Distress to Success
Before Golden Mean, I went to public school from Kindergarten to Freshman year of high school. As each year went by, I would have the same experiences of social stress, procrastination, and attempting to keep up with other students. Most of these struggles were due to my ADHD and Tourette Syndrome. When Covid-19 hit in 2020, these problems only increased. Not only was I losing track of online assignments/homework, but I was also struggling to obtain any information fed to me by my teachers. About halfway through the school year, we began looking for an alternative to traditional education.
When my mom found Golden Mean, I was very skeptical that a tutorial cooperative would be any better for me than regular school. But because my mom was persistent, I went to meet a few members of the co-op in person to see how I felt about the environment. I was anxious to meet them, but as soon as I arrived, they all invited me to talk and get to know them. I felt so welcomed that as soon as we left, I told my mom I wanted to give it a shot. Shortly after, I left school and started going to Golden Mean.
Switching to Golden Mean was a big adjustment for me. The environment, the learning styles, and tutors were very different from anything I experienced before. After I felt more comfortable, I found myself being interested in topics I dreaded before, like biology, history, and writing. Even writing this today isn’t something I would have attempted a year ago. As much as I disliked those topics, most of that hatred stemmed from feeling like I was simply not smart enough, or not good enough to explore them. I soon learned that I was fully capable of understanding those topics; I was just being taught in a way that didn’t fully engage me. I went from feeling like I would eventually have to settle on a career/topic that I viewed as mediocre at best, to feeling like I had a huge range of options to branch into and explore academically.
My academic ability was thriving, and so was my social life. I became friendly with so many other people and felt very accepted in this new community. Compared to regular school, social interaction at Golden Mean felt like a walk in the park. I no longer felt like the odd one out, because I knew everyone else was there for their own reasons too. There was no one judging me for raising my hand to ask questions or needing extra help in a certain lesson.
Because of my Tourette Syndrome, I used to mask my tics whenever I was around people, which would only cause them to become more severe and active. But at Golden Mean I’ve learned that I don’t have to mask them or feel ashamed. The whole community understands what it is, and I no longer feel like I must explain myself every time I whistle or jerk my head back. And of course, there are ups and downs socially and academically, but those bumps in the road feel much more manageable than before, because of how much support I receive from the tutors and my friends.
It is hard to believe I haven’t even been at Golden Mean for a full year while still making so much progress. I now look to my future with excitement and curiosity, rather than anxiety.
- Alex, 10th grade