Young Maltese Business Graduate Pens Heartfelt Status Detailing His Battle Against Dyslexia
Luca Callus Randich is only 23 years old, but last Wednesday, he graduated for the second consecutive year, in business at MCAST. In a Facebook status posted this morning, the young Maltese man bore it all, including his lifelong battle with preconceptions. Luca is dyslexic, but he’s never let that get in the way.
“We all tend to remember isolated moments in our lives,” Luca’s status started, going on to say that 6th December 2017 will definitely remain in his memory forever. The status detailed very personal and heartbreaking moments from Luca’s life, including watching his mother cry as she frustratingly told people her son is “not an idiot”.
Due to his dyslexia, small but significant differences have followed Luca throughout his entire life. “I remember doing my A-Levels in a separate room I so comically called ‘The room for children with superpowers’,” he said in his status.
Every single moment in Luca’s past has lead to this one moment.
“My mother at first saw the whole thing as the end of my world,” Luca told Lovin Malta. “Growing up, I don’t feel like much was being done for children like me, but she kept working with me every single day.”
“Eventually, I started taking up mini challenges myself,” Luca said. “Since I was attending St. Edwards College, I didn’t need to take the Junior Lyceum exam. But I decided to do so anyway, because I never wanted to be different from others.”
“When I transferred to Verdala JLC, I only had to cross the street, but it was on the total opposite side of the social spectrum. And just like that, more challenges came. One of them was bullying, by kids who couldn’t understand why I needed a facilitator.”
“Mini challenges came when I asked for help in the O-Levels since I wanted to try English from Form 4,” Luca told Lovin Malta. “That’s where the part in my status about my mother shouting, He’s not an idiot, he’s just dyslexic comes from.”
Notwithstanding all of this, Luca has a very relaxed nature to him. “I try to be as chill as possible and never let comments get to me,” he said. And it definitely worked out for him; last December, he graduated for the first time, and today marks his second graduation. “In a few hours, I will be on that stage again receiving a piece of paper that justifies all the blood, sweat & tears leading up to this moment,” Luca said.
The young man finished his heartfelt status off by thanking the people who made this all happen, and of course his mother and family were the first to be mentioned. He also thanked all his friends, what he called his “special friends”… and, “most importantly, San Lorenzo.”
“I’ve managed to do all of this while still finding time for other activities like football and acting,” Luca told Lovin Malta. “So studies should never hinder one’s ability to live normally either, and it’s all just about good time management. It might be obvious for some people, but I had to gradually learn that the hard way.”
“I find it hart to talk about, but if I can help at least one kid who’s like me, I can die happy,” Luca told Lovin Malta.
Late on Wednesday night, right after Luca’s graduation ceremony, his mother posted a status of her own, and it was just as heartfelt as her son’s status earlier.
The woman recounted how, when she was graduating and a 12-year-old Luca put on her toga, her heart broke “because I thought that he would never manage to take a photo with a toga and mortarboard of his own.” Remembering a time when dyslexia and ADHD were tough obstacles that the family had to face, Luca’s mother continued that even though she’s not a religious person, she still feels “the need to thank God, Our Lady of Ta’ Pinu, the Immaculate Conception and St Lawrence for standing with us and making us able to overcome all the obstacles that a child with learning disabilities faces throughout his academic life.”
Thank God we managed to wine each battle and finally won the war,” the status finished. “Now onto the next one!”
Share Luca’s story to help others in his situation remember that they should never give up.
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