First Post: Inspirations

"I am Aspie. I am unique."- Me.

Having Asperger's is not easy. Its struggle is something I have to face every day. I can't begin to explain how difficult it is not being able to communicate properly. It takes a lot of hard work and a lot of chutzpah for me to hold a successful conversation, to understand the myriad of social protocols and body language that NT's (Neurotypicals) seem to understand without fail, and to control what I say in order to make a conversation work between both me and whoever is hearing me ramble about the design elements of the new DIIV album. When I'm in conversation, I feel the need to change myself and what I'm interested in talking about just to make it work, and when a conversation fizzles out, I feel horrible for not letting them speak as much as I did. Needless to say, I'm much better at speeches. People stereotype me the second I reveal my not so secret condition, and I end up feeling like the girl in this comic.

I would not venture to say that I hate it, though; I love having "the gift" of being an Aspie and being... different. As much as I hate to admit it, having a specific interest to focus on is relaxing. One of the stereotypes against me is that I obsess over specific things. Honestly, it's 100 percent true. However, people assume that this makes me cold and rigid, as a stereotype of Aspies is that we love routine. (I don't.) I have my specific interests that I fixate on, but these interests are everchanging and I carry a very open mind. I couldn't live with just one reason to live. I want more; I need more. That's why I love having inspirations. I keep myself so open, and because my interests change so much, these people keep my mind on track:

Ikonika

A female producer in a male dominated world? yes, please! 

Temple Grandin

Amazing. She's intelligent and she is an Autism activist.

Cutepolish

Due to my recent influx of Cosmos and Glamours, nail art is becoming an interest of mine. I believe her channel has the most creative designs.

Marilyn Monroe

I was never a fan of her affairs, but she is my style icon.

Jim Parsons/ Sheldon Cooper

It's no surprise that Sheldon is a favorite of mine, and many other TBBT fans.

Z. Cole Smith

He's an awesome guitarist, a free spirit, and not afraid to speak his mind. A win-win-win. 

Adele

I love how Adele doesn't care if she is super skinny or not. Her voice--and beauty-- are what we love.

Andy Warhol

I think he is an amazing artist. Plus I totally agree when he says that the world fascinates him.

Owl City

He started from smalltown Minnesota and made it big on the Internet. Well, he couldn't have done that without awesome music.

What these people do fall right into my interests: I love art, music and fashion, but I love nerdy culture and science. I fall into both the concrete and creative hemispheres of the brain, so it's only fair that my inspirations fall into both sides. Regardless of what my inspirations do, they inspire me, and they are my source of my small amount of preferred routine in an everchanging world.

~Brieanna Romero