Front of the Class is a movie on the real-life story of Brad Cohen, centered around how he went through life with Tourette Syndrome.
Brad went through a lot of things in life. He had the symptom from an early age, even he himself did not understand it, all he knew was that it was involuntary. But as far as those around were concerned, he was a clown, a disruptor, difficult, undisciplined and so many other things. He was diagnosed somewhat early in his life and before and post the diagnosis, he was still stigmatized, pitied but not welcomed and this was a main stay for at least most of his early life.
A focal point in his life was meeting other people who had Tourette Syndrome, they had let the syndrome win. They more or less removed themselves from society and lived within a shell. For Brad, seeing this gave him a goal, which was to never be like these people, never let Tourette win, be in control of his own life.
Brad set a goal for himself and he was unwavering with it. For him, this goal in not becoming like them was a driving force, anything otherwise meant he had lost to it. Furthermore, journeys are hard, sticking to it requires a lot of perseverance and it’s so much harder when there is no deadline (something I picked up from the video about the mind of a master procrastinator). While persevering, Brad surrounded himself with a good support system in his brother and mother, middle school principal, best friend and further down the line, girlfriend.
Thereafter, an important, if not the most important step he took was not letting Tourette stop him. We all have different obstacles in front of us, some we can overcome and let go, others stick to us for our whole lives, such as the case here. But Brad did not let it weigh him down, he understood the situation he was in and worked with it. Lastly, an important step he took which may often go unnoticed was that he stayed positive all through the ordeal and he continues with that mindset. The first part of the journey is within us, in our Will and you have to stay positive through the process, when there are hiccups, obstacles or even when it looks like there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
As Human Beings, we should try and emulate Mr. Cohen. Once we have made the decision within ourselves to achieve a particular goal, we can follow the steps he used and more often than not, we would come out on top.
