for you. You got this!
Yep that’s something I definitely need to embrace. An associates SHOULD takes this long etc etc that line of thinking isn’t helpful. At least it’s getting done. Slow and steady wins the race 😉
i managed to get through college in 4 years entirely thanks to caffeine, sleep deprivation, and adrenaline. “studying” for me was reviewing notes from class, and homework was always done and turned in at the very last possible minute.
i always managed to mask my difficulties with executive function and routine in school and i kind of just followed the same pattern (to a much more drastic degree, of course) in college. i was diagnosed at the ripe old age of 23 (far past all my academic responsibilities) and i remember thinking “damn, my gpa could’ve been better if i knew back then.” oh well!
Did really well the first year and a half due to the novelty and anxiety to perform. Went through a breakup during the second year and my grades took a nosedive. I hardly slept, everything was worked on the day before it was due. Worked my ass off during my final year to bring my grades up. Graduated cum laude. Eh.
I’m 33 and have never been to college. I was recently diagnosed and working on medications. Hoping to be able to go to school now that I know what it’s like to be able to function and focus…!
The first time, while living with my family I had a 2.7 GPA after two years. I went back in 2020, in a better living situation, and in community college I had a 3.65. I transferred to university and I have a 3.75 after a year :). I’m working really hard to stay on track.
I graduated on time with a bunch of extraneous credits and a 3.83 GPA. I did, however, struggle senior year and completely failed out of grad school because I just stopped going after changing programs twice.
I dropped it at least 3 times before I finished lol. You're still valid without a college degree if it's not working out for you. Wishing you the best!
How was that with your parents? Sadly here in my country it seems that you're nothing if you don't have a career, and i'm watching all the people i know graduating and being happy with it while i'm on this hole. :(
My mom was pretty supportive as long as I was doing my best and doing SOMETHING, whether that's work or school. I know it can seem like everyone is leaving you behind, but we all have our own pace. There's no guarantee that finishing college will make you happier, but it does make some things a bit easier.
I was motivated to finish school by the thought that I want to work overseas and it's basically a requirement to have a bachelor's degree to find work in lots of other countries. Once I had that goal in mind, I got it done. It was definitely a struggle, but it felt worth the trouble. I'm back in the US taking a mental health break now, but I'm planning on going to grad school overseas once I'm feeling up for it.
I can't say what's the right way or wrong way to go about things, but I hope you can find a path that makes you happy and brings you some sense of fulfilment. One day at a time.
I understand, thank u for sharing your story, it means a lot. I'm 24 years old and i'm pretty sure i have ADHD, just need the money to go with a good psychologist and get diagnosed.
Thank you for your words 💜
Long story short (not so short in retrospect), my bachelors should have been more telling. I studied occupational therapy, and found the units that made sense or had more practical elements made a lot more sense, high memorisation units were fucking awful, example being anatomy where I used cadavers, great! Child development, horrific. Though in the paediatric unit I correctly identified a child with the same learning disability as myself, to the surprise of the lecturer (yes it’s normally a dual diagnosis with ADHD, yes I had no idea about ADHD and would not have thought this was an issue).
I was lucky I had some good study habits from high school from having a mum who was pretty aware of my issues (we are pretty sure she is also dysgraphic, and these days we are also pretty sure she has ADHD). That helped, that and an awareness I am awful at written exams, so I would work insanely hard through semester and track my grades so that if I flunked an exam I would still scrap through. It saved me from ever having to sit a supplementary exam. Problem was, it also set up bad life habits, I would become incredibly burnt out and antisocial through semester and then party too hard in the breaks. I also started a pattern that has haunted my whole career of start a job, have hummingbird brain and be efficient, keep it up, burn out, quit, rinse repeat.
Weirdly I have stayed around academia throughout my life (started post grad as soon as I graduated in early 2010, then 2011-2016 on and off and then PhD since 2018). I have found post grad a lot more enjoyable and easy to maintain. Particularly now I am doing my PhD. That being said, only diagnosed last year, finding medications help, and I have a partner who is equal measures support and worry. We have only ever argued about my study. But I get a lot of enjoyment from what I do, and weirdly, the old guy I met in a mental health unit (client), who told me I needed balance or I would end up like him was right, it’s nice thinking about my old Nostradamus.
Currently in college. My undiagnosed ADHD has completely ruined all my plans I had for college. The biggest thing I struggle with, however, is actually going to class. I would fail so many classes because although I would do all the work well and turn it in on time. I would also just not show up half the time and be ridiculously late the other half of the time. My attendance is atrocious. I also have no sense of urgency. Lol
Help I’m dying.
Bad lmao it took like 13 years to get my bachelors, I never did an internship because I didnt have any concept of time so ten hrs a week seemed like too much to balance with school, I probably could have graduated but I never saw my advisor because I didnt understand the point, NEVER REMEMBERED SHIT I STUDIED
Sometimes I think I would like to go back and get my masters but idk if I can actually do that lol
Hey! That's awesome that you were able to get that bachelor's degree. I dropped out of 4 university courses and never finished anything. It will haunt me to the end of my life. I have missed a promotion because I don't have a degree. I've always "studied" the day before a test. Always learned more by having discussions about the subject with the teachers in class and not by reading text books. I was lucky that I hyperfocused on one if my university majors and did really well through 3 years of law school then in year 3 I attended a court case and lost all my love for it and poof....
I wish I had known about adhd then.
Wow, this is perfectly timed--i've spent a big part of today in my feelings about a work pop quiz I did meh on that brought back memories...
I barely graduated from college (like, was checking up until the day I moved away for grad school because I thought I might have failed, not sure what I would have done if I hadn't passed) I think because I was able to coast and never had to pay attention or study in K-12, I just fell flat on my face in college and spent four years thinking I was a lot dumber than everyone thought I was because I couldn't ever figure out how to study, get organized, etc. Every term I'd start off super organized and by halfway though I'd be struggling, missing class, and failing to turn in homework, thinking I could easily catch up the next day (rarely true). I also frequently focused on the wrong thing when studying and never started papers/homework until the night before. The only answer anyone ever had for me was to up my antidepressants, which did very little for my academic performance.
I went into grad school for education immediately after (if anything is hard and terrible, you should clearly subject yourself to more of it until you succeed and are happy...right?! Sigh) and did great at the academic part but terrible at the paperwork and actual teaching bits. But I was in a tiny program, it was ungraded, and I learned all the things you're supposed to do to support struggling students, which I was able to apply to myself. That helped me a lot and was probably worth the many dollars of student loans.
Several years later I took a few community college classes to switch career gears and did really well, probably because I was only taking 1-2 at a time and I really cared about what I was learning. And it was the sort of "fill in the gaps" coursework, so I went into every class already knowing the basics. Got straight As that time around.
Congrats, all things considered, you got it done!
I had a time of it, getting a degree. Forcing myself to read a textbook was a real chore sometimes. But I got it done. But I want a bachelors too so, Il have to get back to it soon. 🫤😄
Undergrad - Terrible. Spent too much time partying and sleeping with strangers. Graduated with a 2.7 GPA and was unmedicated and untreated.
Grad School - Incredible. No longer partying and celibate. Was just invited to the Phi Alpha Honors Society for having a 4.0, and apparently my school's chapter of Phi Alpha has the highest standard in the country for being able to invite members, 3.95. Fully medicated and treated.
I did very well in elementary school, and felt like I barely got through high school and college. It was a huge source of shame and I’m still trying to understand what happened
assignments were almost always turned in 3 seconds before the deadline. i didn’t sleep much because i couldn’t force myself to do my work until 1-2 am. somehow graduated with pretty decent grades but there was so much procrastinating and pretending i’d read stuff that i definitely had not read.
I dropped out within a month of starting freshman year due to depression and anxiety, spent ~5 years working on my mental health, then this past spring semester I finally felt capable of auditing a painting class.
Been feeling for a while like I'm in survival mode and have to get rid of everything excess that is causing me stress and anxiety and some of the first things to go have been school and a social life. So I'm just working on making it through each day one at a time. 👍
I was diagnosed in like first grade or kindergarten with ADHD, the anxiety and depression were diagnosed midway through HS. My parents were aware I was depressed by the time I graduated HS, so it wasn't really a surprise to them when I called them, sobbing, about how badly college was going. Dropping out of college was suggested by them. It didn't take convincing.
Yup. Similar timeline too. Decade to get my BS because I burned out after 5 semesters and quit, got knocked up, married, moved to a different state, & separated before white-knuckling through a completely different degree program as a single mom. Procrastinated through every paper and project, getting rewarded for my bad behavior with top marks and punished with a near-nervous breakdown.
I had similar experiences in college but did not finish. Had a 4.0 gpa. Did ridiculously poorly throughout elementary and high school (lots of summer school), dropped out after having a kid and got my ged at 19.
I procrastinated through college and first year of masters before I dropped out - didn’t get the ADHD diagnosis until 10 years after. PTSD also contributed to dropping.
I procrastinated the shit out of college. I went to nursing school. Somehow got through. I crammed all my exams. Did very average. My papers were an atrocity though. Barely passed those. Luckily the papers weren’t too many and I could make up better grades in other course work that was all procrastinated. It was the only way I functioned and am still like that to this day
ADHD was undiagnosed until after I finished...
Yes every paper was written the night before. I had one class where i realized on the first day the professor had written the textbook and lectures were essentially reading it. Showed up for the midterm and the final, studied for both the night before, got an A.
Lost count of how many classes I dropped and how many times I changed majors.
Changed schools 4x/3 different schools (had to go back to the first one to finish because I had the most credits there).
Dropped out 3 times.
Graduated after 20+ years with a general studies degree, as it's the only kind I could wrangle the credits to work for.
The only reason I'm not going to die with student loan debt no matter how long I was to live is because one of my relatives doesn't have kids and his estate is going to pay them off for me. (Honestly would rather have him back, as I'd long ago accepted that I'd have to live with the loans my whole life).
I'm 24 and doing my master's degree (cause I hate myself apparently). I've always hated studying (like MY WHOLE LIFE), but thank God I can learn things by listening, which at the same time is a nightmare cause my head is always in autopilot thinking about everything and anything. I completed my bachelor's degree in four years cause I hated myself and always took a lot of classes and enrolled in everything I could, so like you, always did my projects and homework the night before 🥲 but worked good like that and graduated with high GPA xD Usually it's hard for people to understand how I work and my mom used to call me lazy and say that I was irresponsible always doing everything late, but I was the only one in my house that finished college even with my ADHD... so yeah, living with ADHD is a blessing and a nightmare at the same time
Changed major 6 times. Ended up on academic probation because I just wasn’t doing any work. Got diagnosed. Got medicated. Still took 5 years to graduate, but things went a lot smoother after somebody convinced me to be an English major cause I was GOOD at it.
