I have always felt like I have an AP student's mind in a learning-disabled body. When I was younger I thought this disability was a defining factor of who I was. In the last few years of high school I learned that despite this obstacle I could still succeed. This realization actually came to me on a Friday night two years ago when one of my very technical friends challenged me to build a powerful and efficient computer. I accepted this with some doubt that I would be able to handle the task. I spent months researching on YouTube the many complicated tasks involved in the creation of such a machine. At certain points during this research I had serious reservations as to how I would be able to accomplish this. But something inside me wanted to prove myself wrong. I kept hearing my inner self saying "Jeremy, don't give up! , so I didn't; I kept pushing forward. I had failures along the way, but I made corrections until it was perfect. I was so happy and proud of myself when towards the end of that year I completed the computer. It was absolutely incredible, truly a symbol of my perseverance and what I can accomplish with hard work and dedication. It was at this point I realized that I was able to compensate for my learning disability. I also realized that I had the potential to accomplish much more. I went into my sophomore year of high school with this mind set, and ultimately benefited from it. This showed in my grades as I managed to bring my GPA to a mid B. I noticed that when you have a learning disability, those in charge often try to dissuade you from taking more rigorous classes. I think they meant well and wanted to protect me from failure. But as my confidence grew I did not want to hear the word "No  all the time. Junior year I realized that the only way to achieve more was to push myself harder. So, against everyone's strong objections, I fought for the right to take AP Psychology. Ultimately, I passed the class w