Marissa is a student at Lebanon Valley College where she is studying communications. Marissa completed an internship with ASDNext in the spring of 2018 and guest wrote blogs during that time.
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My name is Marissa Bowley and I am a student at Lebanon Valley College. I am studying digital communications with a minor in computer science. Having a form of Asperger’s doesn’t always make college life easy, you feel like you have to work even harder to make those good grades. Understanding information can be difficult at times, sometimes I find myself reading out loud to myself to help my comprehension but I always find people staring at me and giving me weird looks.
As far as driving was concerned that was a challenge from the start, I found myself unable to simply turn a car without trouble. It was clear to me that I needed more help than just from my mother. I sought help from a driving instructor and a woman named Dawn helped me. She taught me in a very unique way and took her time with me. Eventually I caught on and began learning to drive and I became quite good at it over a period of time.
After a while I passed my license test on the first try and my grandpa got me a car. My car is my key to independence. My grandpa always believed in me right from the start that I could drive even when everyone else was against me. I cannot thank him enough for all he did for me and I know in my heart he is up in heaven watching over me. He will always be remembered in my heart as the only family member who believed I could drive and I could overcome these challenges, and for that I will be forever grateful for all he did for me.
As far as the future is concerned I will try my best to find a career helping people. I want to share my story with others in hopes of helping them. I want to inspire people and encourage them to follow their dreams and that they can accomplish anything they want to as long as they work hard and put their mind to it the sky’s the limit.