Personal Narrative-My Melon Ball Brain And Me

My Melon Ball Brain and Me

When I was younger I thought my brain damage was simple, like someone had scooped a small part of my brain away and left a neat little hole, like what a melon looks like after you make melon balls out of it. It didn’t feel like it affected me much back then either. It was only little things, like the seemingly endless hospital appointments in physio, neurology and occupational therapy or how I seemed to fall over a lot compared to my twin sister that gave it away. It was only when I was about nine or ten that I realized how it made a difference.

I always knew that my disability made things a little harder in primary school. I will never forget my frustration in the yearly hockey tournaments, as I tried in vain
I had thought I was going to Firhill and it seemed to me that all the preparations were in place. I was feeling little nervous but mostly secure as we had been there to look around and the school seemed like the right place for me. However after seeing Watson’s my parents had other ideas. They thought Watson’s would be better than Firrhill due to it’s simple layout and the SFL Department being more able to meet my needs and to help me reach my full potential. I know they had my best interests at heart but this really pulled the rug out from under me because I was expecting to move up to high school and be done with it. Now that safety net was gone and the prospect of the entrance test was on the horizon, and I was really feeling the strain. After my parents and I had a couple of meetings with the SFL Department I was feeling a lot more confident but I was still so nervous about taking the exam! I wanted to pass so much, and I was terrified that this opportunity would be snatched away when it was so close. The visual reasoning paper was impossible but luckily, I felt that the non-visual reasoning paper went okay and that the creative writing was a breeze. When the exam was over two questions were whizzing around my head day and night: Was I smart enough? Was I good enough? When the agonizing wait was over and the letter came through the post saying that they wanted to offer me a place, I simply felt like I was
I didn’t settle in quickly. I struggled to learn my way around the campus and got lost all the time, ending up in completely the wrong place. Once I found myself in Chemistry when I was meant to be in Art! With the help of SFL and my teachers I got my head around my studies and that stupid map, finding an affinity for chemistry and a love of English. Still, the social side of moving schools was something that I hated and caused me a lot of issues, as I didn’t share any common interests with the girls in my form or other classes (I remember having a burning desire to be normal and hating my problems) and felt really lonely at times. It took weeks of feeling I was on the fringe and like I didn’t fit but over time I met like-minded people through MUN and Debating. MUN is by far my favorite club. My confidence, public speaking skills and my wardrobe have improved infinitely. I can still think back to the first conference I attended at school in S1, standing in for someone else at the last minute. I was unprepared, under confident and nothing short of terrified! In the first committee session I was annihilated. Someone had submitted an amendment to build a Death Star and I saw a chance to speak. I went through my points and received a massive round of applause, but then another delegate stood up and