I remember the day very well. It was nearly twelve years ago when I overheard a conversation between my parents and one of my doctors. By my fifth birthday, I had visited over twenty different medical professionals each of whom had their own theory as to why I was not meeting my childhood milestones. On this day, my parents got their answer. “The tests have come back and we have a diagnosis for Caitlyn. She has Trisomy X. This means she has an extra X chromosome. The prognosis is not great. She will have learning disabilities that will likely require special education, and it’s doubtful she will be able to attend college and have a normal life,” stated the doctor in a very matter of fact tone.
I recalled thinking that I must be some sort of freak like something from X-Men. But if I were a mutant, why did I not have super powers? I could not fly, I had no ability to read people’s minds, and I was not capable of disappearing at will. Through my elementary and middle school years, I searched for my superpower, but could not find it.
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The first was a non-academic path that would have allowed me to pursue my passion for drama and chorus. The second was a very challenging path that would force me out of my comfort zone and require me to move from a special day class to a highly focused college prep high school. This was the turning point when I found my super power. I chose to exit my comfort zone and chose the college prep high school, as I have big plans for the world. This was probably the first moment that I realized that my superpower is my drive to succeed. This ability is not extravagant or cool, in fact, it’s quite simple, but it has served me very