How LEGO and ADHD Got Me on TV
Best of BrickNerd - Article originally published September 15, 2022.
Today we feature a guest article from one of BrickNerd’s patrons Liz Puleo. She shares her experience growing as an AFOL and how ADHD has impacted her LEGO journey.
One Thing Leads To Another
Well, that escalated quickly. In the blink of an eye, I feel like I went from being a casual LEGO fan to part of the LEGO community to competing on LEGO Masters US Season 3.
Let me quickly recap everything that has happened in my life relating to LEGO in the past two years. It began innocently at home—my family and I amassed a rather large LEGO collection for fun. Trying to sort this collection found me conversing with other adults in the LEGO community online including BrickNerd. Chatting with them online helped me find other adults in my area (a LUG) that built with LEGO. Building with local adults helped convince me to start building MOCs. MOC building got me to travel to Virginia where I earned an award and some recognition in the LEGO community. The LEGO community embraced me with a vice-like grip and caught the attention of casting directors from LEGO Masters. LEGO Masters got me to find a partner and audition to be on the show. And then I was selected to be on the show. Wait, wut? I was actually going to be on TV because of LEGO!?
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The Demands of ADHD
How does this choral director, mom of two, and wife of the best husband ever, end up leaving her family and job to go film a TV show—for a hobby that she’s convinced she has no business doing in the first place? Honest to goodness, the only reason I can think of is this little thing that makes my brain crave dopamine like nobody's business called Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (aka ADHD). ADHD is this beast in my brain that craves stimulation like no other. It wants to create and be challenged, it wants to win and be rewarded, but more often than not it overwhelms me and I end up doing nothing when I should be doing all the other things.
Image by Jen Ciminillo via SheKNows
For me, ADHD is a vicious cycle of knowing what I have to do, but then not being able to do it because it is too boring or doesn’t give me any dopamine—so it doesn’t get done. Couple that with impulsivity and lack of self-control and then simple tasks like self-care, laundry, and basic cleaning don’t get done until absolutely necessary. Homework in school was always done on the bus, or at 4:30 am the morning before I had to hand it in. This created the rush of competing with the clock, and the fact that there was more pressure to get an A had me craving high praise with my grades.
I am not alone with my ADHD struggles, however I was diagnosed at a much later stage in life at the age of 31. This was after school, after college, and after starting my family. When my world was crumbling around me and I finally sought help, the first response I got was that my troubles were because I had two children under the age of two. But then I looked at my own report cards I got as a kid. Every single one from kindergarten on had hallmark comments for girls with ADHD: “Careless worker,” “excessive talker,” “rushes and makes mistakes,” “doesn’t apply full potential,” “doesn’t follow directions,” etc. Medication was a lifesaver—literally. I could finally do the mundane things that made life bearable without shutting down. It didn’t solve all the problems, but at least now I can brush my teeth daily and function at my job and at home with my family. But what on earth does all this have to do with LEGO?
LEGO & ADHD
It is no secret that LEGO has been at the forefront of activities for individuals with ADHD for a long time. Google “LEGO ADHD” and you’ll find articles all about how kids with ADHD can play with LEGO for hours on end yet still struggle with not being able to focus on everything else in life. The incredulous thing to me is that it took me this long to find LEGO.
My past life experiences have involved so many impulsive hobbies, including but not limited to: instrument collecting, singing, ice skating, tattoos, piercings, cross stitching, cake decorating, ballroom dancing, adult coloring, crocheting, rescuing animals, sewing, reading, diamond painting, making puzzles, felting, playing board games, and playing SO MANY video games, namely TETRIS. I have gone into each and every one of these hobbies with 110% of myself—and then eventually given up or moved on. My house is full of half-used art supplies, cake pans, tons of games, and books, some of which have never been opened. In fact, at this moment I’m remembering a new calligraphy book set that was gifted to me that I’m thinking of trying out.
LEGO, being a part of my life now for at least five years, has outlasted any other hobby of mine that I didn’t make my job. This is unusual because dopamine levels tend to dissipate when the hobby has been conquered or isn’t fun anymore or becomes too much effort. Then my brain merely forgets that the hobby was there in the first place and moves on to find some other source. But with all of the events of the past two years, I can track exactly what made me do what I did and why—and why I am still interested in LEGO.
Developing Dopamine
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Let us start with the easiest reason: Buying LEGO. There’s a reason people call it “shopping therapy”. When you find a sale or get double VIP points or find an amazing haul on Facebook Marketplace or at Goodwill, it feels GOOD to buy LEGO. You feel like you’ve won an ever-evolving competition. There are posts all over the internet of hauls featuring rare minifigures, old discontinued sets, hard-to-find pieces in bulk, etc. It got to the point I had to turn off my Facebook Marketplace notifications because I was driving all over the place and spending more money than I was comfortable with at the time on used LEGO lots.
