Due to an overwhelming stroke of luck, (or just a cool class instructor) one of my college classes has a Journal assignment that I can use to write Blog posts.
It’s been a week since I started classes at Kent State. I honestly don’t know what more to say than that. I’ve been able to catch up with several old friends, meet several new people, and talk to several old friends. Classes are an adjustment, but I’m somehow managing to adjust. The fact that I’m commuting makes the overall transition easier, but it also makes things more exhausting making the 20-30 minute drive every morning and evening.
The blog, however, is about my Aspergers Syndrome, and I wanted to take some time to mention how I think that’s affected my college life so far.
The most obvious challenges I face are the social ones. So far I seem to be doing well, but as always there’s the overhanging quirks and tendencies to talk that people have to put up with. Overall, though, this aspect hasn’t been as disastrous as I feared it might be. I thank God for that.
An issue I am running into, however, is concentrating on my classes. I am taking 17 credit hours, which I don’t think is past my abilities, but it does mean I have a solid workload to face. Not being able to focus in class and on my homework simply will not be an option from here on. My homeschooling has done a good job of preparing me for being independent in my work, however, so that gives me an edge.
My previously mentioned frustration with reading, however, is going to be a huge issue. I have a lot of textbook reading, and a somewhat atrophied words-per-minute skill. I am hoping that as time goes on I can be a fast reader again, but in the meantime this could end up being a long next several weeks.
Another, maybe one of the biggest, thing I am facing now though isn’t in my reading, but in my writing. Already I have one class that won’t allow a computer use during class and another that might have frequent or at least semi-frequent handwritten assignments in or out of class. Unlike my reading issues, however, this one won’t go away with retraining -- I’ve made only limited progress on my handwriting over the past several years of CROWN, and whatever I need to fix that can’t be easily learned. Right now I am working on getting accommodations, but at the rate things are going, I may have to just deal with handwriting some during the semester, and hope I can do well enough.
Despite all the challenges I’m facing, however, and the ones that have yet to become fully apparent, I am truly looking forward to this year. The chance to overcome these challenges is made much more minor in light of Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Already I’ve built and strengthened several friendships as well as focused, read, and written through a week of classes without any major snags. Let us pray that I can hold on to my beginner’s luck for another 15 weeks.
Bye and YBIC
-Caleb
