TLDR; Spoiler Alert, It Was Autism All Along
I know I already posted almost this same post, but I'm debating posting on Facebook/Instagram (probably Facebook, eventually, because I feel it'll be too long to put as an Insta caption. I always do use more words than necessary and things always wind up longer than I plan for) and I want to have planned out what I'm typing. I want my words thought out and in order and for them to make sense. Growing up, I knew I was different. I didn't know how or why but I knew from a young age that I was different from my peers - and they knew it too. Because I didn't know the "why" and I didn't have a reason and I didn't have a word to describe it, the labels that were assigned to me from the people around me were things like strange, weird, quiet, shy, nerd, geek, anxious, different, needy, loser, over-sensitive, dramatic. I practiced facial expressions in the mirror and watched my friends' faces and body language to mimic mine to, to the point where t...