Living on the Spectrum

Life often looks different than we expect. I certainly didn’t expect to be such a late bloomer. I thought I’d be married by the age of twenty-five. I thought I’d stick with the career I wanted in the eighth grade. I had all these plans. I thought I knew what I wanted and needed when…

I would like to take this opportunity to persuade those who think self-care is selfish to a new way of thinking. My opinion is that self-care is one of the most selfless things a person can do. I have found that I am a better person when I take care of myself. I have found…

We are now in the throes of the holiday season and I’ve been meditating on the power of love. I don’t put much stock in the Hallmark version of the attachment. That version of love has always seemed too easy and too clean. It also never looked like the love I experienced. The love that…

It’s almost the most stressful time of the year (some people refer to it as wonderful). My relationship with the holidays has gotten much less hate and more love the older I’ve gotten. There are still a few traditions around the holidays that I don’t understand. If any of you neurotypical readers can explain them…

I recently went on a date with someone who is also on the spectrum. The next day I was at work and I was sharing how the date went with my coworkers. One of my coworkers said, “Aww, you guys must get each other”. I thought that was a bit odd since there are people…

I’ve been thinking about what I was taught as a child lately. My parents raised my siblings and me to be good people. We were taught right from wrong. We learned how to take care of ourselves in a basic sense. What I realized is that I never learned how to set boundaries with other…

I have spent many hours analyzing how I could’ve handled situations better. This use comes from a place of self-loathing. I thought if I did enough analysis of myself, the parts that I don’t like would go away. Since I work in a job that is essentially customer service, I have seen the rainbow of…

Last night’s sleep was filled with nightmares. I don’t normally have them. When I woke up this morning, I was so glad that I was in my bed and had to go to work. I have this dream that repeats whenever I’m obsessing over something. The dream is that I’ve gone through the crucible of…

I’ve been having an ongoing debate with myself for over a year now. I always thought I’d have kids. I can remember riding the bus home from school, daydreaming about the adventures my two kids and I would take. When I was younger, I only ever thought about the fun parts of parenthood and I…

Some of the best things in life can’t be planned for. I’m someone who loves to have a plan, it soothes my anxiety and makes me feel like I have control in a world where so much of it seems out of control. I’m starting to find joy in unexpected places. I enjoy learning software…