Weekly Update 8/26/21 – Taking the Leap

Overall, not much happened this week.  I spent a lot of time relaxing and taking care of myself.  My boyfriend went back to school on Sunday, and I had a sleepover with my friend Monday night, which was fun!  Wednesday, however, was packed with events.

A Struggle From This Week

On Wednesday morning, I woke up feeling very upset.  I hadn’t been doing a ton over the summer, and now everyone else around me was back to school, had a job, had their own place, or some combination of the three.  It was crushing to think that I wasn’t doing enough to sustain myself and save up for the future.  I talked with my mom and started researching jobs (I already do some work from home, but I wanted to find something else to add to my schedule.)  Unfortunately, none of the places I looked at had job openings.  This dampened my spirits even more.

Looking for a job can be one of the most stressful things I do as an autistic person.  On top of searching for calm environments, kind employees, and work that interests me, I also have to find careers in my area that would be easy to travel to, since I cannot drive.  A lot of the time when I think about work, I feel useless, but I want to change that.  I want to find a job that suits me and that I’d be good for.  It’s out there somewhere, and searching for it is important to me.

I ended up reaching out to a family member who is a recruiter.  I told him some of my skills, interests, and experience.  To my surprise, he’d actually looked at my social media before and was already thinking of hiring me for an online position!  We’re in communication now about it and I’m so excited to see where this leads!

To anyone who’s nervous about job-hunting, don’t be afraid to reach out to people in your circle.  This is how I got the other job that I’m working now, and today I received a new opportunity just by talking to someone!  I’m so grateful!

A Win From This Week

Also on Wednesday, my mom encouraged me to take a specific action to help my mental health.  Caring for people, plants, and animals is something that is very therapeutic for me, and I’ve been wanting a pet for a long time since my bird Hawky passed away in March.  My mom, my youngest sister, and I went to the pet store around noon and met a little friend who’d just arrived from the breeder that morning.  Meet Marlowe.

We aren’t exactly sure how old Marlowe is or if they’re a boy or a girl.  The employee at the store thinks Marlowe is a boy around one year old, but judging by their cere (area around nostrils) and their eyes, my dad and I think they’re a girl around four or five months old.  I’m thinking of bringing them in for a bird DNA test to know their sex for sure.

What we do know is that Marlowe was hand-raised and is already comfortable interacting with humans.  They were very sleepy all afternoon from their busy day, then consequently had an energy spike in the evening, at which point they enjoyed running, exploring their cage, jumping around, chirping, grooming themselves, and throwing seeds.  They seem very happy with their new home and I’m so glad.  Looking forward to all of our adventures together!