School did not come easily to me; it never has. I needed more time; I needed school to slow down. From the outset, I remember wishing my teachers and my classmates would just come to a screeching halt so I could catch up. My voice, the voice needed for survival, could not be heard from so far behind. My most important tools—my opinions, my ideas of right and wrong—were in a holding cell. I could not find a space where I mattered. I
