EB in Progress

I’m stable right now.

I have a full-time job. I have a roof over my head. I have things that I’m passionate about.

It wasn’t supposed to look like this.

When I was diagnosed with autism at a young age, doctors told my parents that I would have a dismal quality of life. In their words, I would not graduate high school, nor go to college. I would not be able to hold down a job. I’d never have any real friendships. My parents, especially my mother, challenged that. She did not accept that story for me.

At first, my parents were suggested by educators that I should be put in a special education classroom. My mother told them that I had a right to an education, and that the school system would deliver on that. I was mainstreamed in school. All the science fair projects. All the school functions. The dreaded math homework. My parents pushed me to do my very best that I could do. They did not take “no” for an answer. They would never give me the “easy way” out. And through the figurative blood and sweat, and the literal tears, I got my education.

I ended up graduating third in my class. I graduated community college in 5 years, without any student loan debt. And I have been working in retail for almost 8 years now – learning more about social skills on the floor than I ever learned anywhere else.

I’m proud of that. I’m not giving up on what I’ve already accomplished.

Along with an autism spectrum disorder, I also live with depression. These two conditions take a lot of energy and effort out of me. Some days are jumbled. I don’t have a road map for where I’m going, or a clear path for how I get my life back on track.

I’m not expecting to find all the solutions in one day.

That’s why I called this EB in Progress.

In Progress doesn’t mean broken. It doesn’t mean behind. It mean’s I’m still building. Still learning. Still here.

This blog is where I’ll keep track of it – the small wins, the things that help, the things that don’t, the stuff I’m passionate about. An honest record, not a perfect plan.

If you’ve ever been told what you wouldn’t do, and you did it anyway – or if you’re still working on it – this is for you too.

Thank you for being here at the start.

-EB