(Note from author: I originally called this “Relationships as an Aspie,” but I don’t know, it just didn’t have a great ring to it. And I think it limited the message. In reality, I just wanted to talk about how being “neurodivergent” has affected my life and relationships.

But anyway, let’s talk about it.)

If life is a tapestry, then every single thread is a feature of you and the world around you; and those threads are constantly being tugged this way and that by the three spinners or Fate or whatever you believe in. …

Control is a powerful word. Control can be internal or external, positive or negative. You can control yourself, or you can be controlled. But in a world that is ripe with conflagration and agitation and a lack of imagination, how do you harness self-control and come out on top? How can you live without seeing your control morph into something monstrous?

I have been on both ends of control. As a child, I learned composure when I was punished for expressing myself or acting out because I didn’t like something. My control turned into an eating disorder, eventually. There were…

Though the world wasn’t at peace and it had its fair share of problems, the instant the novel coronavirus crept onto the scene, everything we knew changed. Borders that were wide open were shut down. Reality escaped through the cracks. And here we are, sitting in our homes, chomping on our fingernails, and praying for the day when travel begins again.

Even when domestic and international travel become a normal occurrence in our lives, things will never be as they once were. …

There is no one in this world who want to live untouched by love. Even if you are content with staying single, there is something to be learned from your past relationships. There is always something that you can pick up from encounters and interactions that will enlighten you. And if you are like me, you might find that thinking about each past relationship as a lesson installs you with a sense of confidence. After all, if you could overcome those obstacles, doesn’t that better prepare you for the next person who comes along?

No doubt, finding love and staying…

I have anxiety.

And this is a snapshot to what happens in my mind and body when it attacks.

All the movement stops, and the air solidifies. It’s like breathing in sand, my hourglass body filling with the seconds that need to pass. Every moment a pebble rattling inside my chest, pinging off the ribs, and landing in my stomach.

I feel the tension rising. It’s a tide that won’t stop. Flooding the banks, rushing down the street, and wiping away everything that existed mere seconds before. …

Easier sang than done, learning to “let it go” is something that many people never completely figure out. The burden of holding on is almost as painful as the emotions that undoubtedly come with the release; and even if you end up liberated, the freedom is bittersweet. The truth is this: the more you invest of yourself into something that doesn’t serve you, whether that is a friendship, a partnership, relationship, or occupation, the more you weigh yourself down. …

People are constantly trying to live up to some kind of expectation. These norms are not always meant to be the best thing for us, and so we get caught in a vortex of striving for success and winding up unhappy. You might feel like you have to change yourself in order to move ahead in life, that you need to cover certain scars, and smile for the camera.

In a way, social media and dependence on technology has made life easier to complicate. You see stimulus every day from people you envy. You look upon the lives of those…

In 2019, I will have spent 4 months in Europe and another 3 in Southeast Asia and Australasia. That’s 7 months abroad, dotted with traveling around the United States.

It’s the longest period in one year spent moving around. That’s not to say I haven’t done it before. Ever since 2010, I’ve been bouncing back and forth between destinations. Japan then to America. I jumped from city to city along the East Coast. In 2016, I spent four months going around Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, and Japan. In 2018, I did it again. …