Conner Wang '20 Recruiting Profile

What makes me unique and drives me to go to college and swim for my school is my best friend. My best friend is a 5’11” male with brown hair and green/hazel eyes. Those who already know me might be thinking, “Conner, you just described yourself.” It’s true. I am a 5’11” male with brown hair and green/hazel eyes as well. When I look in the mirror, I see him looking back at me, but when I move my right hand, he moves his left. When I see a rose, I focus on the flower, but when he looks at it, he sees the thorns. My best friend is a learning disability called dyslexia (I call him Zcys (pronounced Zee-sis)). Zcys is a part of me but at the same time a completely independent facet of my eyes, my hands, and my brain.

Zcys is my learning disability and has been with me since the day I was born. I knew he was there, but I didn’t start to understand him until I was in third grade when my parents, my teacher, and an awesome learning specialist, Miss Elizabeth, helped me to identify him. We found out that dyslexia is the reason why I can’t read as fast and process information from the written word as quickly as other people. I also don’t express my thoughts or write as well by hand. These challenges make learning some skills, like Spanish, really hard.

Zcys lives in my brain and never leaves me alone. Sometimes we have different interests. For example, he likes fiction in books and movies while I like facts - history and science - in my entertainment. It must be why we like science fiction. He and I can argue for hours until one of us is right or when we both eventually agree. It’s worse than when I fight with my younger sister, Emma. It is exhausting.

Although it sounds like I have been complaining about Zcys and focusing on the differences between us, the older I get the better our friendship gets. Zcys has always had my back ever since the third grade. Without him I would not be the same person I am today. We are very creative. Together we can build computers, invent new worlds in gaming platforms, and solve tower problems for Science Olympiad.

We would take all my Lego kits apart and rebuild them into original creations, not just what the instruction books told me to make. I remember when we got hit by a red Toyota Prius when I was riding my bike in second grade - we got to ride in a helicopter to the trauma center in Greenville. Then we started to swim for the first time - that is magic being in the water, like making art. We tune everything else out, focus, and swim.

Since Zcys and I have been together since we were born I think he is why people tell me that I have a unique personality. Without him I would not be the same person I am today.  My coaches, my friends’ families, and my teachers have lots of nice things to say about me and Zcys. Together we are the “fastest swimmer in the conference,” “a great team player,” and “someone who always has everyone's back.”

I have come to the conclusion that if someone made a cure for dyslexia and offered it to me, I would decline the drug in a heartbeat. I would not have to think twice or question my decision because losing Zcys would be like losing my sister Emma. Without dyslexia I would not be the science fiction-reading, master Lego builder, dedicated swimmer, and sensitive person that I am today. Zcys doesn’t disable me. Instead he makes me different. He makes me who I am: Conner Edward Wang, the boy with a learning disability as his best friend.