ADHD and No Laptop Makes Joe something something...

Two weeks into my latest semester at the U and I seem to be running into a bit of a problem: Only two of my classes are actually in classrooms and neither of them will let me use my computer.

I know this is petty but let me explain:

I suffer from a condition called ADHD-Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. It's basically ADD on steroids. Short of it is that it's hard for me to pay attention to one thing at a time for a long period of time. It drove me nuts when I worked at Toys R Us and nobody was in the store. I would pace the aisles until I wore down the linoleum.

It's only a total of 7 hours a week, but that can be a lot to ask sometimes. My Media Effects class especially. Three hours completely unplugged has me crawling up the walls. I don't even go that long at church!

Is this a sign of the times? I was diagnosed when

This was last week's attempt to stave off boredom...

I was pretty young but back then I didn't have the wonders of the internet to keep my focus prisimed like I do now. I have to wonder: Does my constant connection to the internet help my condition or does it make it worse?

A few weeks ago I spent a week camping out of state. For most of it my cell service was spotty at best and what I could get I used to text my wife, but honestly I didn't miss it at all. I spent the entire time surrounded by my buddies laughing, talking and enjoying each other's company.

The classes of course are different. The classes are interesting enough, but just sitting still and listening to the lecture is a lot less entertaining than playing in the woods. I know people have told me to just pay really close attention but that doesn't work for me. I live in a world where if I get too bored I start losing focus in everything, and regaining focus becomes almost impossible.

I know it's popular to say that we need to eliminate distractions from the classroom, but for me it's a necessary tool to function. As much as I love complaining about my problems on the internet, I have too much pride to talk to the teachers about this particular need. It's hard for me to go to a professor and say "Hay, you're class isn't stimulating enough so I need permission to cruse Facebook while you're talking so I don't zone out and fall asleep. Is that cool?"

Nobody would buy it.

I write this not just to vent but to draw attention to a problem that doesn't get a lot of attention, or if it does negatively. I have ADHD, a condition which makes it hard for me to focus. This has made working a job an agonizing process and classes without my computer brutal that borderlines on impossible. This isn't a pity party for me, just a part of my story I wanted to tell.

-JOE