Mind With Me | ADHD Journey Through Sport

The Beginning: Kayak Polo

I started playing kayak polo in 6th grade. It was a niche sport that I had never heard of before. At first, I was terrible at it because I was too weak, and every time I capsized, I had to drag the kayak to shore to empty the water—it was really troublesome.

Then one day, I learned the Eskimo roll. Suddenly, I fell in love with kayak polo. Now, whenever I flipped over, I could just roll back up anytime. This gave me the confidence to play more aggressively.

During my years playing kayak polo, I made many great friends. We trained together and attended training camps where we could play games together in the evenings or hang out on the camp's grass fields.

Academic Challenges

From an academic perspective, my studies in middle school were always decent. I paid attention in class, and as long as I reviewed for half an hour before exams, I could do well.

When I got to high school, with more difficult subjects—especially English—my grades dropped to below average, even though I was listening carefully in class.

The Diagnosis: 10th Grade

Later, in 10th grade, I was diagnosed with ADHD. But I had never thought about whether I had ADHD before, because I didn't feel like I had anything abnormal.

When I was diagnosed, I was actually a bit happy because I felt that my current performance was already okay, and having ADHD meant I had even higher potential if I could manage it well. The logic was that my historical performance was already there—it wouldn't change because of whether I was diagnosed now. So the diagnosis was actually a good thing.

After the diagnosis, I didn't really pay much attention to it. After all, I hadn't felt anything abnormal before. However, I discovered that many people actually have ADHD, so I started communicating with some of my friends who have ADHD about related experiences and found that they were affected more obviously.

Annual Adventures: Nujiang Rafting

During high school, I went rafting on the Nujiang River every winter. These outdoor experiences, which included various adventures like navigating exciting rapids and relaxing evening campfires by the riverbank, were perfect for relieving academic pressure.

The combination of thrilling whitewater challenges and peaceful moments in nature provided the perfect balance I needed to manage both my ADHD and the stress of school.

New Perspectives in America

Later, I came to America to study and discovered that the U.S. is more caring toward people with ADHD and similar conditions. For example, they provide extra time for exams.

I didn't apply for these accommodations because I felt that having extra time would actually be more troublesome for me. But these experiences made me realize that here I have many opportunities to care for other people with ADHD.

The public awareness is higher here, and people pay more attention to these issues. This environment has inspired me to share my story and help raise awareness about ADHD through my experiences with sports and outdoor adventures.

Finding Strength in Sport

Through kayak polo, whitewater rafting, and now swimming challenges like crossing the Qiongzhou Strait, I've learned that ADHD isn't something to overcome—it's something to understand and work with.