What’s normal? What is typical, when so many of us hide who we are and therefore hide so much of the human condition itself? Normal has always been challenged but the perception of normal is now rapidly changing whether people like it or agree with it—or not. There is a difference between someone who identifies as autistic and someone who is diagnosed with Austism Spectrum Disorder (previously known as Asperger’s). Autism, ADHD, and several other ‘invisible’ struggles present differently in women. Recent and more inclusive research supports the reality. It isn’t just my reality, it’s the reality of many people.
Category: Lens
It strikes me that some of what is radicalism is actually a counter to initial radical reform. It’s reoccurring as conservatives fear how liberal the world is becoming. People seem to fear chaos because chaos strips control. Liberalism seems to be equated with chaos. So is art. Art is self expression. Liberalism offers freedom to express. People are favouring labels outside of traditionally available boxes. Some refuse to be labelled at all. Social media gives most of us a platform to express ourselves. What goes ‘viral’ provides an interesting insight into exposure and what is currently prevailing, whether as a
Or… Things I’ve Learned the Hard Way These are affirmations toward authenticity. I don’t know if there is an arrival point, only that I’m making progress, and I’m truer to myself. The struggle to stay true to myself is ongoing. Maybe there are those of us who find this easy; for those who don’t, maybe there’s something here that will resonate. 1. My standards are as valid as those of others. 2. Feeling the intensity of chronic pain in its entirety; associating even the smallest of individually positive moments of life with something safe that allows a
Far smarter people than I have probably explored this topic far more eloquently and in broader ways than I ever could, so I shouldn’t really belabour myself with the task of defending creativity, and yet, I’ll say this: creativity shouldn’t be squashed for the sake of sanity because it lends itself to sanity. Fear might deter some. That fear has deterred people in my life, and those people went on to deter me from being creative. Fear says creativity encourages madness. Fear says creativity causes chaos, disrupts structure. I think creativity gives chaos form. Creativity examines chaos, gives it
There is a difference between the roles we are pushed into performing versus the roles we willingly step into. Capacity increases when there is autonomy. Choice. Boundaries. Respect. Responsibility. Awareness of these things across all dynamics (not just those which serve a self-centric purpose or a point to be made for deflection’s sake) allows for a sense of purpose unhindered by external influence, but that’s in an ideal world. In the current state and situation, I am influenced by false perceptions, distraught and often despondent and yet I persist, driving forward with the knowledge of
An essay on perception, pressure, and personality Updated March 2026 “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” Anaïs Nin Part I ‘It’s like I don’t even know you,’ someone said. ‘You’re behaving like someone else,’ said someone else. These are also things I’ve said. It’s odd how, over time, it seemed like something threatening to become a universal truth: that we should remain unchanged, and change poses trouble. It conflicted with my held beliefs. What I’ve found to be truer is that it’s only one small facet within a spectrum
I was not digging around in the past. It was enough to know where something was buried, that there was something buried to begin with. The tangibility of it gave my pain acknowledgement and in having that, I was able to admit and address my issues without as much fear. I had to trust that between the time that thing was buried and the unearthing of it, I have grown enough so that the buried thing might quake in my shadow, might wither, and fade, so that I can finally have the light, so that it cannot choke the
An Open Acknowledgement of Things Falling Apart and Falling Together My silence was mistaken for acceptance and blind obedience. In essence, I’m direct. I’m honest. I’m unafraid to stand up for someone in need—but I suppose by the time I had to defend myself, I was spent, and tangled—utterly undone—and utterly convinced I was worthless. When I finally redefined my boundaries on my terms, it inevitably led to a freedom of sorts, and with it an eventual resilience, but before that terribly unglamorous transition back into womanhood, my efforts were met with outrage from those no longer holding
As a person, you are judged. Regardless of where you take or make your stand on any spectrum, if you’re alive, you will be judged, try as you might to avoid it. You’re judged when you’re too straightforward and judged when you’re too vague. You’re judged if you stand up for yourself but you’re also judged if you simply let someone take advantage of you. You’re judged for taking yourself too seriously and judged for not taking yourself seriously enough. You’re judged if you’re too fat or too thin, too well-groomed or too unkempt. You’re judged for what you appear to be.