Matthew Carvajal is young man with Asperger’s syndrome, a condition on the Autism spectrum.Matt, a Sock Wrangler and Sock Scriber at John’s Crazy Socks, is an essential team member working to spread happiness and show every day what is possible when you give a person a chance. Matt is going to college for the first time and sharing his experience, so others can learn of the challenges someone with Asperger’s faces and inspire others to know that they are not alone.

Recently, I got my first test back, and it had a big red 90 on it. The test was in Criminal Justice, and although I considered it a little bit easy, I take great pride with the grade I got. I think I could have gotten a better score if I studied, but one of the flaws I have is horrible study habits. That’s not to say I don’t pay attention in the classroom. In fact, I engage and participate very much so with what the teacher is teaching. Also, I do a good job retaining the information.

The problem is when I’m NOT in class. My parents say I need to get into habit of studying, but I think it is not that simple. I have a hard time sitting in one place, staring at the same thing for over long periods of time. Not only that, but the words start to become weird-looking if I stare at them for too long. I can’t do flash cards because my penmanship is almost illegible. I can’t listen to music while I study because the songs I like put me in a mood to dance. I can’t do all-nighters because I’m already sleep deprived because, you know, college.

I have no idea what would work for me, so I’m going to ask for help from you guys, the readers. What kind of studying or study habits helped you? At this point, I will be willing to try anything to help me study better, so I’m interested with how you studied. I would highly appreciate any advice you can give. Who knows? Maybe I’ll become a master of the books, and it would all be thanks to you guys.