I’ve always struggled academically. After being held back a year, I started secondary school in September 1989, but I was in the bottom sets in all my classes and surrounded by pupils who wanted to mess about rather than learn.
Not wanting to stand out or be picked on, I stayed quiet, but deep down I was frustrated. I found reading and writing so difficult. I couldn’t seem to grasp the way the words were formed, or I’d get confused by those that looked or sounded similar like ‘what’ or ‘where’. I felt embarrassed and didn’t want to talk about it, so nobody knew how much I was struggling. Instead, teachers said I was lazy or that I couldn’t be bothered to learn. And after a while, I started to believe it. I just thought I was stupid.
POST-SCHOOL BATTLE
I left school at 17 with no GCSEs and spent the next year in college trying to improve in English. But it was difficult. I thought I’d never be able to read or write. While my parents wanted what was best for me, I didn’t open up to them about it. They didn’t know the true extent of my problem.
この記事は WOMAN'S OWN の September 12, 2022 版に掲載されています。
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この記事は WOMAN'S OWN の September 12, 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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