THE ODD-1-OUT STUDENT
Some students will have a drive from inside to learn new things while others look to be successful people in the future. But I don’t come into any of these categories. And Let me tell you I struggled in school.
I was the kid who spent most of the time chilling with the janitor in the hallway. In middle school, it was such a hard time for me to have a normal conversation with the other students. In high school, I wasn’t able to read in front of the whole class. I spent most of my high school days hiding in the bathroom to escape reading out loud with tears streaming down my face.
In fourth grade, I was diagnosed with dyslexia or a language-based learning disability. In fifth grade, I was diagnosed with ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and in sixth grade, I dropped out of school for a year.
I was a kid who believed that because I was different, I was deficient, that I was the stupid, crazy, and a lazy kid, and you can imagine by the time I re-enrolled in high school, there were a lot of low expectations that surrounded me.
I was told by my dad that I would probably be a high school dropout. And I was told by my teacher, that I would most likely end up in jail or incarcerated.
But you know what? I beat those odds and transcended those low expectations. And today, I want to spend my time with you talking about what things would help young folks like me, beat those low expectations, and prove them wrong.
In my life, it was really all about three people. I’m here today only of because of those 3 people
A guy named Father Young. He is at a tipping point in my life where I could have gone left, but I went right. On the first day on campus, the soccer coach made us go around to the different departments
and listen to all the presentations. And I went around and I didn’t listen to anything until I got to the English department and the chair of the department, Father Young, was up there, talking about literature and learning, like his head was on fire, and I was moved.
So I went up to him afterward and said, Father Young, you moved me. I think I might want to be an English major here at LMU, but I don’t know if I can do it. I don’t read well, I don’t write well, I don’t spell well. And the guy looked right at me and said, I believe in you. Some of the most gifted thinkers in the world. John Irving, they were thinkers like you, you can do this.
At that moment, I walked across campus to the other side of the Dean of Academic Enrollment.
I walked into that guy’s office and I said, I’m gonna study some English literature here at LMU.
It’s game time, let’s do this you know. And that guy, he pulled out my file,
My file was thick, and it didn’t have any good news in it. He flips through it, he laughs, and he says, English literature, I won’t approve that major, you should consider something less intellectual.
So I was deflated like a balloon, I felt broken like the kid in the hallway, and walked back across campus to Father Young and said, not gonna be an English major.
And he said, why? I said, that guy thinks it’s too hard because of my disabilities.
Father Young was real quiet, then he looked at me, and he said in a way that only an old school Jesuit can, he said, well son, I guess you’re just gonna have to prove that person wrong. And the next day I enrolled in four English literature classes and that guy who told me, I should consider something less intellectual, let’s just say that he has an autograph copy of both of my books on his desk right now, right.
I was a kid who believed that, because I was different I was deficient, that I was the stupid, crazy, and lazy kid, but now I’ve come to believe in my core that these things are just labels.
And the thing that really disables individuals’ is the way that those differences are seen by others.
The foundation of my journey of change was a deep commitment to not just fixing kids’ problems, but finding and celebrating, and scaling their strengths. And if you listen to any journey of change by somebody like me who grew up in the hallway, it’s all about finding what that they’re good at and becoming the best at it.
I want to spend my time celebrating the potential of those kids who learn and live differently.
Every single human being has a strength, talent, or interest that you can find and can build a life on.
Find your strengths and compensate for your weaknesses.
This story is about- Jonathan Mooney
He is an author and learning activist who did not learn to read until the age of 12. He has spent his entire life as a social entrepreneur developing organizations, programs, and initiatives to improve the lives of marginalized groups working with over 10,000 parents, educators, and students.