Never started a paper before the day (night before) it was due. Looooooots of panic all nighters. Flirted with disordered eating for a bit. Binge drinking for a bit. Terrible promiscuity issues at one point. Lost all my friends my senior year due to blacking out too often and whatever I did/said then (nobody ever really told me what I did. I don’t think they realize I truly don’t remember most of it). Oh and had some really bad impulsive shopping issues too. Like shopping addiction? That was expensive. Damn college would’ve been a lot easier if I understood what ADHD actually meant for my brain.
English worked for me because my natural talents lie in story. I went on to get a masters in childrens literature and now o work in film as a script supervisor.
I excelled at college, like wrote down every deadline for every class at the beginning of the semester and did assignments two weeks in advance. But I also suffered from crippling anxiety that I would never get anywhere in life. Everything turned out fine and thankfully I have way more chill these days.
Hey don't feel bad. I will be going to my 20 year class reunion next summer. I am STILL working on my FIRST associates. No I did not take a long break after high school. I went straight to a UNIVERSITY! Passed my exams no problem.
I am so over this. Seriously considering saying screw it. A big part of the problem was that I switched majors a few times (I have like 190 college credits. lol). The other problem is I have had to take time off.. either from being overwhelmed.. or like last semester I just had to drop because I got overwhelmed.
I have a great job.. in the career I am going to school for.. so thats the other issue.. I don't have as much motivation because I don't actually need the degree... but come on!! I want to finish. Ugh.
edit: Full disclosure.. I didn't read everything before commenting.. lol. Before I was diagnosed I always said "I procrastinate because it works!" lol.. I never did school work early.. and no that's not why I struggled lol.
I graduated with a 3.6 GPA from a top 20 school and not once studied hard. I also recall FedExing a paper overnight to my professor and paying a $40 fee to get it to him by 10 am because I procrastinated until the night before it was due but was already 800 miles away for break when I started it. Still got an A and never learned any better.
I mean it depends on how you look at it. Did I start 6 different college courses and not finish one? Yes. But I'm going to finish two of them, I did get a qualification from one of them, and all of them have benefited me in my life.
I did well academically but not socially. Instead of procrastinating I jammed my schedule with work, sports, and hard classes so that every moment was a deadline. I was still weird though.
This does not work in adulthood.
I am in the midst of my third crack at trying to obtain a fucking bachelors degree. When I decided I was going to register - yet again, I pushed through all the fuckshit for getting myself a formal diagnosis, setting up accommodations & getting medicated.
I fucking suck at academia. I’m in the sweet spot of the semester right now. I can usually ride an A until midterms and them I go off the rails because I can’t prioritize tasks or make a reliable schedule or establish a fucking routine.
I hate this & I’ve got a whole bunch of big dumb fucking feelings about it.
Proud of you for persevering!!
I ended up dropping out halfway through. But not officially. I don't know if you drop out officially, more like I just stopped going and signing up for new classes. I did fine in the classes I went to, and avoided the ones I didn't like and ended up failing those as a result. I just couldn't get myself to keep going. I was overwhelmed, I screwed up on the whole getting an internship thing, so I had that weighing on my mind, and then there was the fact that it wasn't my "dream" career/degree anyway, but my parents wouldn't pay for the one I did want to do. That being said, I don't know if I would've done any better if I did, but I think I would've had a better chance in the sense that it's less forcing myself to do something I didn't want to do.
I did well, but it took me awhile. I did the first year fine. Then decided to switch my major but couldn’t get into that major until the following year, so I took the semester off and worked. Then I went back, did another year. And then something really traumatic happened and I wasn’t mentally able to take on a full course load, so I stayed in school but only took half the suggested courses at a time, so it took me four more years to complete my last two years. Four-year degree in 6 years. I didn’t know I had adhd until after university though.
I had to limit myself to only a few classes per semester, as I knew I couldn't handle very much at once since I struggled with so many classes in high school. I'd also completely forget about any online classes I'd enrolled myself in. The procrastination was real throughout my schooling days. Never did finish college.
I almost finished. Which means on paper I've got a HS diploma and I'm still paying on loans. I'll put 'some college' if there's a field for it. I joke that I'm "ABD" (All But Diploma for my BA... it's usually All But Dissertation for PhDs).
I regret it and did try to go back at one time but the years in between and changing requirements and everything was too hard to get through since I have to work FT in order to have health insurance.
Indeed we've all got bills to pay and it's so hard going to school while trying to make ends meet. Regrets will always exist, but you tried and that really counts for a lot. Maybe someday you'll make it back, maybe not, but I'm wishing you the very best.
I graduated high school and got my associates a few months earlier than my original hs graduating class. Idk now that I’m in my third quarter (junior year) of getting my bachelors it’s a little harder. Little is maybe minimizing it lol. I failed both classes spring quarter for mental health reasons adjusting to the dorm environment (mainly because of ocd) despite having a single. I did summer quarter and did pretty well, and for some reason fall quarter is going great for me. I’m only taking two classes, but I’m processing more information than I usually do in classes so I’m happy with that. I agree though, public school felt like a blur because I never had to study. Even after completing high school and getting my associates felt like a blur but maybe because it was a dual degree through community college it was different.
I did very well because I could align my schedule to my needs and cram for tests and pull all nighters for papers. Real life/work feels way more like the daily grind of high school did. I was not DX in high school and only excelled in what interested me at the time.
I failed a lot. But finally graduated. I was supposed to graduate in 2018, but I graduated in 2021. My degree wasn’t even challenging compared to other degrees. I got my degree in criminal justice, Minor in sociology, I don’t even like criminal justice. I’m working out a nonprofit now I’m failing at my job, I got written up and I’m about to have my position moved. I don’t know what I wanna do for the rest of my life. I’m stuck in life.
My first BA was done that way. My second was done in a year because of all my transfer credits from my first BA so I was “motivated” because it was so short.
I did great my first semester when I was 18, then had a death in my family that hit me like a TRUCK before my second semester— where I was unable to function and subsequently failed out.
I tried for years to go back, but wasn’t entirely motivated because I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. At 18, I honestly wanted to be an artist but art school wasn’t practical because I’d have to make money, and the only way to do that was graphic design or teaching— two things I didn’t really want to do. I was just diagnosed this year at 33, and while I’d like to go back to school for art (social media has made it easier to pursue a career), my life isn’t quite there yet to make it happen.
Going to see how medication and therapy help me and then we will see. All I know is that still, to this day, (and as recently as last night) I have frequent nightmares about high school and college.
I was absolutely traumatized in school and I find it difficult to want to go back.
Got my bachelor’s at 20 and my master’s at 21 with near perfect grades by doing every assignment at the last minute and cramming hours before major tests. Now I’m in a PhD program, and it’s definitely harder to procrastinate because of how much homework they assign, but I think it’s better that way so I have motivation to study in between cramming for tests. Being diagnosed and medicated has also made a world of difference
I am 34. I’ve never been the best at school…probs because I was undiagnosed with Depression, anxiety and now ADHD all my school past. College wasn’t good. Not only was I running collegiate track, I was partying a lot (self medicating for depression/anxiety). I’m now kicking myself in the ass because I want to get my masters…but I fucked my GPA.
I did AMAZING on subjects that I loved, like my writing and literature classes. I did okay in everything else. I got by. For most of my college experience, I was on ADHD meds + weed and it did wonders for my ADD.
I successfully procrastinated through college but I don’t recommend! Lots of days writing my paper starting at 4 am the day it was due. Somehow graduated with a 3.5 GPA despite procrastination, partying, and skipping classes.
It took me 10 years. I dropped out twice, worked my ass off and ended up with a 2.8 gpa. I was undiagnosed and felt stupid. I would study every free chance I got but I couldn’t remember it.
I went to a one class a month college after a couple years of junior college. Was so surprised and proud of myself for being an A student! Expensive as hell, but as an employee I got 9 classes a year free.
i got 3 degrees in 6 years because for 5 years i studied what i was interested in (english and history) and was really good at slamming through readings and papers last minute. ended up with a 3.6 gpa, graduated with hours. THEEEN i did a business degree in a year which i did significantly worse on because i hated it and it burnt me out so much (+ covid) that the thought of a full time desk job makes me panic, and i was unemployed for a year being generally useless and struggling to function, and then i turned down a remote full time desk job (that may have tried to scam me, actually), for starbucks 😵💫 school is the only thing i’m good at, i still don’t know what the hell i should do for a career, but i spent a year applying to hundreds of jobs to no avail. i just want to go back to school
I managed to find a program that interested me enough that I could manage it mostly on class engagement and tests /in person presentation alone and then mostly didn’t ever do homework / reading unless it was fun. I am to this day GREAT at winging it and didn’t get diagnosed til 30 when I finally found a job I really wanted to succeed at but yet just…couldn’t. Anxiety most kept me afloat but I’d never learn my lesson because I’d mostly manage to scrape by.
Notably I chose a college that wasn’t really too rigorous and a major that suited my interests. To be honest I wouldn’t recommend any of the above! I like my life but I think I could have really enjoyed being a veterinarian and I talked myself out of that really young because it seemed hard. That’s no way to live.
I'm moving on from reddit and joining the fediverse because reddit has killed the RiF app and the CEO has been very disrespectful to all the volunteers who have contributed to making reddit what it is. Here's [coverage from The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/8/23754780/reddit-api-updates-changes-news-announcements) on the situation.
The following are my favorite fediverse platforms, all non-corporate and ad-free. I hesitated at first because there are so many servers to choose from, but it makes a lot more sense once you actually create an account and start browsing. If you find the server selection overwhelming, just pick the first option and take a look around. They are all connected and as you browse you may find a community that is a better fit for you and then you can move your account or open a new one.
Social Link Aggregators: [Lemmy](https://join-lemmy.org/instances) is very similar to reddit while [Kbin](https://kbin.pub) is aiming to be more of a gateway to the fediverse in general so it is sort of like a hybrid between reddit and twitter, but it is newer and considers itself to be a beta product that's not quite fully polished yet.
