Unlearn what you have learned- August 11, 2025 9:52 PM CDT
Two things about me before I start diving in to this entry in my journey. One, not only do I have AD/HD, but I also have dysgraphia. You might ask, what is dysgraphia? I will give you the clinical definition from the International Dyslexia Association:
“What is dysgraphia?
Dysgraphia is a Greek word. The base word graph refers both to the hand’s function in writing and to the letters formed by the hand. The prefix dys indicates that there is impairment. Graph refers to producing letter forms by hand. The suffix ia refers to having a condition. Thus, dysgraphia is the condition of impaired letter writing by hand, that is, disabled handwriting. Impaired handwriting can interfere with learning to spell words in writing and speed of writing text. Children with dysgraphia may have only impaired handwriting, only impaired spelling (without reading problems), or both impaired handwriting and impaired spelling.”
Allow me to add that it doesn’t just effect handwriting. It effects a lot of motor skills. Including the ability to draw, paint, and so on. (Which, as a side bar, is why I use AI generated images on my website. Could I learn to draw, sure. But, for myself, it is an uphill battle to do so and I already have enough of those with my handwriting and spelling alone. FYI: If you ever complained that I never sent you a handwritten card—this is the reason. Bless my mother’s heart for understanding early on this part of my disability and teaching me how to type at age 6. To the current generations who have always had a keyboard, that might sound odd to say. But personal computers at the time were still years six or seven years away. So I learned on an old manual typewriter. Anyway, there are artist out there who have been able to work around their disgraphia and I applaud them. My art is in writing and I will keep it here.)
The second thing is that outside of writing, (and after 29 years in the health care world), I work two jobs. One is where I teach self-defense. I got into self-defense at the age of 9. Why? See Dysgraphia above. Because that messes with eye-hand motor control and spatial reasoning, the martial arts help train those skills. (I have continued my studies since age 9 and I am now in my mid-fifties.)
Ok, now that the background is out of the way, let me share why I quote Yoda in my title for tonight. I often quote him to certain students who think they have learned something only to block their progress. When I quote Yoda, they look at me like I suddenly have grown more heads than a hydra. But then I slowly break down the meaning.
What is funny-as in ironic-is that when it comes to writing, I am having to tell myself the same thing. In the writing world, there are myths and personal methods we are told as universal. And, naively I fell for a lot of them. They have been a major roadblock in my development as a writer and an artist. So, I too must unlearn what I have learned. In doing so, I need to release the writer in me and let that part of me be like a 2 year-old exploring what I can do.
And that is what I am going to do. It won’t be easy. It is down right frieghtning as I learn to break out of the box and write as I should write.
I have everything I need to start a new story tomorrow. Tomorrow, i will start sharing word counts,
