Stop moving! That is what I would always hear growing up. Yet, I could not just stop moving. I would try to control myself and my movements but I couldn’t. Nobody would ever listen to me or hear me explain what was going on in my body and mind. I hated school. I would always get picked on and teased because I was considered ‘different’ and not ‘normal.’ But, is there even anyone normal out there?

My most memorable occasion is when I got older and could explain my disorder and my situation to others and they would understand and not make fun. After the terrible middle school years I have grown and matured and am able to explain to people that yes I may be different but I am normal. I am just like everyone else. I started gaining support from my family and family friends and some of my close friends. Yet I wish everyone in my community would support it and not just brush it aside because life is hard with this disorder and they don’t understand yet do not want to. I went to a camp just for kids with Tourette’s and I felt welcomed there. I felt like I was at home and that I could not be judged and I felt normal. I made lots of new friends whom I still keep in contact with. They supported me and I supported them and we were like a big family.

I am glad that I have so much support from my peers because if it wasn’t for everyone who supported me, I would most likely not be here today. So, people with Tourette’s are not un-normal or weird, we’re just like everyone else.