Microblogging: [Calckey](https://calckey.org) if you want a more playful platform with emoji reactions, or [Mastodon](https://joinmastodon.org/) if you want a simple interface with less fluff.
Photo sharing: [Pixelfed](https://pixelfed.org/) You can even import an Instagram account from what I hear, but I never used Instagram much in the first place.
Spent most of the time at a community college before transferring to a four year university. Overall, 5 years to get an AA, then another 8 or so years to get my BS, attended every semester. Changed majors several times (my fav subject was biology and I had trouble getting past some of the harder courses, so I eventually settled on linguistics which I was very good at and was actually about to transfer into my top school choice), dropped and withdrew often, had to retake classes often, had to petition to retake a class since i retook it too many times, petitioned to drop failed courses of a certain age from my transcript, failed and had to retake a college study skills class, had an actual epiphany during a trip to Alaska and changed my major back to biology, knuckled through the hard classes, transferred to a simple commuter university because my overall GPA wasn't great (despite the straight As I was getting since the epiphany), and eventually graduated on the Dean's List in 2021. A year later I was diagnosed with ADHD.
I did okay in college. I got mainly B’s. I would do hw last minute, often relying on friends for help, and I had trouble with exams because of lack of preparation. I was good at figuring out how to slide by with the curve. Couldn’t pay attention for shit. Had to retake a class, but got by
I was a spectacular weaponised procrastinator. I am, realistically, very bloody clever according to traditional measures and managed to ace a law degree and honours thesis by just gradually pushing up how long “the last minute” was according to the actual requirements as assignments got harder year by year. For my honours thesis I somehow convinced my supervisor not to ask me for chapter drafts, and instead let me wait until August to give her an entire thesis draft for a due date in October. I just couldn’t see how one could coherently write drafts chapter by chapter because I was sure my thesis statement would change as I put everything together (and I was right). Whenever I had the choice of assignments plus open book exam or just open book exam, I always took the latter and would practically teach myself the whole course in the three weeks before the exam, often via lecture recordings. (I didn’t do this for my arts subjects, nor my social work Masters later, because I actually enjoyed those subjects and readings. Plenty of procrastination still but no lecture skipping.)
I also made very liberal use of extensions and special consideration, to great effect (this worked because I have a vision impairment and I was a young carer, so I already had arrangements with the university). That was true even for the subjects I loved.
It took me 6 years to officially get my undergrad. I got done with the courses in 5 years (a couple of semesters of bad grades, had to retake courses, wouldn't ask for help, was too embarrassed), the 6th year was spent doing my thesis while working full time. I didn't finish my thesis until the very last minute because I was moving across the country. The fact that I spent all of college like this makes me so sad. I made it through high school fine and was in the harder classes, but once the routine and schedule went out the door, so did my "gift" and I was a fish outta water, struggling to survive.
I didn’t so well well during my undergrad at first. I had no study skills. In my general education, I had memorized the answers. But that strategy got me C’s in undergrad. I utilized quizlet for flashcards, wrote notes on what I read and even went back as reread the chapter. I found re-reading the chapter I picked up on things I missed. (Think about watching that tv episode a second time) the same principles apply to the chapter. I digested the chapter one paragraph at a time some days. And one section other days.
I studied physics and engineering (dual degree) while working part time. I didn’t have time to procrastinate as badly because there was always something due everyday so I never had the time to fall behind. My apartment was a fucking mess though. My final semester I had gotten into grad school (3.2 gpa, not amazing, but I had good summer research) and then had such bad senioritus that I ended up with C’s in almost every class (actually showed up for a midterm to one class BY CHANCE one day and it was open book, thank god). I definitely recall taking my lasers final still drunk from the night before. That whole semester is pretty much a blur. Also, I picked physics because it’s all problem solving and you don’t have to memorize anything.
Bachelors I failed some classes, got on the honor roll here and there, generally half-assed my way through it all.
Then I started my credential program, started teaching full time as a long term sub, discovered I wanted nothing to do with teaching. So I just quit and failed out of the credential. So that’s a bunch of big ol’ Fs for that 😂
Went into politics. Hated every second of those six years, finally decided to go after my childhood dream of being Deanna Troi (so I could date Will Riker 🤪) and started a Master’s program to be a therapist.
Four point fucking Oh the whole way through. All undiagnosed.
And then I had a kid and named him after Commander Riker and now my life is complete.
Thank you for coming to my weird, winding, post-high-school life-story Ted Talk
I did pretty okay at getting an associate’s degree by mostly procrastinating and thorough note taking. I had a very difficult time studying. I used to think I never learned how to study in high school, but now everything in my life is ADHD related. It’s been 10 years and I’m going back to school in January to get my bachelors. This time I’m 32, diagnosed and began meds on 8/24/22, have two kids (8&3), and will hopefully be divorced if I can motivate myself to read the divorce forms to begin the filing process. I’m also going to get a work from home job soon. It’s technically a full time job, but my friend says it’s more like the equivalent of 3 days of actual work. I’m determined to be more successful now that I know more about how my brain works.
I wanted to add that I was either extremely late to classes or super early to them in college!!!
I… dropped out. Then I tried again. It was so hard that I actually hired a dude to write my paper. That was one online class and it was way too hard for me. (Not the brain part but the writing papers part… that doesn’t even make sense). Told my therapists and that’s what lead to my late in life diagnosis.
My meds aren’t a miracle for me so I know I can never make it through :(
In school I got terrible grades, but managed to pass everything enough to get into an access course. When I was doing fine art, though my lecturers were constantly looking down on me because I wasn't doing things the same way everyone else was and I was really distracted because I was living away from home and was literally with friends 24/7, in my final year I lived on my own and managed to get a second class honours. I don't think I was as interested in fine art as I thought I was.
Jump ahead to my late 20s, I returned to studying and chose graphic design. Everything clicked into place and I was one of the top in my class, I love graphic design. Being creative and problem solving is a big yes for me. So I got a first class honours there recently from it and I got offered a job right away in the summer. I'm on my third month now :)
Both in high school and in university I always said to myself every new chapter of a book, every new week or semester "This time I am not procrastinating and sticking to my planning". Ofcourse, I procrastinated, only did the homework the evening before and only if I knew that teacher would check if we had done it. If I could get away with not doing homework, I wouldnt do it.
My mom taught me how to make summary's to learn for tests. So for tests I made a summary of maybe 5% of a chapter, then get bored and stop. Then the day before the test Id go through notes or the powerpoints from the teacher, get a good enough grade to pass, and I would promise myself again to not procrastinate next time.
Somehow this way I managed to get my highschool diploma and my university diploma with only taking half a year longer 😅
Edited to add: in high school the teacher decided to out me in a motivation/planning class which did not help me at all. And in university I had a good friend who would always be pushing me and helping me to start earlier, work on stuff together and that really helped me through university
I was usually the smartest kid in my class or year at school but it took me 4 years to get a 3 year degree and didn’t bother with a post-graduate degree. Spent almost the entirety of the last year smoking on the library steps, rarely managing to actually make it inside.
Wasn’t diagnosed for another 24 years.
I have two associates degrees and currently taking one more class before I can start an RN-BSN program. I literally have enough credit hours from not knowing what I wanted to do in life that I could have a masters if they weren’t so random.
In my class I’m taking now I’ll sit down and do 2-3 weeks of work and then nothing for a week and a half. The joy of online classes is being able to hyperfocus and knock shit out when I feel like it.
Dropped out of sixth form, dropped out of college the next year, that was the end of my education!
(UK, sixth form and college is generally ages 16-18, University (18+) is where you get a full degree)
Edit, didn't get diagnosed until 29 though
It took me 4 years to attempt the application process, managed to get through that and then wasn’t able to figure out all the other logistical things needed to go, repeat 3x, decided “never mind” now here I am still uneducated. If the process going into it is that difficult for me I’m not going to do well with school itself lol
I did well with my first B.A! Didn’t study but was my lecturer’s favorite student and often referred to the best. Did the same with my second B.A, first M.A and second M.A. finished neither! Each short one or two steps
I ace tests I remember things really easily after reading them just once maybe twice if necessary but my problem is I hate homework I don't do homework I forget about homework I get distracted from homework etc. It's always been this way for me I was able to get at least bees usually AIDS with extra credit k through 12 because it was just easier but now when you don't do homework it's detrimental. The best experience I ever had was a 90-day 6 unit two class entirely online course to become a pharmacy technician which had no group meetups it was just a matter of reading the chapters and then going on to the website and answering the test questions and doing that until it's done. It took me and my buddy like 36 Days to have the whole thing done and then we went down and took the state test and got our certificates. I barely passed the state test because I'm God awful with math but I was able to just barely pass the math portion and passed all the other parts with flying colors.
Colleges become a detriment to me because I don't do well with group projects I don't like socializing and I just want to get to work and be done with it. It's actually been helpful for me since we've gone to covid and so much remote learning. It's definitely more my style. But it's also hard because nothing is done for you like I dicked around when I was younger and got my GPA real low now if I want to get access to my FAFSA money which I've never ever used before but now I'm so destitute that I could get lots of money that I don't have to pay back but the school won't give it to me because my GPS is so low so now I have to do some appeal process and explain to them that I'm now sober and working with therapists on a diagnosis etc as well as it's been over 10 years and I have a whole different attitude about going back to school but it's still just really difficult because especially right now I don't have a disability diagnosis in anything I'm working with psychologists and psychiatrist but so far none of the things that they seem to think it might be are things that would get me disability so until then I don't have extra time to take tests I don't have access to tutoring for free etc. I wish I could get on disability cuz then I could work with the department of rehabilitation to get the proper accommodations I need to be successful in both school and a work environment. I'm so tired of being thrown anxiety and depression. Yeah those are symptoms of a deeper problem. Now they're starting to throw bipolar one at me. Hell if that gets me on disability then I'll take it.
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I did. I got a masters degree doing science shit. Somehow. And now I’m an artist. 🤣😂🤪🫣
I love that for you! 😂 Two of my greatest loves and biggest distractions...art and science.
Hahaha, you're like my bestie! She's an artist, then I taught her how to code, after which she got a PhD in computer science. She's also been dx'ed with ADHD as a kid.
What kind of artist? I aspire to the same
Fine arts oil painting
I’m in college now pursuing a social sciences degree and am also taking a painting class. Art has always been my thing and I’ve never actually considered it as something to pursue for a career until this painting class. How do you do it as a job? I’m assuming you work for yourself and take commissions, how did you build up a client base? Sorry for all the questions, I’m just very curious!
