A Primer on S.L. Funk, for new friends

It’s true that most adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder might have been christened “gifted” as young children. When they’re blooming and excelling in their 4th-grade reading and math classes, who could have known that these rugrats were functioning under the influence of an under-active prefrontal cortex? Unless unruly behavior gives it away, it tends to fly under the radar. Because of this, I wiggled and squirmed and dropped my pencil at the family dinner table, where I was homeschooled by my long-suffering mother.



Obviously, I was a shy and creative late bloomer, so for years, I was quietly determined to live to the beat of my own drum.



One of the strange ways I got motivated was through dance. Ballet is structured and intense, and it kept my squirming and wiggling under control and helped me find the grace that I always desired to achieve.



But that left little ol’ me with even littler time to do the other thing I loved most, writing.



When it wasn’t for school, I’d write about my daydreams. I’d listen to beautiful music, and not just move to it, but imagine the stories that leaped out from inside the music. My writing became the best way that I could really clearly articulate myself to others.



When I was finally freed of my homeschooled life and my demanding ballet schedule, I set out to discover what living to the beat of my own drum really meant. It took way too long to see it but I came around to the idea that I wasn’t so “gifted” anymore. Things I loved didn’t come as easily as they once did and learning the truth about my mental health took an even bigger toll on my life. Holding down a job became a struggle, and I came out of my rebellious years with the notion that I needed to become my own boss, and writing was the way I would do it.

In 2011, I started this blog and my first manuscript. In 2016, I took a plunge into learning how to write for a living on the internet.

Even though I’m going by a pen name, I want to use this platform as a base for my slowly-growing body of work. I want to help and encourage the underdogs, like myself, and brainstorm ways to overcome external and internal obstacles; I want to help write our stories.