Presenting my Tourette's Documentary to my Senior Class

It feels so weird knowing that everyone in my class knows that I have Tourette's now. I made a decision that when presenting my documentary to my class, I was going to do it the right way. I was not going to stand up there and say "I made this documentary just cause.....I felt like it....", nope! I promised myself that I would take ownership of Tourette's, I would be proud of my advocacy, and I would not hide behind my diagnosis.

People know when you are ashamed of something, and that can make you a target of gossip or bullying. But if you really take ownership and are not ashamed of your difference, others can feel that. Others will follow your lead and will feel more comfortable around you if you are comfortable with yourself, and that means being comfortable with even your differences.

People see or hear me tic, people ask about it all the time, and I felt that this was not only the perfect opportunity to show other people that I was comfortable and okay about my Tourette's, but also the perfect opportunity to just answer everyone's question all at once. haha, essentially a "Yes I have Tourette's! Now you can stop asking!"

 It was simple, all I had to do while introducing the documentary was say. "The documentary is about Tourette's Syndrome, a disorder that I along with many many other people all over the world have". So that's exactly what I did.

So many of my peer's, teachers, and friends have been coming up to me and telling me how much they enjoyed it and how impressed they were with it. Everyone is being genuinely respectful and people really seemed to enjoy watching it. I have been talking with people in my class that I have never talked to before, and I feel as if this whole experience has made me more confident and comfortable not only about Tourette's but also about myself as a member of the senior class and myself in general. I've been ticcing a lot less today and yesterday in my classes than I normally do. Maybe this is because I am not so terrified that people will start asking me about my tics in class now and feel more confident about Tourette's, or maybe it's because today is my last day of school before two weeks of spring break and I am the opposite of stressed.

And my college adviser continues to rave about the documentary as well! I just went to see her to ask her some questions about college, and she mentioned that she is still raving about my documentary to everyone and has shared the documentary links with the entire college counseling office, and with lots of other people all over the school! :)