I realised this afternoon: 2026 will be the first calendar year I will be able to live fully as my true #ActuallyAutistic self.

I realised this afternoon: 2026 will be the first calendar year I will be able to live fully as my true #ActuallyAutistic self.

Being over 55, this feels like a bit of a “thing”.

This means *not* questioning or “adjusting” how my brain processes things.

This means *not* hiding the fact that I am an autist.

This means, in a way I have *never* done before, accepting myself as myself and not feeling I need to compromise that.

For 50+ years, I have moulded myself to others’ expectations. I’m not going to claim they were all malicious in their desire to shape me to something other than I was.

But correspondingly, malice is not the only way such attempts or intentions cause damage.

I want to heal, and sometimes that will mean removing myself from relationships which have caused me damage, whether intended or not.

Viva me, I guess.

#HappyNewYear