Sunday Discussion: Reflections On Nathan Young’s 28th Birthday

By Nathan Young on September 14, 2014

This is the 3,367th post on Geek Alabama, and I have put a lot of pride in every Geek Alabama post I have written. I have written thousands of posts, taken thousands of pictures, and taken hundreds of videos. And now, I walk several miles around each day to go to a wi-fi source like a library. While walking, I have to dodge some drivers who yell cuss words at me, honk their car horns, and even swerve towards me. This sounds like a not so glamorous life, but let me explain.

Since getting fired from my last job in July 2011, I decided to try something different, and this blog was born. While writing, I have also been searching for a career, and while I talk about my job search and life struggles. I have somehow made some people question my decisions and wonder why I am still integrated into mainstream society and not placed into a place where different people go, like a group home. To those people who think I should be placed into a program for people who are severely disabled, you need to get a different outlook on life. If I was severely disabled, I would not be able to take video of high school events.

Or take footage of severe weather events.

Or get to interview Kid President, that was a great thing I did!

You see, even though I am disabled. Somehow, some people think they can take advantage of people who don’t deserve to make a living, because they are disabled. I helped a local TV station in East Alabama set up their social media, without pay. I took pictures of some events in Anniston, and they said they would pay me, but they never did. I replied to people who wanted me to review or talk about their things, not to be contacted back. And the bad hits keep on coming. My gut feeling says part of the problem is the area where I live at. And in Anniston/Oxford, the economy is super bad, like South Park bad!

For example, I have told several people via e-mails, social media, and in person to not open a small business in Calhoun County. Because the success rate for a new small business in Calhoun County is almost at 0%. Over the past few years, many new small businesses have opened, then closed down a few months later. And yes, to send a message to leaders in this county, I often talk about small businesses that have closed down in this county.

Dh, dh, dh, another one bites the dust, clap-clap! pic.twitter.com/SHsKMHEc6T

— Nathan Young ❄️☮️💜💙🧡 (@nvyoung) August 25, 2014

If you need a another example about how lazy people can be in Calhoun County, I look at the local streets and roads, which the local governments have to maintain. Here is Coleman Road, which is maintained by both Oxford and Anniston. On the Oxford side, the city is lazy for not painting road lines where they are needed. This is a problem on many streets in Oxford.

And in Anniston, they repaint the lines on the road, but they are very lazy in the way they repaint the road with crooked lines and bad paint quality.

And now with the declining populations and tax money, the city of Anniston is about to eliminate more city positions, but it did not stop them from hiring someone who claims to bring in jobs and retail, in my words, good luck with that! If the city and county is too broke to provide animal services and pick up stray dogs that are roaming around the apartment complex where I live, the city should not have hired someone who claims to bring “economic development.” And yes, I have taken to social media to highlight the stray animal problem in this town too.

Don't worry stray dog, the city of Anniston is too broke to come get you. pic.twitter.com/1FUBenqWUp

— Nathan Young ❄️☮️💜💙🧡 (@nvyoung) August 28, 2014

And then I want to talk about how people who lead in Calhoun County are trying to bring the county back, by promoting eco-tourism? Like that is going to work. So, the city of Anniston is about to cut a big number of jobs, while spending money painting bike lanes onto the streets? And other organizations like the chamber is putting out commercials promoting things not in Calhoun County like the Talladega Superspeedway. Hey, money spent at Talladega benefits Talladega County, not Calhoun County.

And the icing on the cake is when I made this presentation called How To Turn The Anniston / Oxford Area Around. Yeah, many people who run things in this country did not like me calling them out about why this area is one of the worst economies in the United States, I call this a badge of honor on my part!

So, what is my next move while I am finishing this article in the middle of the night behind a laundry mat so I can use the free wi-fi and not be noticed? I don’t know! You see, I know that what I do right now, write on my own website, will not make me hardly any money. I do get some money from the ads you see on this site every few months, but that is it. I have been criss-crossing across Alabama and the southeast trying to find a ~~job~~ career. I have been to many job fairs, and have hundreds of copies of my resume in my apartment. I have also filled out just about every online job application you can find, with nothing to show for it but rejection e-mails and phone calls. In fact, I am up to my 1,215th job rejection, and yes I do keep track of it at home.

