Writing - Weaponized ADHD Part 1 - University

My favourite part of university was writing history papers. I loved digging into the research and telling a story. I've always loved telling stories, although the people stuck listening to the chaotic stream of consciousness that comes out of me when talking don't always agree.

Writing allows me to get my thoughts in order and refine them. At least, when I was able to stick to it. I got two "A" grades in University. One was a paper on Lyndon Johnson (US president). My dad had a huge collection of books about him (more than the university). Really fascinating president. If the cold war hadn't so very broken the psyche of the USA he would have been great. But he got sucked into the "can't let the commies have an inch or they'll take over the world" and Vietnam happened. So I handed in a 12000 word essay (the assignment was 4000 words) that I had edited to death for flow and readability and the teacher loved it. 

​The other one was an Easter European politics course. It was from 7-10 pm on a Thursday in the basement of the university. The teacher had clearly studied dictators too long because he was a tyrant. Like, TV caricature levels of awful, humiliating people who contradicted him or made mistakes. I had injured my hand and couldn't write with a pen, so I was one of the 3 people at the university packing around a laptop (it was 2001). The course was 40% Research paper, 40% take home final exam, and 20% participation. We were each assigned an eastern Europeans country to study, and as we progressed through the cold war era each week we had to report on our country. I got the full 20% for 2 reasons.
1. I got the Czech republic. Nothing happened. They had the same dictator for most of the cold war. So I could always report "Not much happened" and look like I'd done the reading.
2. I sat at the back of the class playing solitaire and taking the occasional note. While everyone else was asleep at the table.
But the biggest reason for an "A" in this course was the take-home final exam. ADHD brain - can't focus long enough to memorize facts and recall them on command (just if I was lucky enough for the gremlin in my hippocampus to give them to me). So a "B" was the best I could get after the exam dragged my grade down. But not this time!

I didn't get diagnosed with ADHD until 15 years later, but in hindsight the volume of sugar and caffeine I needed to stay on task was a clue. That and the time a cousin handed me a couple of his Ritalin to keep me awake to study. I passed right out both times (which fits ADHD brain, it calmed my mind)

After University I didn't write much until I got hyperfocused on yoyos (That's another story). I started a blog, which led to "The People of yoyo". 

More to come.