Isabella Kemper is a third-year photojournalism major and writes “Adventures Await” for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.

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Hours upon hours of tears, stress and anxiety all started with a spelling test. Then came multiplication and division. Next were states, capitals and elements from the periodic table. 

And it never stopped. 

Just by looking at me, you would never be able to tell I have a disability. Since kindergarten, my teachers always told my mom I would “catch up” to my classmates and that we had nothing to worry about. 

I remember countless nights of not only me getting frustrated because things were hard and weren’t working but also my mom getting frustrated at the thought I may not be trying or not knowing what was wrong. 

The tests started with my eyes. I went to two years of eye therapy. It helped but, of course, not with my spelling. The next step was talking to my school. The school said there was nothing wrong with me and nothing for me to get tested for because I was an A/ B student and getting good scores on standardized tests. 

Of course, my mom wouldn’t believe that. 

Testing for dyslexia is not covered by most insurance, so I got tested through a dyslexic tutor. I was told that dyslexia was the root of my struggles. Later, I was also tested for several other learning disabilities that we learned amplify my dyslexia. 

This was hard for me to understand at first. I am a perfectionist and always have been, so with this diagnosis came the reality that I could never be “perfect."

The things people say about dyslexia immediately shaped my view of my disability. 

As soon as someone learns about my disability they immediately jump to conclusions and their perspective on me shifts. People have said to me,  “But you're smart?” “If I write bigger, does that help?” “Really? I never would have guessed,” and so many more. 

These comments, to many, may seem small, but to me, a person experiencing learning disabilities, they are most definitely not. These comments are often made due to a lack of knowledge and misconceptions surrounding what dyslexia actually is.

People commonly think that dyslexia is simply flipping and mixing up your letters. While this is a struggle, dyslexia affects spelling as well as reading speed, fluency and comprehension, test taking and memorization of things such as rights, lefts, directions and names. 

Another big misconception is that people with dyslexia aren’t very smart, which is far from the truth and part of the reason why I was diagnosed so late in life. According to the University of Washington, students with dyslexia statistically have to work five times harder than other students to have the same outcome. Even though I was getting good grades,  I was working on schoolwork to the point of exhaustion just to get those grades.

All of these stereotypes and misconceptions had me thinking for years that something was wrong with me. I wasn't good enough, stupid and so many other things. 

Dyslexia is something that I have had to learn to love about myself and embrace. When I was ashamed of it, I had so much anxiety about what other people would think, but the reality is, in a way, that dyslexia is my superpower. 

Individuals with dyslexia rely more on the right side of their brain for left-sided tasks — dyslexic brains are just arranged differently. 

Even though dyslexia is a struggle, there are many benefits of it which I have learned to love. 

According to the University of Michigan, dyslexics tend to be abstract, critical, and outside-of-the-box thinkers, imaginative, empathetic and so much more. 

These characteristics statistically help dyslexics be more likely to become rich and/or famous than the average person. About one out of five people have dyslexia so when looking at those who are famous there are so many who have dyslexia. Albert Einstein, Tom Cruise, Walt Disney, Jennifer Aniston, Henry Ford, Tom Holland and Leonardo da Vinci are a few. 

For me, my dyslexia has created a strong work ethic, and whenever I set my mind to something, I will find a way to make it happen. On top of this, the empathy from my dyslexia leads me to connect with people better than some can. I have also been super creative since a young age. So, even though words and numbers can be hard if you give me a hands-on activity of anything that uses my imagination or problem-solving, I can produce something at a top-tier standard. 

Even though it is a struggle, and some days are harder than others, I would never want my experiences to change. I have learned so much about myself and the unique things my brain can do that not everyone else's can.

Knowing and learning these facts helped me understand exactly what my disability is and how to embrace it as my superpower.

Contact Isabella Kemper via email at isabella.kemper@bsu.edu.

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