Hey there!

It’s been months since I last posted on here, but I’ve been really busy lately!

As you can see on my diary page, I have been up to loads in my new position as an apprentice Learning support assistant (which is posh words for a TA).

Today I wanted to come away from the subject of autism slightly, and talk about dreams and ambitions. That’s right, no matter how embarrassing or unrealistic they are, we all have them!

At one time or another I’m sure you have heard the quote “aim for the moon, and if you don’t quite make it at least you will drop among the stars” and what a great quote it is.

Since I left high school, I have had a different approach on how I view life, and as each day passes, that quote makes more and more sense to me. It shows you how you should aim really high in life, not necessarily in a career aspect or an educational aspect, but as a person. Try and be the best version of yourself, and do as many good things that you can to enhance life of all those around you, including yourself.

One thing I have really noticed about myself these few weeks is that I’m no longer that mirror, copying my peers, in fear of not fitting in with others (not that I ever did fit in particularly well!) As I have moved away from all my school friends into this new chapter in my life, I have really started to discover who I really am, and the best part of it, is that I’m proud to be me. I feel to be an individual, and feel like I am able to be the best version of me. But that doesn’t make me perfect, if anything I’m far from it.

There are still some challenges I face in life with my Asperger's syndrome. I am finding new things out about myself that I never knew each and every day, purely just by socializing with my new found friends at my apprenticeship, as I just feel more relaxed and comfortable to be around them, and I’m not constantly stressing about what everyone thinks about me, like I was in high school.

It is a really big jump to go straight from a high school student who had a lot of support to being independent in the big wide world, and there is still aspects I struggle with, mainly sensory at the moment, but its feeling confident enough as well as able to speak up about any difficulties to get support, because the community seems like a scary and judgmental place to someone on the spectrum, but the one thing I have learnt over these past couple of weeks is that nobody is truly horrible, and that the majority of people in the community are lovely people who just want to support one another, and by working together, a community is a strong and a safe place for all to enjoy.

I suppose I wanted to wrap this post up by saying a massive thank you to all my family and friends, not forgetting the staff at my high school and my colleagues who are all incredible and a real credit to this world.

And remember “aim for the moon” because you have no idea of what you are capable of!