When starting college, some students struggle with declaring majors due to the variety of opportunities offered to them and concerns about choosing the right degrees.

However, for Benjamin Johnson, music junior, he said he had a rough start when he first came to college and was unable to focus due to having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

“I was failing my classes,” Johnson said. “I didn’t know what I would do with a music degree.”

Johnson said he was diagnosed with ADHD after leaving his job at the New Albany Brewing Company to focus more on school and less on his job.

“I needed to stop working and start focusing on the things important to me,” Johnson said.

According to a study published by the Center of Disease Control, ADHD is the most common neurobehavioral disorder. Johnson said his older brother suggested to him that he check out his disorder.

”My older brother also has ADHD,” Johnson said. “After researching about it, I felt I learned more about myself.”

After finding out he had ADHD, Johnson said he changed his studying habits to deal with his disorder positively.

“My grades have greatly improved,” Johnson said. “It was an absolute change in my lifestyle. I stepped back and looked at my life as a whole, and I have never done that before. It was my biggest accomplishment. I accepted ADHD for what it is, as opposed to just living with it.”

Despite his struggle with ADHD, Johnson said he has maintained his love for music, which he discovered at a young age.

He said he also used to be in percussion ensembles at IU Southeast.

“I enjoyed working on the percussion ensembles,” Johnson said. “I’ve been in a few other ensembles at IUS, but I didn’t enjoy them.”

Johnson said he hopes to go into recording as a career someday.

“Just being able to work with other artists would be like not working a day in my life,” Johnson said.

Although music is his passion, Johnson said he is not completely confident in making it his profession.

Johnson said he is still undecided in what degree he wants to work toward at IU Southeast.

“I’m trying to decide what I can do that I can earn a wage and enjoy at the same time,” Johnson said.

Hagan Alderman, chemistry sophomore, has known Johnson for about 12 years and said Johnson is a unique individual.

“Benjamin is a quiet, artistic kind of guy,” Alderman said. “We hang out a lot in college.”

One characteristic that makes Johnson unique is the way he prefers to travel to school.

Johnson said he rides the Transit Authority of River City bus to IU Southeast.

“I gave up insurance to save money for college,” Johnson said. “It’s also a lot better for the environment. The only way I was able to go to college was through financial aid.”

The TARC bus system is a public transportation offered at IU Southeast that travels around parts of Southern Indiana, as well as parts of Louisville.

Johnson said he lives by the saying, ‘I appreciate fear, but I do not let it govern my decisions.’ Johnson said this quote describes his view on life.

By JEREMY EILER

Staff

jreiler@ius.edu