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This brings us to sorting. Sorting LEGO brings such sweet satisfaction and zen. You start with a massive pile of chaos and then methodically go through it, analyzing each piece until you’re left with this incredulous feeling of accomplishment and a sorted collection to boot. It is SO satisfying to compare where you started with buckets of randomness to the neatly organized drawers and divided containers full of perfection. The process itself is repetitive and soothing at times—almost cathartic. There’s a sense of pride when looking at my organized space. Calmness takes over and the brain is quiet.
Building LEGO sets is similar to sorting. It starts with a box of possibilities and then, through the building process, you marvel at how these little bricks can turn into works of art. One of my all-time favorite builds is Ninjago City Gardens for that reason. All of the unexpected parts usage, the hidden Easter eggs, and the incredible designs had me audibly “oohing and ahhing” throughout the entire build. Then there are the LEGO Art mosaic sets and the Botanical series that you can look at in your home and say “I made that!” with a sense of pride and that familiar kick of dopamine. At this very moment, I’m marveling at the LEGO Orchid set—it’s absolutely gorgeous!
MOC building leveled up from set building which kept the ADHD brain interested. Last summer, building a MOC was a challenge for me, but it was exciting and it showed how much I love entertaining people and showing off my creation. Conventions seemed like the perfect opportunity to do that. I’m a big risk taker, and the rush of excitement of trying new things was too good for me to ignore. After winning the Brickee at BrickFair Virginia, I truly thought that was that and I’d be taking a long break from LEGO and going back to work.
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But then in November, I received a call asking about LEGO Masters again, and this time I couldn’t say no. I had no excuses—I had built a few more MOCs and was craving the challenge (ADHD brain) of doing even more. I went to my principal and told him that I was auditioning and asked him what he thought of it all. His response was overly positive and so supportive that there was no way I could back out! Finding a partner was a surprisingly easy experience. The LEGO community is everywhere, and it turns out there was another local Ladies LEGO Lounge member that wanted to audition too! Erin and I hit it off immediately and we started our journey together.
It All Leads To This
My ADHD was now in check. We had accountability locked in with my principal knowing and being supportive of my participation in the show and having a partner that relied on me. I was totally committed, so the only thing left to do was move forward and challenge myself. Typically with ADHD, if there is no accountability except my own expectations—and when a task gets too difficult—I will abandon it outright… hence my unfinished blankets, paintings and amigurumi crochet sets. Abandoning LEGO Masters was not an option anymore—other people were counting on me.
The next weeks were spent teaching by day and building LEGO by night. It was a long process and I learned so much throughout. Every day I was reading more blogs, watching more videos, and talking to more builders in the community trying to learn everything I could that might help me on the show. As a life-long learner, I can never get enough info about whatever I’m hyper-focused on at the time. This is where most hobbies become a money pit because the learning materials along with the medium itself add up so fast. LEGO is an expensive hobby, and everyone knows that. The only way we’ve been able to justify it to ourselves is knowing that there is a relatively high resale value on used LEGO—if I were to stop building, I could recoup some of the thousands that we have spent on it. But now I was connecting LEGO to my public identity—that wouldn’t be as reversible if I bailed.
When Erin and I got the call that we were going to the show, it was completely surreal. There’s something about my life that I’ve always felt like I should be in the spotlight entertaining people. I sang at Carnegie hall when I was 17 and it was the most at home I’d ever felt being on a stage in front of a crowd. I absolutely love making people laugh. I love sharing my passions with others. That’s why teaching comes naturally to me, I think. The funny thing is, never in a million years did I dream that my first TV appearance would be building LEGO. LEGO Masters was such an incredible opportunity—so many things needed to happen at the right time, so many people were in my life helping to make it happen, so much time and effort needed to be dedicated to it—but this time it felt achievable. I was over the moon excited and am still in shock that it even happened.
The months that followed filming had me traveling all over the United States and meeting the most wonderful people in the LEGO community. I have attended four different LEGO conventions in four different states in the past three months, and am planning on going to BrickCon later this month! (Now, if you’re wondering just how I did on that show, well that’s a story for another time, so you’ll have to wait and see as the show premieres on September 21st!)
A Network of Support
None of the incredible experiences I’ve been lucky enough to have would be possible without my amazing support network including my coworkers, LEGO community, family, and my partner in life, Marc. Whenever I had doubts or guilt, he would always push me and tell me to live with no regrets. The man singularly held down our house with two kids and a full-time job while I went to film a TV show! He’s been at home while I travel to conventions and given me space when I needed to build. (There needs to be an award for supporters and spouses of AFOLs addicted to the LEGO hobby. If there ever was, I’d like to think Marc would win the grand prize.)
While ADHD might be a curse for some, it has given me some of the best moments in my life—and I wouldn’t trade those for anything. Looking ahead to the future, I truly can say I have no idea what I’m in for next and where the dopamine rush will take me, but I know that I have a community to support me no matter where life takes me.
How has ADHD affected your LEGO hobby? Let us know in the comments below.
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