Things I Love About My Autism
Autistic joy. When I am captivated by joy and nothing else. It’s pure, it’s unfiltered and it’s wonderful.
My strong sense of justice. Other people often don’t seem to care when things are unfair. I do and I try to do what I can to change this.
My exceptionally strong connection with animals. It feels very special. (Though this also means I want to cry every time I drive past a field of cows or pigs, because I get upset that they’re likely going to be eaten).
How I always see the good in people. I can be too trusting and too naive, but seeing the good in people is a good quality most of the time, I think.
My loyalty. I am incredibly loyal to my friends and people I care about.
I am good at doing things in order, and I like order, so that’s a good thing. I carry things out logically and systematically, and I like that.
My ability to hyper-fixate when it’s useful. I wrote a novel in a week. I complete 1000 piece jigsaws in days. I finish tasks which usually take other people ages, because I can hyper-fixate.
The absolute joy that my special interests bring me. Special interests to me are like oxygen, they are necessary for me to function in this world.
My very intense emotions (when they are good emotions!). I feel them all through my body. They make me jump up and down with joy.
Stimming. I feel so free when I allow my body to move in the ways it wants to. It’s rejuvenating, refreshing and freeing all at once.
My determination. When I set my mind to something, I pretty much always achieve it. Probably because I can only think about one thing at once until it’s complete!
I can often see things from a different angle to other people. Maybe it’s the black and white thinking, maybe it’s the logical way my brain works, I don’t know. But I know that I can often see a perspective no-one else can.
At the end of the day, autism shapes everything about me. It shapes the way I see, interpret and understand the world. It shapes the whole person that I am. So that’s why I love it, because it makes me me. (And I’m trying to learn to love that…).