Here Comes Dorothy!

Hey People!

I took another acting camp this week, and at the beginning I wasn't particularly happy with it. My friend Janie and I were frustrated since we were doing a lot of the same stuff as the past week and because the other campers were not necessarily at our level... I guess that sounds a bit arrogant, but I don't mean for it to. Throughout the week, I made a great friend named Julia. She is a great actress, and she will be sleeping over at my house tomorrow, along with Janie. We warmed up to a lot of the other kids too, and today during auditions for the musicals we wrote, we found out this one kid named Bryant is extremely funny. We worked on the plays a bunch today, and tomorrow we will be working even more. Then, at 3pm we will be performing them. I'm really looking forward to it.
In the beginning of the week, I wasn't too happy... but every day has gotten better. I can't believe tomorrow is the last day!
The thing that I'm most excited about is that I got the part I wanted in the "Fractured Fairytales" play! I auditioned for Dorothy and I got the part! She is really dumb, but I love playing those types of characters. I get to save the day with zebras, which I am really excited about.
I love to act. Acting is my passion, along with singing, dancing, and playing the guitar. I also love to write.
So, people with Tourettes can accomplish things that normal people can, because even though we are different, that's one of the best things about it.
I don't want this to come off as life is so easy for people with TS, and they can do whatever they want, because that is not always the case. When my tics get really bad, sometimes I want to crawl out of my skin. I hate it, but I don't let it get in the way of my life. I jump over those obstacles.
I will lay awake at night, constantly ticcing, and ticcing. But, you have to learn to relax, and distract yourself. Take deep breaths, and think about other things.
I am turning 14 in less than a month, which means in  about 6 months I can start Driver's Ed. I don't know if I'll be able to drive though. Ever. I mean, how can you drive when you have to clap your hands, straighten your legs, and blink your eyes really hard, plus a TON of other tics that can distract you from the road? If I clap my hands, they will be off the wheel. If I straighten my legs, I'll go full throttle. If I blink real hard, I won't see the road. Plus, tons of other tics that I do could cause me to get into an accident.
Maybe I will have restrictions on my license? I know my mom has one where she HAS to wear glasses, but I don't know how any restrictions could apply to me but "DON'T DRIVE."
So, maybe I'll never be able to drive... at least not comfortably without any accidents... But, that's okay. Less work for me to do, and my friends can drive me around.(;
I don't really feel that way (that it's good to not have a license), because I really do want to drive.
Who knows? Maybe one day I won't have as many horrid tics! Even though my TS hates me, and would probably have me develop tics that would restrain me from driving.
Well, I'll have to wait and see. All I know is that God knows what will happen, and all I can do is pray for help and guidance.
My mom once (or many more times than once) told me that God gave me TS, OCD, and Anxiety Disorder because I can handle it, but you know what? Most of the time, I feel like I can't.
Life with TS is hard, but I know that there are more people out there with TS that may have it harder than me. Even though I was diagnosed moderate-severe, I am heavily medicated, and some people either can't afford medication, or haven't been diagnosed.
I remember when I was 5, I was a lab rat. My first tic ever was a cough, and it got so bad that my chest was bruised. They diagnosed me with asthma, and gave me an inhaler, and even a cube shaped breathing machine. Then, they decided I didn't have asthma, so I inhaled all of that medicine for no reason. They went through tons of trials and tests, and even telling me I was allergic to Fall. Yes, the season. It didn't make any sense to me when I was younger.
Eventually, I developed more tics, and they finally diagnosed me with Tourette Syndrome.
I have been through so many different meds, I remember getting my blood drawn almost every month for lab tests and getting EKGs done a lot.
Once, in the third grade, I was put on Risperidol, and it made me gain ten pounds! We took me off of it, and I lost a ton of weight. Funny thing is, I am currently taking that medicine (or it's generic, Risperidone, which is basically the same thing, just a different name and manufacturing company or something), and I lost weight when I started taking it! Only for a little while though, but I thought that was pretty cool in a strange way.
Well, I must run! I need to go watch Alphas, which is on my favorite channel, Syfy. It comes on Mondays at 10pm. I recorded it, so I'm good to go!(:

Thank you for reading.

Emma<3