My take on being a "weirdo" , or to be more exact, hakuna matata!

Since I've known and accepted the fact that I suffer from Asperger's syndrome, I've been a much happier person.

(source: Google)

Gone are the days when I wondered why I was so different. It always felt as if I was from another planet. That I was always one step behind other people, and because of that, totally out of sync with them.

When I was younger and still working, it would irk my co-workers that I preferred to work during my lunch hour, instead of sitting around with them and chat about things that didn’t interest me. I simply couldn’t. It just wasn’t in me to do it. But, back then, neither they nor me understood why it was like that.

Or I would go for long walks by myself, just to clear my head and charge batteries, as the constant chatting, the hum of the computers, the ringing of the telephones and someone's blaring radio had me rattled. I could never really be optimally productive when there was a radio playing in the background, and by coincidence, there was always someone in the office who couldn't work without a radio blaring by their side.

Now I no longer wonder why I dislike noise so much. That includes loud voices and loud laughter. It used to make me cringe. Now that I have my coping mechanism in place (a nice pair of noise cancelling headphones), it doesn’t bother me at all.

Fortunately my friend understands my quirks, and if I don’t feel like socializing, he goes to get-togethers and gatherings without me. He doesn’t put any pressure on me to be someone I can’t be. Which is nice.

Someone close to me used to say that I’m not feminine, because I wear my hair short. Today I know it’s because I can’t be bothered with it, and prefer it “wash and wear”, because it’s just so much easier for me. She hassled me for not wearing make-up. Now I know I dislike make-up because of my sensory issues.

I guess, what I’m trying to say, is that it is possible to accept yourself for who you are, and to be happy in that acceptance. Being an Aspie doesn’t give me the green light to be rude, but it gives me the freedom to, for instance, be quiet when I don’t feel like chatting, and to rather read a book when I don’t feel like mixing. And if people mock me (it has happened, believe me, even by my family) for not being "like them", I just shrug my shoulders and thank God for giving me the grace to be myself, and live a full life - weirdness, warts, and all.