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High School Government And Politics Class

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I remember a mixture of enthusiasm and dread prior to a visit from a Pennsylvania state representative to my high school government and politics class. We were discussing local educational funding and I had many questions for him about the topic. But more than anything I did not want to embarrass myself. I went to bed early the previous night, and before class I guzzled two cans of Monster energy drink.There was a safety pin in my pocket just in case. The first few minutes of class I felt euphoric and was enthralled with the discussion on the local political landscape. However, my energy quickly began to drain. I tried to focus on my notes but after a half hour I was barely able to grip my pencil and saw that much of what I had written was incoherent scribble. In desperation, I took the safety pin out of my pocket and frantically began stabbing the palm of my hand. My efforts were for naught, because at some point I completely fell asleep only to wake up five minutes before the lecture was over. This was a common occurrence throughout my high school career but I was not correctly diagnosed with narcolepsy until the spring of my senior year. As a result, much of my college experience was spent adjusting to life with this diagnosis.
Under the care of Dr. Cantor at the Penn Sleep Center, I felt confident that I could finally be a normal person. But I soon found that a medical diagnosis and treatment was not a literal "cure all". Leaving the structure of high school and crafting

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