My Fearless Fierce Middle Daughter

This post made in conjunction with Zipit.

She May Be Little But She is Fierce and Fearless

Let me tell you about a fierce and fearless young woman, who despite being diagnosed at an early age with a learning disability in math and having ADHD (attention deficit disorder) who is making her dreams come true.

At an early age, I knew that my middle daughter was struggling when in school. I even remember having a conversation with the guidance counselor in kindergarten about her struggles. I was told that at that age they just consider it immaturity. Fast forward to the middle of her 1st-grade year, there was talk of making her repeat the grade. But I knew that if she just had a little help that she could overcome. And she did!

After talking to her teacher and her pediatrician we decided to get her tested for ADHD. And she was put on a small dose of medicine. Folks with all her hard work and determination, a little help from her medicine, her teacher, myself and a tutor, she made it through 1st grade with flying colors.

Little but Fierce My Twins
My twins ( not really) but people think they are

She learned that she had to work harder than most of her classmates to achieve the same amount of success that they would. It was hard for her because she had an older sister who school just came easily to sometimes. And the fact that they both look a lot alike, and had some of the same teachers you can imagine the comparisons. But she had some amazing teachers in elementary school who got her to come out of her shell and encouraged her to just be herself.

Fast forward, to the first year of middle school, all that the last two years of elementary school had accomplished for her self-esteem and her confidence was dashed when she got the teacher from He**. This teacher would forget to give her medicine at school and then would question why did she need it anyway. Middle school is hard for most kids, but having a teacher that is a bully just makes it harder.

Luckily, she had some amazing team teachers who made up for the bully and stood up for her. But that year almost broke her. She began to doubt herself and I remember her calling herself stupid on more than one occasion.

Little but Fierce Mik with Teacher
The person in the red shirt was one of her teachers in 7th grade.

After 6th grade, we were so looking forward to a new and fresh start and we got that with her whole team of teachers. One who has since moved onto to be a minister and totally made a huge impact on her life. Mikaela regained her confidence and in 8th grade, she came to me and said: “Mom, I want to try not taking my medicine for a while.”

I told her, okay but if her grades slip or if I see her fall back on her schoolwork, she would go back on it.

mikaela first day of college
On her first day of college classes

Well, folks, she is currently not on any medication and is enrolled in college pursuing her degree in Interior Architecture. Oh, and did I mention she also has a drafting degree, and she earned that while she was going to high school and playing soccer.

Words cannot express how proud I am of Mikaela, at 4’11” less than 100 pounds she is a tiny little thing, but she is a fierce force to be reckoned with.

Little But Fierce Studio Space
Mikaela’s studio space

One of the things that she gets as an architect student at her college is her own studio space. At the beginning, it is just a desk but as they continue through the program they gain more space. In her space, Mikaela can decorate it any way she wants. So last week when she came home from college for the weekend and said that she needed stuff for her space, especially stuff to hold her drawing supplies, I knew exactly what I was going to give her.

Little But Fierce Pencil Case

This ZIPIT storage case may look like something a little kid would have in school. But to me, it stands for so much more. To me, it reminds me of the little girl who didn’t let her circumstances define who she would become. It also serves as a constant reminder (the monster face) to Mikaela to attack everything with her fierce and fearless attitude. Because she may be little but she is fierce.  And I love the company motto” By making products that are smart, colorful and designed with a clever twist we love inspiring young people to be original and clever, optimistic and fun.” And that is just what Mikaela needs because she certainly is an original and one of a kind.

 

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18 Comments

  1. This is so inspiring! I love hearing stories of how people have overcome hard circumstances and accomplished something incredible. Thank you for sharing your daughter’s story!

  2. Kudos to Mikaela’s resilience and you mama for raising her well! She’s going to be an amazing interior Architecture designer!

  3. This is so inspiring! My son has struggled in school in the past. They diagnosed him with a learning disability a few years ago, and at that time I began homeschooling him. This year he started back in public school, in 6th grade. He knows he has to work hard to keep up and that I’m here to support him. I’ve had some days of worry this first week of school, just hoping that all goes well. You’ve definitely helped me have a more positive outlook on things.

  4. I’m so proud of both you and Mikaela!! I love how she has not allowed anything to stop of from setting, reaching and achieving her goals! PS – I just bought the ZipIt Organizer for both my younger Kiddies this year – I was tempted to grab one for myself 🙂

  5. Wow! What a wonderful post! I am so excited she is following her dreams and not letting some people get her down. I am sure she will be a strong woman.
    xo, Lee

  6. What an inspirational story! Kudos to your daughter for working so hard and never giving up, even in the times she most wanted to. I’m so glad to hear she has succeeded and is doing so well; and what a beautiful gift to give her for her pencils. Keep up the great work, Mikaela!

  7. What a great story! Kudos to Mikaela, it’s great to hear how she worked through the challenges. I’m sorry she had a bully of a teacher in middle school, but it sounds like she had great support from family, friends, and other teachers and has grown up to be an amazing young woman! Congrats to her on her drafting degree, and good luck to her with the architecture studies!

  8. Sounds like she has had an amazing support system and lots of love as she has pursued this success. Love this story, and I can’t wait to hear of the amazing things that she is going to accomplish!

  9. She certainly has had to face some struggles who would have thought that being having a learning disability in Math, that math would be her best subject.

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