In math, I was getting stressed out; because I wasn't good at it. I had never been good at math, so I would have to take resource classes. No matter how much time I would spend in the tutoring center after school, I still couldn't grasp it.
Dad would yell at me and call me stupid for not getting it, which would only cause me more distress.
The school had already stressed me out enough. I had good grades, but math would always get me down.
"Why can't you get this? This is so simple!" Dad yelled when I wouldn't understand a problem while doing my homework. "Stop it, Dad! It's too hard!" I wailed in sobs. "Don't talk to me like that!" He slapped me square across the face, and I ran up the stairs to my room in fear. I cried hysterically because my father hit me. Why would he do that to me? Why would he hit me because I didn't understand math?
It wasn't just Dad who got frustrated with me. Mom used to get frustrated with me, and it hurt my feelings. The more time we spent on a problem, the angrier Mom got with me and the more stressed I got. "Julia, why don't you get this? We've talked about it a million times!" "Mom! I'm trying!" I sobbed. The tightening in my chest and the shaking in my hands only made my mom madder. "I don't need this from you! You can't cry when things get difficult!" I was hesitant to ask for help after that moment.
That evening, I hid in my room and tried to figure out my homework independently. My hands were trembling so badly that I kept dropping my pencil. Tears slid down my cheeks, dotting my assignment with precise circles. I was scared to ask for help because I'd always get yelled at.
Sara, my younger sister, came into my room to check on me, and since she's amazing at math, she helped me with my homework. The fact that my sister treated me like an average person and was patient with me made me grateful for her. "You don't have to worry about anything, Julia. I'm here for you." "Thank you," I sniffed and took a deep breath to relax. "You're not stupid or lazy. Dad just doesn't get it, and Mom is trying hard to understand your challenges better." "I don't think they want to understand."
It was the patience I needed.
YOU ARE READING
I'm Me
Teen FictionJulia Hawkins is a teenage girl who just wants to be treated like everyone else. She is a young girl with autism, and because of this, people think she's odd. Her classmates don't understand why she is so fixated on one subject, is antisocial, and s...
