I recently talked with my grandmother about what life was like growing up in the 1940s. She told me that when she was younger, she had no idea the country was segregated. She knew she couldn’t go into the public bathrooms while out on road trips, and instead had to…

The store had just opened — a health food store that provided organic and locally sourced food. It was an alternative to the local Kroger. And everybody who worked there was new, friendly — and the best part — from the community. There wasn’t much to do during that opening…

When I think of the “H” in my ADHD, I instantly remember the childhood version of myself. I was the child with the leg that wouldn’t stop shaking at the movies because I couldn’t sit still. I was the child who got the urge to sprint down hotel hallways or…

I remember being quizzed on U.S. presidents in front of my class in the eighth grade. I could barely pay attention during these lessons, so I hadn’t fully absorbed the curriculum. When it was time to be quizzed, I wasn’t concerned about not knowing the answers. …

I slept through a midterm in my first semester of college. Why? Because the pressure of staying up late studying and waking up at 8 a.m. for classes had finally defeated me. The stringent due dates in all of my classes left me with no time for rest. And I…

Nothing like a sixth-grade report card to tell you you’re not good enough. I was an enthusiastic student — until I was told I wasn’t. I had no trouble learning and actually enjoyed it. Up until sixth grade all I got were A’s. You’d think I was a great student. …

On my first day in retail, I sat on the floor, in front of a shelf, as supervisors watched me organize bottles of sparkling water. And I got in trouble for that. Because apparently, sitting indicated that I wasn’t working with enough “urgency.” That was strike one. Some weeks passed…

I wonder how much faster I would’ve grown up if I could’ve asked for help. My dad’s entire parenting philosophy was physically disciplining me when I did something wrong. There was no room to question why what I did was wrong, or to say I didn’t understand. …

Ryan Douglass I never understood math. I still don’t. I’ve always been better at English. From pre-K to 12th grade, vocabulary and literature were my happy places, while numbers sent me spiraling through headaches and heavy breathing. I never said a word in my middle school math classes. I didn’t…