My Sendoff To KLS and Advice to the World.
This post is dedicated to Kleine-Levin Syndrome. I don’t post often about it but knew I would post something like this a few days before graduation. I have never been more challenged in my life. Neither have my friends who had to handle me while dealing with it.
This will be a very long post so feel free to skip around. First, a timeline. Second, my advice to you.
Junior Year of High School — Diagnosed. Last time I ever got drunk, tipsy, smoked, and had to accept that 8 hours a night was what I needed to live by now. I thank this year for showing me that shit happens.
Senior Year of High School — Dropped out. After missing two months of school from KLS, my advisor told me that I probably wouldn’t graduate form DMHS on time. Graduated on time but I don’t remember my senior trip to Disneyland because I was in an episode. I thank this year for the motivation that I can get through school with KLS. I needed this in college
Fall 2012 — Best semester I ever had at ASU. Sammy was amazing. PAB was amazing. I was a freshman and loving everything. Who wouldn’t? It was freshman year. I thank this semester for giving me almost all the memories that a college freshman would want. It was a great semester.
Spring 2013 — One Episode every month for 6 months in a row, each lasting for about one week. This was horrible. For those still reading who knew Rabbi Yehuda, this was the semester of the JAC trip in Florida. I had an episode during the whole trip. I want to thank Rabbi Yehuda as well as Joel, both who helped me tremendously during the hardest parts of college for me. In addition, Debbie’s first impression of me EVER was in an episode. Apparently, she saw me in an episode and they Hillel staff at the time called an ambulance because they didn’t know what was wrong. I thank this semester for instilling resilience in me, which I have used and will continue to use.
Fall 2013 — The worst semester of college and it was episode free. I don’t really want to go into why but if I got through Fall 2013, I knew I would graduate. I was right. Still a fun semester but this was the semester where I feel like I started questioning things. I’m a different person now than I was in the beginning of college. I think Fall was the very start of the transformation. I thank this semester for teaching about life and how beautiful it is. When everything sucks, at least we’re living.
Spring 2014 — Same shpeal as a year ago. 5–6 episodes, once a month, each lasting a week or so long. I honestly don’t remember this semester well. I remember KLS interfered with my social life this semester is extreme ways, specifically in greek life. I was alpha male of a sorority at the time and due KLS being so hard to really understand, there was lots of frustration surround that whole thing. But other than missing lots of school, this semester was a plain semester for me. I thank this semester for being the last “normal college experience” semester I would have, as for the summer would change my life.
Summer 2014 — I picked up my first GoPro. Discovered my passion for videomaking. I thank this summer for showing that it’s still okay to follow your passion, even though that seems to be out of stile in college.
Fall 2014 — Made videos all semester, some getting thousands of views. Amazing semester. 1 episode this semester. I passed my sign language final in this episode, which I don’t remember.
Spring 2015 — I won’t really go into detail in this semester. It would take too long. I thank this semester for my future success in life.
Fall 2015 — My last episode. President of Hillel at the time, running a (semi functioning at the time) startup as well. This one lasted three weeks. It was a hard one. Yet, its was my last one as of April 2016.
This post doesn’t do justice what KLS did to me and for me in the last 6 years of my life. All I know is that it didn’t want me to succeed. It wanted me to be the only straight edge kid in college. In response, I joined a fraternity and at the time, it was incredible.
It didn’t want me to graduate. I did it in four years. (in two weeks from now) KLS sucked and its not over. But I did it. and this post is me telling the world. I have been looking forward to this post since Junior year of high school. It’s shaken me. It’s changed me. Yet, i’m still here.
Lastly, I will be in forever in debt to my Mom for handling my KLS. I love you!
General Advice
#1 — If you work a little harder than your peers, you will be successful.
#2 — Stop complaining. It’s a waste of words.
#3 — You can follow your dreams still…just because most people don’t doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. It’s worked out well for me.
#4 — College goes by quickly but the real world doesn’t have to suck.
#5 — You’ll never have it all figured out. Instead, just try to be happy and make other happy as well. That’s pretty damn close.
#6 — Stop making up excuses.
#7 — The value of a degree is cheapening so start doing more than getting by.
#8 — Once it’s over, let it be over.
I thank DMHS, ASU, Sammy, PAB, The BB Run, and especially Hillel for everything you did for me in college. It’s been a great four years. Now it’s time to change the world.
- Mat