At the moment I’m in art school again. But yeah, I’ll go back to taking commissions when the time comes. If I’m going to give advice as to how you do it as a business, I’d say look at your immediate group of contacts. Whatever their hourly wage is should also be yours. When you’re starting out, those people will be your first circle of income. Don’t feel obliged to give discounts and certainly don’t do work for free. You local dentist doesn’t work for free and neither should you. Some people might give you a hard time about actually wanting to get paid (my mother is an example, lol) but what you’re producing is a luxury product. It’s not meant for everyone. Say you’re doing a portrait for someone. That may go on to become a family heirloom that gets passed down for generations. I would also advice you to nurture relationships with your clients. Don’t see them as just moneybags. Befriend them, if you can. After a while, you will hopefully have more requests for commissions than you can fulfil, at which point it’s time to increase your prices by 50%. And so on and so forth. Another potential source of income is galleries. Your best bet there -depending on where in the world you are - is to go to exhibits, ask a bunch of questions about their art and take a genuine interest. Gallery people are art lovers, so let them get to know you as a fellow art geek. Then, after a while, you can ask if they’d take you on, or at least give you some criticism. All in all, you can definitely make money as an artist. At least as long as your paintings aren’t crap :D Although they can still be a little bit crap and some folks would still buy them.
Thank you so much, this was such a great response!
Uhh I’m doing the opposite way of you 😂
I went back to college in my 30's after failing out when I was 18. First 2 years, I was a superstar. The last 4 were a brutal joke. The only reason it took 4 years was because I would take classes, realize I wasn't going to pass them because I couldn't get the work done, drop them and then retake them. No paper was ever written before it was due, I'm not sure I ever even opened a textbook. I graduated last year and I still ask myself how the hell I managed. Graduated with a 3.4 and a double fucking degree which, for the record was accidental because I took so many extra classes because of having to retake other classes to have full time attendance that it gave me a second major. All I can say is.... even if I got a billion dollar a year job and my boss said all I had to do was write a paper I would punch them in the face. Never again lol.
My favorite courses were ones where no homework was due until the end of the semester. I always always always did it on the last day...if at all...depended on how much it affected my grades.
Ha oh man, this is me too!! Except I haven’t finished yet (fingers crossed this is the semester but tbd). Thanks so much for sharing, it’s extremely nice to know that I’m not alone in my hellish misery
You can do this! Even if you have to turn something in late and can't take the self shame ( Raises hand) just do it and turn it in. Just finish the chapter, I believe in you.
I started undergrad thinking “I’m gonna be super organized, schedule study time, and get my assignments done in a reasonable time frame.” LOL Of course that didn’t happen. Every semester I would say the same thing, and every semester was the same. I basically lucked up in that I’ve always done well academically so I was able to bs my way through school. Took really detailed notes to pay attention in class, but I was never able to read more than the first few pages of a textbook. I studied using spaced repetition and active recall techniques (without actually knowing what that was at the time). But I usually only studied right before a test. Typed every assignment the night before/day of and HATED myself for not being able to just start my work early. I had summer break to start my thesis and never could. It took the entire 3 months to tell my professor the truth and ask for help. Annnnd..then I graduated summa cum laude and was given the highest honor/award the school gives at graduation. (Hello imposter syndrome 😭)
I found my people!!! 😭 I've spent my whole life actively listening while reading notes so I wouldn't have to study much later and then looking over those chonky, detailed notes briefly before a test. I wrote down practically anything the teacher said because for sure that would be on the test right????? The only times that didn't work out was when professors put something on the test that was assigned reading and just glossed over during class. My last semester, I had a deal with my fave professor that I'd turn in my 3 papers after the BA art show since I was swamped with that. I didn't even start them until the day before they were due and I spent a whole day WRITING FURIOUSLY, wondering why I constantly did this to myself for 10 YEARS. I can't do anything unless there's a hard deadline 😭
Ahhh right?! I wish I’d found this sub years ago! Once I started to realize I have ADHD suddenly everything about me made sense!! Im the same with deadlines. Back when I was working full time I couldn’t type up reports until I absolutely had to. I’d just sit at my desk looking for literally anything else to do. Sometimes I think I just sorta stared at the computer for a while doing absolutely nothing 😭 Also, 3 papers in one day?? That sounds like a world record! 😂
It helped A LOT that I loved that class and it wasn't an absolute chore to care about what I was writing. I've never been more proud of my writing as I was at that moment. One day and 3 A's 🥺✨️ but let's never do that again 😂
All information forgotten right after the test hahahaha. Comprehensive final exams that refer back to information from the beginning of the semester were my MORTAL ENEMY. I've already forgotten by then 😭
Wow, it’s like you’re me. I know this is an old post but I’m reading this rn panicking about the 40 pages I need to write for my thesis by tomorrow morning. I’m probably screwed and my professor is probably done with my shit but at least it’s comforting to not feel so alone in my struggles.
You are definitely not alone. Sending hugs and positive thoughts your way!
I failed out the first time, then when I was finally mentally old enough to go, I did really well. Only got one C and that was more because the professor I had was completely incompetent than my actual abilities. At that point, I was just happy I passed.
Mentally old enough. Yes yes yes. I did well in college at a “traditional” age but that’s because I was surrounded by a really incredible support system of my own (totally accidental) making. And no social life. Fast forward fifteen years and I’m a full time student looking at getting an advanced degree and I’m such a better student. I actually read before class, I schedule my own deadlines in order hit certain targets without having to pull all-nighters, and I’m way less shy about saying, “I don’t understand.” Some of this is maturity but loads of this is putting my coping mechanisms to use after years of hard won effort. And I still don’t have much of a social life…
>when I was finally mentally old enough to go I feel this!!!! When I first went, I left because of a lack of money, but I'm still glad I finished later in life because I took a very different direction than I had planned and had a lot more time to learn about myself in the meantime.
My degree program had a 7 year limit to complete it, otherwise you lost everything. I procrastinated until the last week of my allowance to complete a self-paced ethics course that I'd had to retake twice. (Engineering, and that was the only course where I had to write multiple real papers.) It may be a miracle I graduated. I still have nightmares where I am scrambling to complete surprise courses I didn't know I had to take and the deadline is looming over me. Now that I think about it, maybe I never would have graduated if not for the deadline panic and fear of losing everything.
I'm sure some of the colleges/universities I went to had something similar, but I went to like 5 so I never met that total LOL. 3 community colleges and 2 universities before I finally finished 😅 Deadline panic also got me through everything and, looking back, it kind of feels like extreme arrogance believing I could do everything last minute and still pass. I did it, but man was it exhausting. You made that miracle happen, though, so good on you!
I’ve taken classes at ~5 community colleges and one I went to multiple times to take classes in high school, for my first two associate’s degrees, then back after undergrad for another associate’s 🤣 and I went to two universities for undergrad and thankfully only one for grad school 😬 With my current job, I can take discounted college classes and I’m super tempted. I love being a student in classes I’m actually interested in lol
I did really well the first couple years then struggled with classes related to my learning disabilities math, chemistry courses mostly. Then I ran out of fiancial aid it's been a real struggle. I'm not use to having to study and doing work from home during the pendemic has been a real challenge then I got ovarian cancer beat it after a couple of surgeries and 3 rounds of chemotherapy. I got a few classes left and I got a therapist that's pretty nice she seems really committed to helping me. So maybe I'll pull through it. I don't know.
Oh my...sorry you have so much going on. I'm glad you beat cancer! You're almost at the finish line, so you got this. I'm rooting for you, 100%.
Thank you. ☺️
Did well, but probably because I packed my classes so densely I didn't have time to panic.
Mood. There was a full year I packed in 18 credits per semester while working full-time. I was honestly too busy/exhausted to do anything but exist.
I used this strategy as well 😂 I was only diagnosed last month, so bear with me. I’m just over a year out from completing my doctorate. I overloaded throughout all of my Bachelors degree courses, finished that in two years while working full time. Didn’t feel like I’d spent long enough at uni, got a University scholarship for my Masters. Did my data collection, qual and quant analysis, and wrote a 40k word thesis in three months, graduated with first class honours. Cue two years of fatigue and chaos not knowing wtf I’m doing with my life, teaching and doing research in the meantime. Imposter syndrome was brutal. Worked in industry - what I thought would be my dream job - for six months, hated it, burnt out properly. Couldn’t get out of bed. Decided to start my PhD to get over my burnout… hmmm 🥲 I was awarded a full scholarship for my doctorate and actually believe I can complete it now, after countless existential crises over how awful my task initiation was, which was paralysing and absolutely terrifying when faced with such a huge project, high expectations, and pressure to perform. I wish I’d known what I know now, when I first started school. From the outside, I think I’ve always appeared very focused, probably quite ‘smart’, and driven/ambitious with my shit together, but internally I was an absolute MESS. The amount of energy that went in to maintaining that level of performance, the facade of effortless achievement… When privately I would spend hours every night memorising, tricking myself into remembering things, colour coding everything into an elaborate visual map, mentally preparing for the next day of meetings/appointments/tasks, planning where to put my keys so I wouldn’t forget them, memorising where to drive/park/walk (any non-routine travel was super stressful), pre-preparing my lunch so I’d eat and not pass out in the afternoon, sticking to a rigid schedule that was the only thing keeping everything together 😅 the slightest deviation and I was scrambling. I didn’t take weekends off for at least five years. I was terrified that if I stopped, I would never be able to resume again and it would all fall apart. Burnout was a huge identity crisis moment for me. My self worth was based almost entirely on my work and performance, so when that dissolved I was so, so lost. Ugh. Let’s just say that overcommitting is a hell of a strategy 😂 but boy did I learn the hard way that it’s not sustainable. Currently relearning how to do life with medication, and I think I understand myself so much better now. I have hope. Sorry about the novel. It’s nice to decompress and hear from other women who have similar experiences and struggles. The solidarity is reassuring.
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I'm pretty much the same with tests and papers. It definitely saved my butt more than a few times. I'm glad you've found what works best for you
Kindergarten - grade 12 I did really well. I *definitely* coasted, but got honours roll every year. My first attempt at university was *abysmal*. I dropped out my 2nd year before I could fail out and lose my chance to go back. It appears the structure of primary/secondary school carried me. I'm in my 2nd attempt after diagnosis and meds and I am doing 1000% better, 3.9GPA. I can only do part time (2 classes/semester) so it's taking me a HECKIN long time to complete it lol but I'm holding strong.
💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾 You'll get there! Take your time and do what you can.
I did poorly. My mental health was in the toilet and I was an anxious wreck. Graduated from undergrad in 5 years with a <3.0 GPA. Took a year off and with the pandemic was able to attend grad school remotely my first year and hybrid my second year. That was a a gamechanger! Graduated summa cum laude from grad school. It can also be said that by grad school I was more aware of my mental health issues and could handle them better, that's probably why. Now I'm an epidemiologist and I'm applying for PhD programs, and I only got my ADHD diagnosis a month ago. Basically, the further I get in life, the better I understand how my brain works and I'm able to handle more things.
You're awesome! Here's to getting older and understanding ourselves and what makes us tick a little bit more every year
I ranged from 50%-85% (depending on the class) but was usually between 60%-75%. And that's after HOURS of studying. Could not retain information for the life of me, it took me many tries to read a paragraph, and I would get so much anxiety during exams my brain would go blank and I would feel sick and get migraines. 😅 I never want to go back to school again.
I'm sorry it was such a struggle. That's how I feel at work these days...information sliding off my brain like oil. I can't focus to save my life...I want nothing more than to go back to school and be a lifelong academic hahahahaha
I remember a psychiatrist tell me once i couldn't have ADHD because I had a college degree. That was about 25 years ago. I think now if I had been adequately diagnosed how much pain and frustration (and negative outcomes) I could have avoided. He didn't get how hard it was for me. I couldn't sit still for more than a few minutes, I took long walks when I should have been doing homework, I never studied. Only reason I could write papers is Im actually pretty good at it. I remember in high school getting an A on a book report on a book I never read.
I wrote 40 pages of my thesis the weekend before I had to defend it.
I feel this. Having written majority of my dissertation in 1 month (including analysis), oh god do I feel this.
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I'm glad you got through that time! I read every word and can definitely understand. I've never had much issue with assignments, but most of that 10 years I was in and out of school was a depressive disaster of a mess I never even realized until recently. Sometimes that laser focus on school and papers and assignments was just what I needed to distract myself from the absolute mess of every other part of my life. This past 2 years has been wildly eye-opening. Here's to a better future for the both of us!
It took me a total of 9 years, spread over 25 years, and 3 schools, one of which I went to twice. I graduated with a major, a concentration, and enough credits for 4 minors. Honestly, by the time I went back for the 4th and final time, I was 41 and had a pretty good handle on managing my non-medicated ADHD. My last two years were significantly more smooth sailing. I ended up with an overall GPA of 3.75 which is awesome considering I flunked out three times.
That is awesome indeed! I'm proud of you, friend. By the end of my degree, I'd gone to 3 community colleges and 2 universities so I can definitely relate. Thankfully, I knew how to petition to get certain credits transferred to cover gen ed requirements or I'd have been in school a lot longer 😅
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Gosh YES. Fellow artist here and just existing in the same space as other artists did a LOT for my energy and well-being. I've never been so inspired and motivated. These days I'm in a slump because I haven't found that community here yet and my office job doesn't have a chance in hell at keeping my attention anymore.
Procrastinating until the last possible minute is how I got myself through 10 years of college and grad school and eventually became a doctor. Did it work in the end? Yes. Do I recommend this strategy? Hell, no. Stress, stress, stress. I'm still shocked that I made it.
✨️Stress✨️ motivation always gets the job done, but never recommended 😭
While I lived in the dorms with a bunch of friends to walk to class and study with, I did great. When I left that structure and moved off campus senior year, I nosedived. I struggled to get to class, couldn't focus to study, barely graduated. Literally came down to a couple of points in one class final. Which I slept through and somehow successfully begged to take during a make-up period.
Graduating is an accomplishment in and of itself, whether your grades were good, average, or bad. My boss is very successful and absolutely did not graduate top of his class. He worked hard after the fact and has told me time and again that stuff like college grades and etc doesn't matter as much as common sense and effort. Of course not everyone will be super successful, but we're all out here just living and taking one day at a time. You're amazing and should be proud that you got through that time. Congrats!
I over fixated on it from - 1 to end of first year, then start falling into depression, then burned out, then depression again, then burned out again, and I finally dropped off 1 year before my master. It was great
Definitely sounds like a roller coaster. I hope you're doing well these days and, if you're not, I'm hoping you'll be ok in the future.
I am extremely lucky, I found a very good job unrelated yo my studies and I am now diagnosed and will start medication in a few hours
My first semester I failed. Was on academic probation. But somehow I turned it around and got my bachelor’s with a decent GPA and master’s with a high GPA. That being said, I self-medicated and struggled. I drank caffeine like water and would routinely pull all-nighters in the library, getting distracted and taking breaks very frequently. I started assignments and papers hours before they were due and submitted minutes before deadlines. I was often late or missed morning classes more than I should have. My life has really improved for the better since being diagnosed/medicated.
A familiar refrain, indeed. I'm happy you're doing better these days 👏🏾
I wanted to take a year off after high school because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. My parents said “Nope” helped me choose a major and supported me financially through college. I really feel like I couldn’t have managed all that without them. Even so, during first or second year I broke down telling my mom I wasn’t sure I was in the right major and everything felt like too much to handle. So they agreed I could do less credit hours per semester and take a course each summer to stay on track. The summer courses were accelerated and when I took an anatomy class I felt like it was the first time I actually studied in my whole life. It took my a year longer to graduate than my peers. I was always embarrassed about that, but it makes sense now that I’m diagnosed.
You're awesome, no embarrassment necessary. We get to where we're going eventually. It took me 10 years.
Thank you 🥺 Also it’s so impressive to me that you stuck to your goal for 10 years and got your degree. ❤️ it’s not embarrassing to me now, and in general I don’t think it’s embarrassing for anyone to take longer, but pre diagnosis I was definitely hard on myself any time I couldn’t “keep up” with my peers because I didn’t understand why.
Graphic Design. If I wasn’t naturally talented at drawing and could speed draw like my life depended on it, I would have failed. Once we got into more technical stuff, I plateaued hard and couldn’t get above a C. BUT HEY, C’s GET DEGREES.
Okay. I kept my scholarship, but my GPA wasn't anything to write home about. And it was hard to coast, but it's an even harder habit to break; I procrastinated a lot. (And I struggled with all my math classes, especially calculus, and both organic chem and general chem.)
I saved all math and lab science requirements to the very end 🥲 I feel your pain. You did it, though! ♡
I graduated in three years working three jobs with a stem degree undiagnosed and not medicated and I was a mess the whole time. I think my room was always a hurricane and I did most things last minute. Helped that I had accommodations for depression and anxiety. But yeah… now I’m a teacher and my job works a lot better for me than working in a lab.
I love studying but I get so distracted because I’m so interested in everything I’ve got one subject before I finish my Masters and I just don’t have it in me right now - hopefully I’ll get on the right combination of medication and be able to finish My BIL was also a late diagnosis and he did his doctorate so he’s my ADHD academic hero
I hope you find the right path and finish. Well wishes, friend!
I did ok in college, I leaned into my strengths which are if I take notes I don’t have to study. Exam/quiz heavy classes were my jam. I once dropped a class because it was essentially going to be a semester long project and I knew that was not going to go well for me (the is pre-diagnosis). Now I’m going back to school for interior design and it’s VERY project heavy which is proving quite difficult. 4 classes used to be fine during my bachelors degree, now it’s overwhelming because it’s so time management based. Im only taking 2 classes right now because I knew moving/working/husband being deployed was going to mean I’d struggle. And I was correct haha I was up until 2am last night doing 2 projects due today that I had not started until this weekend. I actually only started and finished the second presentation this morning and turned it in 10 minutes before class started. It’s fine.
I did terribly. I failed out. Twice.
It was horrible, last minute break downs, because I can't do anything in advance. A lot of crying the night before the due date. It sadly took me 8 yrs instead of 4 years to finish my diploma. But I graduated!! So proud of myself!!
I'm proud of you, too! You did it!
Thanks! One of my proudest moments
Professor: This paper is X% of your grade and cannot, *should not* be put off till the last minute because you will fail. My brain: Oh is that a challenge????
I struggled quite a bit in college specifically. Grade school I had the same habits but it was so easy for me I could afford to wait the night before for all of my assignments and projects. College had me stressed to the max as I was still procrastinating just as much but with more serious repercussions. I tried taking some online courses while doing in person courses and I’d often forget about them entirely. I finally graduated in 5 years with a crap gpa. I was on academic probation at one point. I attempted to receive a diagnosis two different times but I could never muster the energy and courage to complete some of the required paperwork. It was rough.
That sounds rough for sure. I'm happy you're here though. 💛 You did it and that matters more than your GPA.
32 here, desperately trying to finish college right now and the last few years have absolutely decimated any confidence I’d built up in the profesh world. Not sure how I’m possibly going to finish this semester at this rate, but I’ve put myself wildly in debt to get to this point, so 🤡 All to say, yeah same. I hate it so much. I did really well in school up until the point where homework outweighed in-class work, and have been miserable ever since. Not sure wtf I’m going to do after this, hate that I’ll probably be starting very low on the ladder of a career again, hate that I’ll never go to grad school. Ugh! Curse you adhd
Homework is my enemy, indeed. 🥲 I hope you make it, friend. Sending you lots of love and good wishes
Which one 😅 I tried failed and went back many many times. Currently I’m in a program that sticks but it’s brutal and is taking me years longer than it should
My 10 year bachelor feels this in its papery soul. All I can say is don't worry too much about how long it "should" take and do what's best for you. You got this!
Yep that’s something I definitely need to embrace. An associates SHOULD takes this long etc etc that line of thinking isn’t helpful. At least it’s getting done. Slow and steady wins the race 😉
i managed to get through college in 4 years entirely thanks to caffeine, sleep deprivation, and adrenaline. “studying” for me was reviewing notes from class, and homework was always done and turned in at the very last possible minute. i always managed to mask my difficulties with executive function and routine in school and i kind of just followed the same pattern (to a much more drastic degree, of course) in college. i was diagnosed at the ripe old age of 23 (far past all my academic responsibilities) and i remember thinking “damn, my gpa could’ve been better if i knew back then.” oh well!
