I’ve spent my entire life with ADHD and anxiety — and honestly, it’s one of the biggest reasons I’m such an effective special education teacher today. People hear “ADHD + anxiety” and think challenge. But for me, it became a kind of superpower… just not always in the “cute” way. Growing up, my anxiety tortured me enough to overcompensate for the ADHD. That meant I was a straight-A student who could memorize literally anything — even stuff that bored me to death (looking directly at you, Social Studies). Ask me today what I learned? Absolutely nothing. Not one single fact. I memorized it, took the test, got the A, and then — poof. Gone. Replaced by whatever random song lyric my brain decided to loop that day. Teachers always thought I wasn’t paying attention (spoiler: I wasn’t). But I was a master at keeping one layer of my brain cracked open JUST enough to parrot back whatever they said if they called on me. I didn’t understand a damn thing, but I could mimic it well enough that they eventually stopped asking. I was “good at school” — but I wasn’t actually learning. I was memorizing. It wasn’t until I started teaching special education that everything clicked. For the first time in my life, I learned the why behind the things I was taught to just memorize. Math? I always loved it — but if we’re being honest, I only loved the parts I could memorize. Formulas? Great. Rules that always work? Even better. But nobody ever taught me why they worked. Nobody ever taught me number sense, mental strategies, flexible thinking. Then I started teaching kids who needed exactly that. College told us what to do as teachers — but never why. And the “why” is EVERYTHING in special ed. Once I started diving into that, it opened a whole new world for me. For the first time, I realized how limiting and outdated the “there is one right way” approach truly is. Growing up, we were taught: ➡️ Do it THIS way ➡️ Don’t question it ➡️ If you don’t get it, you’re the problem But that’s not how learning works.

Schools don’t have a bullying problem. They have a truth avoidance problem. Every school has: - anti-bullying posters - “kindness weeks” - spirit days - assemblies - cute slogans You know what they DON’T have? A real plan. Here’s the truth nobody wants to admit: Schools don’t address bullying because it’s messy. Because it requires conversations they aren’t trained for. Because it forces people to look in the mirror. Because it demands consistency, skill, and emotional intelligence. Because it exposes the uncomfortable reality that many adults don’t know how to navigate conflict either. The result? Victims stay silent. Bystanders freeze. Bullies get clever. Parents get defensive. Teachers get overwhelmed. Admin get political. And the cycle repeats. Kids deserve more than posters and promises. They deserve skills. They deserve scripts. They deserve emotional support. They deserve leaders who don’t flinch at the truth. That’s why Empowered Voices exists. We don’t avoid the truth. We TEACH kids how to handle it.