I'm afraid if you are going to worry yourself ragged wondering when every body will accept your MS; you might have areal headache! Even after 30 years People who know I have MS can't visualize what it is like; it's still you have to live it to understand it. There out ward symptoms, staggering , tripping over nothing; sheer exhaustion; leaning on every thing; squinting and trying to read something not directly in your line of sight; incestant ringing in the ears; constipation, from the medication to stop the tremors and spasticity; the list goes on. The people around you can't feel all that you do and don't know the adjustments you have to make just to function! don't be hard on your self, just try to make the best of your situation.

I have found that the problem is MS is an invisible disease, you look fine,just don't walk or talk so well sometimes. When I used to take my son to LL games I would hear other women say I can't believe she brings her son here, and she is drunk. sorry I do not drink..I have MS They don't say another thing. Another day I was at the cigar shop with my husband, a new employee saw me staggering around and made a comment to someone else how at 8am I was already drunk. He let the new employee know that I ws not drunk, that I have MS. I feel bad he feels so bad about it. He had no way of knowing and now he feels so bad about what he thought. But to be honest if I saw someone staggering around like me all the time I would at one time have probably thought they were drunk. I think having MS has made me a better person I don't jump to conclutions like that anymore.

Just thought of another way to deal with it. I don't know if it would be possible to organize a team of students for one of the MS walks. That would establish you publicly as someone with MS - a very common ailment. It would also get other students involved. If you can't do that, maybe another charity project to raise money for MS. Don't hide behind your diagnosis, use it as a tool to draw attention to the cause. Students love community service projects.

Just be yourself. Smile. Chat. Start conversations. When I was newly diagnosed, now 23 years ago, and everyone in the Newly Diagnosed Support Group, was young and walking, no canes or chairs then at first, one woman said, "I don't tell people I wear contact lenses, so I don't have tell them I have MS." But, now, in a chair, I often don't have that option. When I first got a scooter and people would say, "What did you do to yourself?" I would reply, "I didn't do anything. I have a disease, MS, which caused this." Be strong and you'll be fine. PS college is hard; people often don't fit in, especially at first.

I know you are young, but older people with MS have and are going thru the same things. I loved it
when I could use a cane - then I went to a walker and I was very self-conscious. But you know what?
Without it I can't get around, so it goes with me to church, shopping, restaurants, visiting friends and family.
I don't care what other people think of me because I am doing the best with what I have to work with and
I refuse to stay home 24-7 looking at the same 4 walls for rest of my life. I do have bad days when I have
to stay home even if I had planned to go out, so I just do what my body will let me do for that day. I am
66 yrs. old and was diagnosed when I was 39. I've been hoping and praying for a magic pill, but I don't
think that will happen within my life time. No one knows but God.