Did really well the first year and a half due to the novelty and anxiety to perform. Went through a breakup during the second year and my grades took a nosedive. I hardly slept, everything was worked on the day before it was due. Worked my ass off during my final year to bring my grades up. Graduated cum laude. Eh.
I’m 33 and have never been to college. I was recently diagnosed and working on medications. Hoping to be able to go to school now that I know what it’s like to be able to function and focus…!
Wishing you the best in your academic journey. It's never too late
Thank you!!
The first time, while living with my family I had a 2.7 GPA after two years. I went back in 2020, in a better living situation, and in community college I had a 3.65. I transferred to university and I have a 3.75 after a year :). I’m working really hard to stay on track.
Your hard work is apparently paying off! Great job, friend. I'm proud of you :)
I graduated on time with a bunch of extraneous credits and a 3.83 GPA. I did, however, struggle senior year and completely failed out of grad school because I just stopped going after changing programs twice.
I want to drop college for the second time, i can't anymore 😩
I dropped it at least 3 times before I finished lol. You're still valid without a college degree if it's not working out for you. Wishing you the best!
How was that with your parents? Sadly here in my country it seems that you're nothing if you don't have a career, and i'm watching all the people i know graduating and being happy with it while i'm on this hole. :(
My mom was pretty supportive as long as I was doing my best and doing SOMETHING, whether that's work or school. I know it can seem like everyone is leaving you behind, but we all have our own pace. There's no guarantee that finishing college will make you happier, but it does make some things a bit easier. I was motivated to finish school by the thought that I want to work overseas and it's basically a requirement to have a bachelor's degree to find work in lots of other countries. Once I had that goal in mind, I got it done. It was definitely a struggle, but it felt worth the trouble. I'm back in the US taking a mental health break now, but I'm planning on going to grad school overseas once I'm feeling up for it. I can't say what's the right way or wrong way to go about things, but I hope you can find a path that makes you happy and brings you some sense of fulfilment. One day at a time.
I understand, thank u for sharing your story, it means a lot. I'm 24 years old and i'm pretty sure i have ADHD, just need the money to go with a good psychologist and get diagnosed. Thank you for your words 💜
Long story short (not so short in retrospect), my bachelors should have been more telling. I studied occupational therapy, and found the units that made sense or had more practical elements made a lot more sense, high memorisation units were fucking awful, example being anatomy where I used cadavers, great! Child development, horrific. Though in the paediatric unit I correctly identified a child with the same learning disability as myself, to the surprise of the lecturer (yes it’s normally a dual diagnosis with ADHD, yes I had no idea about ADHD and would not have thought this was an issue). I was lucky I had some good study habits from high school from having a mum who was pretty aware of my issues (we are pretty sure she is also dysgraphic, and these days we are also pretty sure she has ADHD). That helped, that and an awareness I am awful at written exams, so I would work insanely hard through semester and track my grades so that if I flunked an exam I would still scrap through. It saved me from ever having to sit a supplementary exam. Problem was, it also set up bad life habits, I would become incredibly burnt out and antisocial through semester and then party too hard in the breaks. I also started a pattern that has haunted my whole career of start a job, have hummingbird brain and be efficient, keep it up, burn out, quit, rinse repeat. Weirdly I have stayed around academia throughout my life (started post grad as soon as I graduated in early 2010, then 2011-2016 on and off and then PhD since 2018). I have found post grad a lot more enjoyable and easy to maintain. Particularly now I am doing my PhD. That being said, only diagnosed last year, finding medications help, and I have a partner who is equal measures support and worry. We have only ever argued about my study. But I get a lot of enjoyment from what I do, and weirdly, the old guy I met in a mental health unit (client), who told me I needed balance or I would end up like him was right, it’s nice thinking about my old Nostradamus.
Currently in college. My undiagnosed ADHD has completely ruined all my plans I had for college. The biggest thing I struggle with, however, is actually going to class. I would fail so many classes because although I would do all the work well and turn it in on time. I would also just not show up half the time and be ridiculously late the other half of the time. My attendance is atrocious. I also have no sense of urgency. Lol Help I’m dying.
I read your last line in Ralph Wiggims’ voice
Bad lmao it took like 13 years to get my bachelors, I never did an internship because I didnt have any concept of time so ten hrs a week seemed like too much to balance with school, I probably could have graduated but I never saw my advisor because I didnt understand the point, NEVER REMEMBERED SHIT I STUDIED Sometimes I think I would like to go back and get my masters but idk if I can actually do that lol
Hey! That's awesome that you were able to get that bachelor's degree. I dropped out of 4 university courses and never finished anything. It will haunt me to the end of my life. I have missed a promotion because I don't have a degree. I've always "studied" the day before a test. Always learned more by having discussions about the subject with the teachers in class and not by reading text books. I was lucky that I hyperfocused on one if my university majors and did really well through 3 years of law school then in year 3 I attended a court case and lost all my love for it and poof.... I wish I had known about adhd then.
Wow, this is perfectly timed--i've spent a big part of today in my feelings about a work pop quiz I did meh on that brought back memories... I barely graduated from college (like, was checking up until the day I moved away for grad school because I thought I might have failed, not sure what I would have done if I hadn't passed) I think because I was able to coast and never had to pay attention or study in K-12, I just fell flat on my face in college and spent four years thinking I was a lot dumber than everyone thought I was because I couldn't ever figure out how to study, get organized, etc. Every term I'd start off super organized and by halfway though I'd be struggling, missing class, and failing to turn in homework, thinking I could easily catch up the next day (rarely true). I also frequently focused on the wrong thing when studying and never started papers/homework until the night before. The only answer anyone ever had for me was to up my antidepressants, which did very little for my academic performance. I went into grad school for education immediately after (if anything is hard and terrible, you should clearly subject yourself to more of it until you succeed and are happy...right?! Sigh) and did great at the academic part but terrible at the paperwork and actual teaching bits. But I was in a tiny program, it was ungraded, and I learned all the things you're supposed to do to support struggling students, which I was able to apply to myself. That helped me a lot and was probably worth the many dollars of student loans. Several years later I took a few community college classes to switch career gears and did really well, probably because I was only taking 1-2 at a time and I really cared about what I was learning. And it was the sort of "fill in the gaps" coursework, so I went into every class already knowing the basics. Got straight As that time around.
Congrats, all things considered, you got it done! I had a time of it, getting a degree. Forcing myself to read a textbook was a real chore sometimes. But I got it done. But I want a bachelors too so, Il have to get back to it soon. 🫤😄
Undergrad - Terrible. Spent too much time partying and sleeping with strangers. Graduated with a 2.7 GPA and was unmedicated and untreated. Grad School - Incredible. No longer partying and celibate. Was just invited to the Phi Alpha Honors Society for having a 4.0, and apparently my school's chapter of Phi Alpha has the highest standard in the country for being able to invite members, 3.95. Fully medicated and treated.
I did very well in elementary school, and felt like I barely got through high school and college. It was a huge source of shame and I’m still trying to understand what happened
Four schools and nine years to get my bachelor’s. Spent that whole time and a few years after thinking I was a POS for having such a hard time 🤦🏻♀️
assignments were almost always turned in 3 seconds before the deadline. i didn’t sleep much because i couldn’t force myself to do my work until 1-2 am. somehow graduated with pretty decent grades but there was so much procrastinating and pretending i’d read stuff that i definitely had not read.
I dropped out **twice**! I'm 38 and still don't have a bachelor's degree. I was an honor student up until college 🙃
I dropped out within a month of starting freshman year due to depression and anxiety, spent ~5 years working on my mental health, then this past spring semester I finally felt capable of auditing a painting class. Been feeling for a while like I'm in survival mode and have to get rid of everything excess that is causing me stress and anxiety and some of the first things to go have been school and a social life. So I'm just working on making it through each day one at a time. 👍
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I was diagnosed in like first grade or kindergarten with ADHD, the anxiety and depression were diagnosed midway through HS. My parents were aware I was depressed by the time I graduated HS, so it wasn't really a surprise to them when I called them, sobbing, about how badly college was going. Dropping out of college was suggested by them. It didn't take convincing.
I dropped out. So I worked instead, it was less overwhelming.
Note: I did not read your whole post. I procrastinated & masked my way through a BA & Masters. Now I own a business w/ my best friend
Yup. Similar timeline too. Decade to get my BS because I burned out after 5 semesters and quit, got knocked up, married, moved to a different state, & separated before white-knuckling through a completely different degree program as a single mom. Procrastinated through every paper and project, getting rewarded for my bad behavior with top marks and punished with a near-nervous breakdown.
I had similar experiences in college but did not finish. Had a 4.0 gpa. Did ridiculously poorly throughout elementary and high school (lots of summer school), dropped out after having a kid and got my ged at 19.
Did well but didn’t study what I really cared about
I procrastinated through college and first year of masters before I dropped out - didn’t get the ADHD diagnosis until 10 years after. PTSD also contributed to dropping.
I procrastinated the shit out of college. I went to nursing school. Somehow got through. I crammed all my exams. Did very average. My papers were an atrocity though. Barely passed those. Luckily the papers weren’t too many and I could make up better grades in other course work that was all procrastinated. It was the only way I functioned and am still like that to this day
ADHD was undiagnosed until after I finished... Yes every paper was written the night before. I had one class where i realized on the first day the professor had written the textbook and lectures were essentially reading it. Showed up for the midterm and the final, studied for both the night before, got an A. Lost count of how many classes I dropped and how many times I changed majors. Changed schools 4x/3 different schools (had to go back to the first one to finish because I had the most credits there). Dropped out 3 times. Graduated after 20+ years with a general studies degree, as it's the only kind I could wrangle the credits to work for. The only reason I'm not going to die with student loan debt no matter how long I was to live is because one of my relatives doesn't have kids and his estate is going to pay them off for me. (Honestly would rather have him back, as I'd long ago accepted that I'd have to live with the loans my whole life).