Some people have criticized me for being mostly negative, and I am sorry if I make your day not so good when I post something negative on this website or on my social media pages. When mostly everyone you contact rejects you on things ranging from my disability, the way I act, my job history, what I cover, my size, or anything else, you are going to have a negative attitude. When you were just about to land a volunteer opportunity in Birmingham to work with kids, but got turned down at the last minute, you are going to feel let down. When a job offer comes through and you think you will be hired, then they call you back telling you not to come, you are going to feel let down. When people call the police on you because you are walking on the side of the road, you are going to feel let down. When people at the apartment complex you live at spy on you because you are different, you are going to feel let down, and I could repeat this over and over again, this is not funemployment!

Face the facts, if you were in my shoes currently, you are going to feel depressed. If you were in my shoes, you would feel ~~some~~ no positive emotions and mostly think about negative thoughts. I know, I have seen the stories and social media posts telling you that you need to “think positive.” But when you are rejected time and time again, all of your positive thoughts will sail like on the Titantic, when you look forward to seeing your positive thoughts hit that iceberg and sink into the ocean. I would like to make my comparison to someone famous who just passed away.

As you know, Robin Williams committed suicide right around my birthday. He battled depression and other issues throughout his life, and sadly he could not overcome his emotions. We will never know what caused Robin Williams to take his own life, but I bet you something bad happened and he thought there was nothing he could do. When people are rejected time and time again from everything from job rejections, volunteer rejections, love life rejections, and anything else, that person who was rejected will probably do something not so good.

Some people rejected might commit suicide, some people rejected might commit a crime and go to jail, some people rejected might turn to drugs or alcohol, and yes, some people rejected might give up hope in America and travel to join terrorist groups, like ISIS. People who are rejected from society time and time again will eventually do something to try to turn around their luck, and quit hitting all the Whammies like on Press Your Luck. Since I draw some cool road drawings, let me show you a visual example. Imagine if this is a go-kart track, and while everyone else gets to keep riding the cool track, you have to go to the corral and get out of the go-kart and feel depressed while you sit on the sidelines while everyone else is enjoying the go-karts. This has been my situation for the past three years.

Other people have said to me time and time again that God has a plan for you, and when someone says that, I think to myself “it won’t happen”, or I would not be unemployed for three years now with some people in the area thinking I am a weirdo who should be placed into a group home. Yeah, one person on social media thinks I should go to a group home, and that no one will hire me on their team because of me having high functioning autism. Let’s get this straight, yes I have Asperger’s Syndrome, and there are other people with the same disability who are in a great life with a good career and family life. In my opinion, I think the people in Alabama who thinks people who are different and needs to be away from mainstream society; needs to get the real facts and change their opinions. In other words, grow up!

I want to feature this piece of paper which is important in my life. This paper is a test where you pick your favorite colors to reveal your best career field. Guess what is the top career field, creative! I guess it makes sense since I am one of the top bloggers/media people in Alabama and America, who is also unemployed. I am friends with many other bloggers and writers, and I often have new bloggers or writers get some advice from me! I find it weird that I am this popular, but remain in the unemployment line. Other people I know have gotten jobs at a TV station, newspaper, or website, and have less experience than me, this does not make any sense!

For now, I will continue to write, take photos, take videos, review things, and do interviews. Even if some folks in Alabama and other places thinks all weirdos should be locked away and separated from mainstream society. And I will continue to job search, and keep growing the job rejection number I keep in my apartment. So, for the 3,368th time, I am embedding my visual resume with close to 10,000 views now.

And here is my two visual resume infographics.

Every night when I go to bed, I think about what it would be like with a career and income so I can talk about the people who are doing great things in Alabama and the southeast, interview the people with great things coming up, take awesome photos and videos of events, review new small businesses, and much much more! I wish people here in Alabama and the southeast were more tolerant to people who are different, and would not spy on or call the police on people who are different. Yes, I do think Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism is facing a PR nightmare, because some people think they are not real disabilities. But for me, my Asperger’s makes me who I am, and you can not force me to change, end of story! I can do something, but I need someone to give me that shot!