ADHD high achievers, did you ever feel like you did well in school because of your personality?

During highschool, I scored much higher than the average student even when I mostly did art the entire time. I wasnt the worlds next einstein or anything (obviously because I'm an art student) and I really didnt believe I would get such high scores since I'm really not that academic and all my friends thought I was kind of dumb too lol. The only reason I graduated with a high enough score for me to get into uni was because Art was the only subject I ever poured my heart into when I wasn't engaged in any other subject. Ask any of my peers from my level, they all know me to be the girl who never stopped drawing in class, when in reality, I was too unfocused with what was happening in the class and would rather draw than try to focus and listen because I knew it wouldn't really sink into my brain. I've always loved drawing, so it kind of became my escape during boring times in class.

But even if I could draw during boring classes, I skipped school a lot when I knew which classes I had for that day which either bored me or made me depressed, whereas on some days I can come in and I am hyperfocused throughout all of my classes. But those were usually only on the days with my favourite subjects, which were Japanese and art, firstly because in Japanese, I loved my classmates and teacher and it was never a bore in that classroom. For art on the other hand, I had all my friends there too with me, but we were all focused on doing our own work, which I didn't mind because I loved doing art and I was able to focus. So really, I poured my heart on two subjects that got me a higher than average score just because I liked those subjects during highschool. For the other subjects that I did, which were English and maths, I usually skipped out on those classes or 'work outside' the classroom and try and memorize as many things an hour before exams. :)

Back to the question though, did I ever feel like I did well in school because of my personality? Well, "personality" in your definition comes off as more "study habits" to me. But in terms of my own personality, being that I like art and japanese, I would say yes, it has gotten me to achieve higher than most students, since I did the most I could in those classes, but skip out on classes I didn't focus well in.

With the study habits you mentioned that had helped you learn better - which is through images from textbooks and mostly through reading - compared to you, I had different habits. Note-taking was an interactive medium for me (where I learn best) and I used to never note-take in class before. It just kind of became habit for me during some classes so that I could stay somewhat engaged, even if my notes that I wrote down weren't really a means for me to revise later on. I'm in uni right now, and I would say I find it a little more difficult (due to quarantine) since I'm stuck in one place and can't move around like I used to during highschool. I am an interactive learner after all, so reading and listening usually just comes through one ear and out the other for me, mostly because I need any kind of physicality to learning, even if it's just walking on campus. I didn't realise how much I valued walking around school to help me stay engaged until covid 19 happened. I do note-take still with online classes happening, but it's not exactly the same when I'm not on campus :/

I hope you are doing much better though! Multi-tasking isn't easy for anyone and I suggest you try approach things little by little :) I still struggle on my own too like finding the courage to get up in the morning, only to realise I have 468278292844 chores to do in the day, which scares me into jumping on to new projects that will never be completed and add on to my list of chores/projects. :)

But yeah! Uni is still a blast for me since I love the career paths that come with it, even if am not at my fullest potential when it comes to focusing compared to when I was in highschool.

/r/ADHD Thread