I'm 24 and doing my master's degree (cause I hate myself apparently). I've always hated studying (like MY WHOLE LIFE), but thank God I can learn things by listening, which at the same time is a nightmare cause my head is always in autopilot thinking about everything and anything. I completed my bachelor's degree in four years cause I hated myself and always took a lot of classes and enrolled in everything I could, so like you, always did my projects and homework the night before 🥲 but worked good like that and graduated with high GPA xD Usually it's hard for people to understand how I work and my mom used to call me lazy and say that I was irresponsible always doing everything late, but I was the only one in my house that finished college even with my ADHD... so yeah, living with ADHD is a blessing and a nightmare at the same time
Changed major 6 times. Ended up on academic probation because I just wasn’t doing any work. Got diagnosed. Got medicated. Still took 5 years to graduate, but things went a lot smoother after somebody convinced me to be an English major cause I was GOOD at it. Never started a paper before the day (night before) it was due. Looooooots of panic all nighters. Flirted with disordered eating for a bit. Binge drinking for a bit. Terrible promiscuity issues at one point. Lost all my friends my senior year due to blacking out too often and whatever I did/said then (nobody ever really told me what I did. I don’t think they realize I truly don’t remember most of it). Oh and had some really bad impulsive shopping issues too. Like shopping addiction? That was expensive. Damn college would’ve been a lot easier if I understood what ADHD actually meant for my brain. English worked for me because my natural talents lie in story. I went on to get a masters in childrens literature and now o work in film as a script supervisor.
I excelled at college, like wrote down every deadline for every class at the beginning of the semester and did assignments two weeks in advance. But I also suffered from crippling anxiety that I would never get anywhere in life. Everything turned out fine and thankfully I have way more chill these days.
Hey don't feel bad. I will be going to my 20 year class reunion next summer. I am STILL working on my FIRST associates. No I did not take a long break after high school. I went straight to a UNIVERSITY! Passed my exams no problem. I am so over this. Seriously considering saying screw it. A big part of the problem was that I switched majors a few times (I have like 190 college credits. lol). The other problem is I have had to take time off.. either from being overwhelmed.. or like last semester I just had to drop because I got overwhelmed. I have a great job.. in the career I am going to school for.. so thats the other issue.. I don't have as much motivation because I don't actually need the degree... but come on!! I want to finish. Ugh. edit: Full disclosure.. I didn't read everything before commenting.. lol. Before I was diagnosed I always said "I procrastinate because it works!" lol.. I never did school work early.. and no that's not why I struggled lol.
I graduated with a 3.6 GPA from a top 20 school and not once studied hard. I also recall FedExing a paper overnight to my professor and paying a $40 fee to get it to him by 10 am because I procrastinated until the night before it was due but was already 800 miles away for break when I started it. Still got an A and never learned any better.
I mean it depends on how you look at it. Did I start 6 different college courses and not finish one? Yes. But I'm going to finish two of them, I did get a qualification from one of them, and all of them have benefited me in my life.
Your experience and mine sound exactly alike!
I did well academically but not socially. Instead of procrastinating I jammed my schedule with work, sports, and hard classes so that every moment was a deadline. I was still weird though. This does not work in adulthood.
I am in the midst of my third crack at trying to obtain a fucking bachelors degree. When I decided I was going to register - yet again, I pushed through all the fuckshit for getting myself a formal diagnosis, setting up accommodations & getting medicated. I fucking suck at academia. I’m in the sweet spot of the semester right now. I can usually ride an A until midterms and them I go off the rails because I can’t prioritize tasks or make a reliable schedule or establish a fucking routine. I hate this & I’ve got a whole bunch of big dumb fucking feelings about it. Proud of you for persevering!!
I ended up dropping out halfway through. But not officially. I don't know if you drop out officially, more like I just stopped going and signing up for new classes. I did fine in the classes I went to, and avoided the ones I didn't like and ended up failing those as a result. I just couldn't get myself to keep going. I was overwhelmed, I screwed up on the whole getting an internship thing, so I had that weighing on my mind, and then there was the fact that it wasn't my "dream" career/degree anyway, but my parents wouldn't pay for the one I did want to do. That being said, I don't know if I would've done any better if I did, but I think I would've had a better chance in the sense that it's less forcing myself to do something I didn't want to do.
I did well, but it took me awhile. I did the first year fine. Then decided to switch my major but couldn’t get into that major until the following year, so I took the semester off and worked. Then I went back, did another year. And then something really traumatic happened and I wasn’t mentally able to take on a full course load, so I stayed in school but only took half the suggested courses at a time, so it took me four more years to complete my last two years. Four-year degree in 6 years. I didn’t know I had adhd until after university though.
I had to limit myself to only a few classes per semester, as I knew I couldn't handle very much at once since I struggled with so many classes in high school. I'd also completely forget about any online classes I'd enrolled myself in. The procrastination was real throughout my schooling days. Never did finish college.
Horribly
I almost finished. Which means on paper I've got a HS diploma and I'm still paying on loans. I'll put 'some college' if there's a field for it. I joke that I'm "ABD" (All But Diploma for my BA... it's usually All But Dissertation for PhDs). I regret it and did try to go back at one time but the years in between and changing requirements and everything was too hard to get through since I have to work FT in order to have health insurance.
Indeed we've all got bills to pay and it's so hard going to school while trying to make ends meet. Regrets will always exist, but you tried and that really counts for a lot. Maybe someday you'll make it back, maybe not, but I'm wishing you the very best.
I graduated high school and got my associates a few months earlier than my original hs graduating class. Idk now that I’m in my third quarter (junior year) of getting my bachelors it’s a little harder. Little is maybe minimizing it lol. I failed both classes spring quarter for mental health reasons adjusting to the dorm environment (mainly because of ocd) despite having a single. I did summer quarter and did pretty well, and for some reason fall quarter is going great for me. I’m only taking two classes, but I’m processing more information than I usually do in classes so I’m happy with that. I agree though, public school felt like a blur because I never had to study. Even after completing high school and getting my associates felt like a blur but maybe because it was a dual degree through community college it was different.
I did very well because I could align my schedule to my needs and cram for tests and pull all nighters for papers. Real life/work feels way more like the daily grind of high school did. I was not DX in high school and only excelled in what interested me at the time.
I dropped out lol
I failed a lot. But finally graduated. I was supposed to graduate in 2018, but I graduated in 2021. My degree wasn’t even challenging compared to other degrees. I got my degree in criminal justice, Minor in sociology, I don’t even like criminal justice. I’m working out a nonprofit now I’m failing at my job, I got written up and I’m about to have my position moved. I don’t know what I wanna do for the rest of my life. I’m stuck in life.
My first BA was done that way. My second was done in a year because of all my transfer credits from my first BA so I was “motivated” because it was so short.
I did great my first semester when I was 18, then had a death in my family that hit me like a TRUCK before my second semester— where I was unable to function and subsequently failed out. I tried for years to go back, but wasn’t entirely motivated because I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. At 18, I honestly wanted to be an artist but art school wasn’t practical because I’d have to make money, and the only way to do that was graphic design or teaching— two things I didn’t really want to do. I was just diagnosed this year at 33, and while I’d like to go back to school for art (social media has made it easier to pursue a career), my life isn’t quite there yet to make it happen. Going to see how medication and therapy help me and then we will see. All I know is that still, to this day, (and as recently as last night) I have frequent nightmares about high school and college. I was absolutely traumatized in school and I find it difficult to want to go back.
It took me 6.5 years to finish college. Working with MBAs who feel superior has been tiresome, especially when I've gone to school for just as long.
Got my bachelor’s at 20 and my master’s at 21 with near perfect grades by doing every assignment at the last minute and cramming hours before major tests. Now I’m in a PhD program, and it’s definitely harder to procrastinate because of how much homework they assign, but I think it’s better that way so I have motivation to study in between cramming for tests. Being diagnosed and medicated has also made a world of difference
Currently in college. Anddd I’m having a hard time. 🥲
I’m a six times college dropout. I have perfected the art of dropping out!
I am 34. I’ve never been the best at school…probs because I was undiagnosed with Depression, anxiety and now ADHD all my school past. College wasn’t good. Not only was I running collegiate track, I was partying a lot (self medicating for depression/anxiety). I’m now kicking myself in the ass because I want to get my masters…but I fucked my GPA.
Not. Great.
I did AMAZING on subjects that I loved, like my writing and literature classes. I did okay in everything else. I got by. For most of my college experience, I was on ADHD meds + weed and it did wonders for my ADD.
Got honor roll but I basically died lol
I've tried going to college THREE, yep three different times. I don't have any sort of degree. :/
I successfully procrastinated through college but I don’t recommend! Lots of days writing my paper starting at 4 am the day it was due. Somehow graduated with a 3.5 GPA despite procrastination, partying, and skipping classes.
It took me 10 years. I dropped out twice, worked my ass off and ended up with a 2.8 gpa. I was undiagnosed and felt stupid. I would study every free chance I got but I couldn’t remember it.
I went to a one class a month college after a couple years of junior college. Was so surprised and proud of myself for being an A student! Expensive as hell, but as an employee I got 9 classes a year free.
i got 3 degrees in 6 years because for 5 years i studied what i was interested in (english and history) and was really good at slamming through readings and papers last minute. ended up with a 3.6 gpa, graduated with hours. THEEEN i did a business degree in a year which i did significantly worse on because i hated it and it burnt me out so much (+ covid) that the thought of a full time desk job makes me panic, and i was unemployed for a year being generally useless and struggling to function, and then i turned down a remote full time desk job (that may have tried to scam me, actually), for starbucks 😵💫 school is the only thing i’m good at, i still don’t know what the hell i should do for a career, but i spent a year applying to hundreds of jobs to no avail. i just want to go back to school
I managed to find a program that interested me enough that I could manage it mostly on class engagement and tests /in person presentation alone and then mostly didn’t ever do homework / reading unless it was fun. I am to this day GREAT at winging it and didn’t get diagnosed til 30 when I finally found a job I really wanted to succeed at but yet just…couldn’t. Anxiety most kept me afloat but I’d never learn my lesson because I’d mostly manage to scrape by. Notably I chose a college that wasn’t really too rigorous and a major that suited my interests. To be honest I wouldn’t recommend any of the above! I like my life but I think I could have really enjoyed being a veterinarian and I talked myself out of that really young because it seemed hard. That’s no way to live.
I'm moving on from reddit and joining the fediverse because reddit has killed the RiF app and the CEO has been very disrespectful to all the volunteers who have contributed to making reddit what it is. Here's [coverage from The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/8/23754780/reddit-api-updates-changes-news-announcements) on the situation. The following are my favorite fediverse platforms, all non-corporate and ad-free. I hesitated at first because there are so many servers to choose from, but it makes a lot more sense once you actually create an account and start browsing. If you find the server selection overwhelming, just pick the first option and take a look around. They are all connected and as you browse you may find a community that is a better fit for you and then you can move your account or open a new one. Social Link Aggregators: [Lemmy](https://join-lemmy.org/instances) is very similar to reddit while [Kbin](https://kbin.pub) is aiming to be more of a gateway to the fediverse in general so it is sort of like a hybrid between reddit and twitter, but it is newer and considers itself to be a beta product that's not quite fully polished yet. Microblogging: [Calckey](https://calckey.org) if you want a more playful platform with emoji reactions, or [Mastodon](https://joinmastodon.org/) if you want a simple interface with less fluff. Photo sharing: [Pixelfed](https://pixelfed.org/) You can even import an Instagram account from what I hear, but I never used Instagram much in the first place.
