Sometimes, it amazes me how interested in math, reading and science Annabeth is. School had always been challenging for me. As most of you know, I have ADHD and Dyslexia. I mean, I accept that it's a part of the whole being a demigod thing...being able to read Greek and having good battle reflexes. But...that doesn't mean that ADHD and Dyslexia haven't been anything less of a burden during my whole "acadmic career" if you could even call it that. My "academic career" is probably the career equivalent of a five year old kid selling Girl Scout cookies, while most people seemed like they were business executives. Yes, that's how behind I was in school. (Sorry for the weird metaphor)

ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactity Disorder. (Insert professor voice) Clinically speaking, It's a neurodevelopmental disorder that causes symptoms that fit into three main categories: inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. (Percy Jackson speaking)

- I can't pay attention to anything for more than 10 minutes (unless it's something that interests me in that case I become completely hyper focused and can't remove myself from whatever it is even if I have things to do)

-I'm distracted by everything from someone picking up a piece of paper to biting their nails,

-I have a hard time listening to long conversations,

-I get sidetracked on almost all assignments, schoolwork or homework,

-I forget literally everything

-and my room and notebooks are so messy it would probably qualify me to be on one of those hoarder shows on TLC.

My hyperactivity is something else. I'm extremely impulsive, and that has tended to get me into trouble throughout all of my Demigod experiences. Impulsive meaning I say and do things without thinking about the consequences (it's like I don't even know consequences exist). I also get really restless. AND according to some people (Annabeth and every elementary school teacher I've ever had) I talk to much! I'm not that outgoing and I've never been one of the popular kids, but sometimes... I just can't control what I say.

Dyslexia is a learning disability, I've always been grades behind in my reading level compared to the other kids in my class. Having to read English is a living hell, (I should know I've been too the underworld a few times!) Words float all over the page and look like a jumbled up mess. It's very frustrating...when you physically cannot read. The first years of school, you're afraid that your teacher will call on you and you'll embarrass yourself in front of the class...but once you hit 4th grade you just give up. On reading and your self. You're classmates think you're a loser, your teachers call you lazy and who are you to disagree.

When I was in 6th grade, I had Mr. Brunner* (aka Chiron) as my teacher. He was a pretty good teacher. I mean, he was more kind and understanding than the teachers I'd had before. Probably due to centuries of training and protecting demigods with ADHD and Dyslexia. But even before I knew he was Chiron, he was a teacher that I actually felt close to.

At first, I was annoyed that he kept on acting like I was some sort of genius and could get amazing grades on my work and tests. Like did he not know that I have learning disabilities and having to do tests/homework feels like having to run an Olympic race while in a coma. But I will admit, when we were learning about Ancient Greece, and I was interested and engaged, I did do better in class. I never really believed I was dumb. I mean, I was pretty good at learning historical and science topics, through videos and movies and stuff like that, but not through reading and definitely not writing about it.

In a way, going to camp halfblood was a confidence booster, aside from being put in life compromising situations. I was around tons of kids with ADHD and/or Dyslexia who had academic, athletic and all other sorts of talents.

Something that I had always hated about school was my IEP. An IEP stands for Individualized Education Program. It's basically a document that describes how your gonna get special ed services, all your teachers have to sign it, and my mom, my teachers and the school psychologist and counselor had to meet every year at the IEP meeting.

IEP meetings kind of suck, because it's basically just everyone complaining about you. "He can never pay attention", "he's always distracted", "he never does his work" etc. Ever since I was in second grade I had an IEP.

Basically, I was allowed extra time on tests, a special ed teacher I had to go meet with a couple times a week to practice reading, a couple extra days on homework and I could get a copy of notes from a classmate or the teachers. These were my "accommodations". I didn't really like using them, I felt like it made me stand out, as if I didn't already stand out enough.

I was already the kid who always got sent outside the classroom, who couldn't read basic sentences, and always needed help on everything. The "why didn't you turn in your stuff today", "why is the teacher giving you notes", "why was a teacher calling me out of the classroom" just annoyed me even more. The only accommodation I did use was going to the special ed teacher, because I couldn't really get out of that. But everything that I could get out of using I did.

So yes, technically I was a special ed kid. I always hated the word special ed, it brought up images of people with Down syndrome and intellectual disabilities and severely disabled people. But special ed is still what they call it for kids with learning disabilities and mental illnesses who have IEPs. So I guess thats not gonna change.

Huh...I just remembered something. I guess I'll tell you guys next time...