I was the kid who always in trouble, the class clown, the one who had trouble controlling his impulses. If a teacher asked the class a question, I would blurt out the answer without raising my hand. Sometimes, I would just blurt out my thoughts regardless if she was asking a question or not.

This was during the 1970s. I was considered hyperactive. The doctors wanted to medicate me, but my mother refused. So I continued cutting up in class, making wisecracks and "disrupting the learning environment" as my teachers would write year after year on my report card.

They would also write the following, year after year:

"If he only applied himself, he could reach any goal he wants."

"If he only channeled that abundance of energy into his schoolwork, he would make straight A's."

In high school, I became a pothead, which mellowed me out. No longer was I getting in trouble for blurting out my thoughts. However, I was getting in trouble for smoking pot on school grounds.

By the time I dropped out of school at the age of 18, I had been kicked out of three schools for either drugs or incorrigibility.

But before I dropped out, I discovered I was good at two things; writing and acting. I excelled in drama class and I became entertaintment editor of my school newspaper. I had and still have a unique way of looking at the world, and it came out in my acting and in my writing (and now, in my photography).

So even after I had dropped out, I knew I was going to be either an actor or a writer. I ended up getting a GED at the age of 20 and enrolled in community college at the age of 21. I quickly realized that I had more freedom as a writer than an actor, so I began focusing on that.

After all, with writing, you have the power to create your own scenarios. With acting, you have to follow someone else's scenarios. I've never been good at following orders and acting was no exception.

It took me three-and-a-half years to finish community college and then two years to complete a four-year degree at the local state university. At the age of 26, I shocked my friends and family by graduating with a degree in journalism.

It was then that I read an article about ADHD(called ADD back then) in Newsweek. And it was then when I realized why I had struggled so much in my life and caused my parents and teachers so much grief.

I ended up getting a prescription for Ritalin and it changed my world. It helped me not only control my impulses, but also in my personal relationships. It made me less irritable.

I am now 37 and taking Adderall. I still have ADHD and it is never easy. Even with the medication, I still have trouble paying my bills on time, meeting deadlines (which causes great stress on my editors), controlling my finances and keeping organized.

The best way to explain ADHD is to imagine that you are nearsighted and you are forced to go through life without corrective lenses. You will manage, but it will be extremely difficult, depending on the severity of your condition.

Then one day somebody hands you a pair of glasses and you put them on, and voila, suddenly the world is crystal clear. For the first time in your life, you can read the signs in the distance. You can make out people's expressions. You can find where you placed your wallet without having to spend 20 minutes searching your room.

That is how I felt the first time I took Ritalin.