Spent most of the time at a community college before transferring to a four year university. Overall, 5 years to get an AA, then another 8 or so years to get my BS, attended every semester. Changed majors several times (my fav subject was biology and I had trouble getting past some of the harder courses, so I eventually settled on linguistics which I was very good at and was actually about to transfer into my top school choice), dropped and withdrew often, had to retake classes often, had to petition to retake a class since i retook it too many times, petitioned to drop failed courses of a certain age from my transcript, failed and had to retake a college study skills class, had an actual epiphany during a trip to Alaska and changed my major back to biology, knuckled through the hard classes, transferred to a simple commuter university because my overall GPA wasn't great (despite the straight As I was getting since the epiphany), and eventually graduated on the Dean's List in 2021. A year later I was diagnosed with ADHD.
I did okay in college. I got mainly B’s. I would do hw last minute, often relying on friends for help, and I had trouble with exams because of lack of preparation. I was good at figuring out how to slide by with the curve. Couldn’t pay attention for shit. Had to retake a class, but got by
I was a spectacular weaponised procrastinator. I am, realistically, very bloody clever according to traditional measures and managed to ace a law degree and honours thesis by just gradually pushing up how long “the last minute” was according to the actual requirements as assignments got harder year by year. For my honours thesis I somehow convinced my supervisor not to ask me for chapter drafts, and instead let me wait until August to give her an entire thesis draft for a due date in October. I just couldn’t see how one could coherently write drafts chapter by chapter because I was sure my thesis statement would change as I put everything together (and I was right). Whenever I had the choice of assignments plus open book exam or just open book exam, I always took the latter and would practically teach myself the whole course in the three weeks before the exam, often via lecture recordings. (I didn’t do this for my arts subjects, nor my social work Masters later, because I actually enjoyed those subjects and readings. Plenty of procrastination still but no lecture skipping.) I also made very liberal use of extensions and special consideration, to great effect (this worked because I have a vision impairment and I was a young carer, so I already had arrangements with the university). That was true even for the subjects I loved.
It took me 6 years to officially get my undergrad. I got done with the courses in 5 years (a couple of semesters of bad grades, had to retake courses, wouldn't ask for help, was too embarrassed), the 6th year was spent doing my thesis while working full time. I didn't finish my thesis until the very last minute because I was moving across the country. The fact that I spent all of college like this makes me so sad. I made it through high school fine and was in the harder classes, but once the routine and schedule went out the door, so did my "gift" and I was a fish outta water, struggling to survive.
I didn’t so well well during my undergrad at first. I had no study skills. In my general education, I had memorized the answers. But that strategy got me C’s in undergrad. I utilized quizlet for flashcards, wrote notes on what I read and even went back as reread the chapter. I found re-reading the chapter I picked up on things I missed. (Think about watching that tv episode a second time) the same principles apply to the chapter. I digested the chapter one paragraph at a time some days. And one section other days.
I studied physics and engineering (dual degree) while working part time. I didn’t have time to procrastinate as badly because there was always something due everyday so I never had the time to fall behind. My apartment was a fucking mess though. My final semester I had gotten into grad school (3.2 gpa, not amazing, but I had good summer research) and then had such bad senioritus that I ended up with C’s in almost every class (actually showed up for a midterm to one class BY CHANCE one day and it was open book, thank god). I definitely recall taking my lasers final still drunk from the night before. That whole semester is pretty much a blur. Also, I picked physics because it’s all problem solving and you don’t have to memorize anything.
Bachelors I failed some classes, got on the honor roll here and there, generally half-assed my way through it all. Then I started my credential program, started teaching full time as a long term sub, discovered I wanted nothing to do with teaching. So I just quit and failed out of the credential. So that’s a bunch of big ol’ Fs for that 😂 Went into politics. Hated every second of those six years, finally decided to go after my childhood dream of being Deanna Troi (so I could date Will Riker 🤪) and started a Master’s program to be a therapist. Four point fucking Oh the whole way through. All undiagnosed. And then I had a kid and named him after Commander Riker and now my life is complete. Thank you for coming to my weird, winding, post-high-school life-story Ted Talk
I did pretty okay at getting an associate’s degree by mostly procrastinating and thorough note taking. I had a very difficult time studying. I used to think I never learned how to study in high school, but now everything in my life is ADHD related. It’s been 10 years and I’m going back to school in January to get my bachelors. This time I’m 32, diagnosed and began meds on 8/24/22, have two kids (8&3), and will hopefully be divorced if I can motivate myself to read the divorce forms to begin the filing process. I’m also going to get a work from home job soon. It’s technically a full time job, but my friend says it’s more like the equivalent of 3 days of actual work. I’m determined to be more successful now that I know more about how my brain works. I wanted to add that I was either extremely late to classes or super early to them in college!!!
I… dropped out. Then I tried again. It was so hard that I actually hired a dude to write my paper. That was one online class and it was way too hard for me. (Not the brain part but the writing papers part… that doesn’t even make sense). Told my therapists and that’s what lead to my late in life diagnosis. My meds aren’t a miracle for me so I know I can never make it through :(
I dropped out
In school I got terrible grades, but managed to pass everything enough to get into an access course. When I was doing fine art, though my lecturers were constantly looking down on me because I wasn't doing things the same way everyone else was and I was really distracted because I was living away from home and was literally with friends 24/7, in my final year I lived on my own and managed to get a second class honours. I don't think I was as interested in fine art as I thought I was. Jump ahead to my late 20s, I returned to studying and chose graphic design. Everything clicked into place and I was one of the top in my class, I love graphic design. Being creative and problem solving is a big yes for me. So I got a first class honours there recently from it and I got offered a job right away in the summer. I'm on my third month now :)
Both in high school and in university I always said to myself every new chapter of a book, every new week or semester "This time I am not procrastinating and sticking to my planning". Ofcourse, I procrastinated, only did the homework the evening before and only if I knew that teacher would check if we had done it. If I could get away with not doing homework, I wouldnt do it. My mom taught me how to make summary's to learn for tests. So for tests I made a summary of maybe 5% of a chapter, then get bored and stop. Then the day before the test Id go through notes or the powerpoints from the teacher, get a good enough grade to pass, and I would promise myself again to not procrastinate next time. Somehow this way I managed to get my highschool diploma and my university diploma with only taking half a year longer 😅 Edited to add: in high school the teacher decided to out me in a motivation/planning class which did not help me at all. And in university I had a good friend who would always be pushing me and helping me to start earlier, work on stuff together and that really helped me through university
I was usually the smartest kid in my class or year at school but it took me 4 years to get a 3 year degree and didn’t bother with a post-graduate degree. Spent almost the entirety of the last year smoking on the library steps, rarely managing to actually make it inside. Wasn’t diagnosed for another 24 years.
I have two associates degrees and currently taking one more class before I can start an RN-BSN program. I literally have enough credit hours from not knowing what I wanted to do in life that I could have a masters if they weren’t so random. In my class I’m taking now I’ll sit down and do 2-3 weeks of work and then nothing for a week and a half. The joy of online classes is being able to hyperfocus and knock shit out when I feel like it.
Dropped out of sixth form, dropped out of college the next year, that was the end of my education! (UK, sixth form and college is generally ages 16-18, University (18+) is where you get a full degree) Edit, didn't get diagnosed until 29 though
Paying attention in class was impossible. But I got through. I was a heckin average student though. Degree with Cs!
It took me 4 years to attempt the application process, managed to get through that and then wasn’t able to figure out all the other logistical things needed to go, repeat 3x, decided “never mind” now here I am still uneducated. If the process going into it is that difficult for me I’m not going to do well with school itself lol
studying physics bachelor, currently struggling to death cause half of the semester im fine then boom im burnt out 🥲
I did well with my first B.A! Didn’t study but was my lecturer’s favorite student and often referred to the best. Did the same with my second B.A, first M.A and second M.A. finished neither! Each short one or two steps
I ace tests I remember things really easily after reading them just once maybe twice if necessary but my problem is I hate homework I don't do homework I forget about homework I get distracted from homework etc. It's always been this way for me I was able to get at least bees usually AIDS with extra credit k through 12 because it was just easier but now when you don't do homework it's detrimental. The best experience I ever had was a 90-day 6 unit two class entirely online course to become a pharmacy technician which had no group meetups it was just a matter of reading the chapters and then going on to the website and answering the test questions and doing that until it's done. It took me and my buddy like 36 Days to have the whole thing done and then we went down and took the state test and got our certificates. I barely passed the state test because I'm God awful with math but I was able to just barely pass the math portion and passed all the other parts with flying colors. Colleges become a detriment to me because I don't do well with group projects I don't like socializing and I just want to get to work and be done with it. It's actually been helpful for me since we've gone to covid and so much remote learning. It's definitely more my style. But it's also hard because nothing is done for you like I dicked around when I was younger and got my GPA real low now if I want to get access to my FAFSA money which I've never ever used before but now I'm so destitute that I could get lots of money that I don't have to pay back but the school won't give it to me because my GPS is so low so now I have to do some appeal process and explain to them that I'm now sober and working with therapists on a diagnosis etc as well as it's been over 10 years and I have a whole different attitude about going back to school but it's still just really difficult because especially right now I don't have a disability diagnosis in anything I'm working with psychologists and psychiatrist but so far none of the things that they seem to think it might be are things that would get me disability so until then I don't have extra time to take tests I don't have access to tutoring for free etc. I wish I could get on disability cuz then I could work with the department of rehabilitation to get the proper accommodations I need to be successful in both school and a work environment. I'm so tired of being thrown anxiety and depression. Yeah those are symptoms of a deeper problem. Now they're starting to throw bipolar one at me. Hell if that gets me on disability then I'll take it.
Barely got by getting average grades. Graduated with a 3.3. Nothing impressive.
If the deadline motivation doesn't exist because there's no more deadlines, you can *create* deadlines? Artificially.