The Moment I Met My First ADHD

I only knew about ADHD from books. Particularly, Percy Jackson. For those who know me, Rick Riordan, the Percy Jackson author, is my all-time favorite author.

So, back to our story!

I’d never heard about ADHD except through him, and in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, ADHD is what keeps demigods alive, because even though it doesn’t help them much on an academic level, it really helps them in battle because they act faster than they think, giving them the sharp reflexes they would need when fighting monsters and trying not to die.

Ever since I first heard about it, I only regarded ADHD as a superpower, nothing less. I actually still do.

So, the first moment I met my first ADHD friend, I was thrilled, to say the least.

He used to work as a copy editor with me, and I was the one who graded his test before he got accepted. I knew from his test that he was likely an ADHD, and when he actually came to work and we gradually became friends, I asked him about it. Man, I was … practically jumping up and down on the inside! I met my first ADHD! That was brilliant!

I found it fascinating, really.

I know it’s hard, and I know it doesn’t make your life any easier. But it’s also quite impressive, the things you can achieve when you’re constantly in a race with time—and against yourself too!

My friend’s thoughts were faster than he could express by the normal physical laws of time. As a result, he talked not too much, but too fast. He’s the fastest person I ever saw speak! To make it even more brilliant, I have synesthesia (a rare neurological condition, but that’s a story for another time). Anyway, a type of synesthesia that I have is, I see words as they get uttered. If I say them, or you say them, or anyone says them, I see them floating in the air. But whenever he spoke, I saw one single sentence with all the words back-to-back, no spaces in-between, because he barely paused to catch his breath.

We’re still friends, and I still find it brilliant every time we speak.

My dear friend, if you’re reading this, I just want to tell you one thing: thank you for being my first ADHD.

August 7th, 2019