I Saw the Sign...or NOT

Yo peeps I am back! And I want to talk about signs! One of the issues with dyslexia is the speed that you read. Docs call it fluency (a little vocab lesson for you fab people out there...you're welcome). Anyway, to say I am a speedy reader...well you can't say that! In fact, when I was in 5th grade my teacher yelled at me because it took me too long to read a paragraph I was given- she ACTUALLY said "because Aly read so slow I don't have time to finish!"

SIDE NOTE: ( Yo Miss B*^% - her name actually started with a B! - you never give a dyslexic something to read out loud without advanced notice, you'll be there for HOURS! )

Anyway, this speed thing is a constant issue especially when it comes to signs! 

This one time when I was younger I was REALLY craving some ice cream.

SIDE NOTE: I am also lactose intolerant so ice cream isn't my best friend! Btw, I just spent 5 minutes trying to figure out how to spell lactose intolerant...and you can laugh at me it's okay, trust me I did, because the way I spelt it before DOESN'T EVEN LOOK RIGHT and spell check couldn't even understand what I was trying to get at! Good thing "lactose and tolerant" doesn't make any damn sense, and I've also just learned I have been pronouncing it wrong my entire life...COOL! 

Back to the story about ice cream...I got into the car after school and asked my mom if she could take me to Cold Stones before practice, but she told me that there is no way she is driving that far out of the way just for ice cream (EXTREMELY rude, I know UGH). But I kept insisting that there was a Cold Stone right down the street (which there wasn't, SHOCKER), anyway my mom told me to point it out to her. So as we got to where I THOUGHT there was a Cold Stone, I pointed out the place saying "look mom I told you." She turned to me and says..."Alexandra that says, CD Warehouse." 

Let me just explain why I thought it said Cold Stones. We were driving 50 miles an hour and reading signs takes speed which I've already explained I don't have. The writing of Cold Stones is red and the writing of CD Warehouse was also red. Both words start with the letter "C". And if I'm being completely honest I decided NOT to read the entire word. As a result - my ice cream dreams melted! 


I think these frequent sign misreadings were really funny to my family because they seem to remember tons of times it has happened! Like the time we were driving past a building that had a sign on the top of it and I asked "why would they have showers in that building?" And NO surprise my mom turns to me and says, "Aly that said showroom!" Again - we.were.driving! I had to read quickly, I only got so far! Sue me! 
As you can see Aly's eye view isn't the clearest thing sometimes, but as I see it, my interpretations make my life very interesting. So I guess the key to life is like the key to reading signs with dyslexia, just slow down! And that's Aly's eye view!

The History of Me and my BFF Dyslexia

Hey, so let me get the boring stuff out of the way before I can get into the good part of my life. My name is Aly, I am 19 years old, and I am dyslexic. But just because I'm dyslexic doesn't mean I want anyone who reads this to feel bad for me. 

Let me give you a little background information about me and my bff dyslexia. I was going into 3rd grade when I first found out I was dyslexic, and OHHH did I think it was the end of the world. When I got tested one of the accommodations I got for school was the honor of bringing my computer to school to take "notes" and all of the other REALLY HARD things 3rd graders have to do. Anyways, bringing my computer to school meant I was now one of those geeky kids who had a rolling backpack, LAME I KNOW. I started putting myself down and making fun of myself before others could. I got bullied a little here and there but as Kelly Clarkson says "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger," and I guess she's kinda right because I'm still alive, well and here sharing my unfortunate life experiences with you. 

Side note: NO dyslexia is not when you read backwards, I clearly know you read from left to right. Also, these side notes might happen a lot because I also have ADD/ADHD, and that my friends is why I call myself the TRIPLE THREAT! 

Back to what I was saying, dyslexia was the end of the world for little 3rd grade me, I would cry every night and tell myself how stupid I was. But as I grew I kinda learned to use dyslexia as sort of a way to make light of every situation I am put into. For example, if I am giving someone directions and I tell them to go left and the directions clearly say to go right I will just say, "sorry I'm dyslexic." As I have grown up I have also realized that it's not someone with a weak bladder that spends the most time in a bathroom - it's a dyslexic; the reason I say that is because when I was younger and we would take turns reading out loud in class I would magically have to really use the bathroom when it came time for me to read and I would stay in there till I knew it was safe and my turn was over. I'd say dyslexia has made me pretty clever. 

But trust me...the stories and life as I see it only gets better from here! And that's Aly's eye view!