Welcome to the Brutally Honest Aspie segment! Join writer Nathan Young as he talks about what is on his mind. Anything from politics, news, current topics, or just whatever is happening can be talked about and discussed. See what is on Nathan’s mind below!
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So happy 40th birthday to me. It’s my birthday today, and I don’t feel like celebrating it. With all the bullying, hate, threats, and awfulness I get in person or on the Internet on a daily basis now, there is just not much to celebrate.
This morning when I woke up, I spent a couple hours watching cartoons like I usually do on Saturday morning. Then I went out to record a few videos, ate at Waffle House for breakfast, and went to pick up a birthday cake I will get to enjoy all by myself.
This afternoon I’m going to go see a movie all by myself, have dinner at a steakhouse all by myself, then spend some time reflecting about the things. Because I have no one close to me to hang out with, I am all by myself.
So in this post, I wanted to talk about the five wishes for my 40th birthday. These are wishes I wish I can do, so let’s go.
1: Find income, employment, etc.
Did you know I’m looking for my 15th job in my life? Yes, my 15th job. As most of you know, I run the geek Alabama website, and publish a lot of things on my social media feeds. I have pretty much become the most popular media figure in East Alabama, and I don’t get paid for it! Sure, I might earn a little bit of money on Facebook, but it’s not enough to live.
Throughout my job history, I have been bullied, harassed, threatened, had the police called on me, and many other awful things at employment. This is why I’ve been telling people my best hope is to find a remote job where I can work from home. Because it’s pretty simple, I don’t have to deal with other people!
Because it seems like just about everyone else sees me as vulnerable. And if I do find a job, which good luck with that. I know my time in East Alabama is coming to an end and I will have to move somewhere else. Because no one in East Alabama is going to hire me right now, that’s for sure.
Thankfully I’m still living on Social Security disability income, but with all the chaos happening at the federal government right now, I wonder how long that’s going to last? It’s sad I’m so talented and no one will consider me. And all I have to say is welcome to my life!
2: I want to go on a vacation
When was the last time I went on any vacation? Thinking to myself,\ it had to be over 20 years ago. Sure, when I was on the TV show The Employables, the people making the TV show flew me to Boston and New York City, but it was a very short-lived stay where we did a lot of filming and really had no time to enjoy the sights.
When I think of a vacation, two types of vacations come to mind. First, is an experience type of vacation. You know, go to a big city, see the museums, attend sports events, see the top attractions, see shows, you get the idea.
My other type of vacation is being out in nature, like at a national park for example. I love visiting national parks and being in nature. Seeing the top National Park attractions, seeing wildlife, being by yourself, you get the idea.
And let’s freak some people out shall we? I hate the beach! Sorry, I do not like going to the beach. There’s too many people, it’s usually too hot, and there’s not much fun to do. And I do not like going to touristy mountain areas like Gatlinburg, there’s just too many people! I badly want to go on a vacation!
3: Working on my health
I weighed myself this morning on my birthday and the scale said 408 pounds. My weight has been a struggle throughout my entire life. I have been overweight for 30 years now, yeah it’s been that long. and you can get why I’ve been overweight for so long. All the bullying, all the hate, all the threats, no one close to be around with, you get the idea. Right now I am on Ozempic, but it seems like it’s no longer working.
My doctor has considered other options in the past like gastric sleeve to help lose weight better. But that takes money, which is something I don’t have. And I also wanted to talk about my mental health, because that is very important as well.
Throughout my life, I have seen numerous counselors and therapists, and not one of them has done anything to help. Things have gotten so bad I have had professionals just straight up ignore me and prescribe depression pills. I have had another professional act so bad the police were called. And I’ve had another professional who said to me I was playing stupid and acting dumb.
I can go on, unfortunately I have not found anyone who can relate to my situation. And it’s sad, but what can you do when no one is willing to listen to you? And no, I do not want religion forced down on me, I do not believe in stuff like that!
4: I badly want a cat and dog
Throughout my life, it seems like the only species that listens to me and understands me has been pets like cats and dogs. I will admit if I did not have close cats and dogs around me growing up around the abuse and chaos I experienced growing up and into adulthood, I would be dead by now, seriously.
Unfortunately there are two major factors in why I cannot have a pet right now. The first is I live in public housing, where they have strict rules around pets. The second is I cannot afford a pet. It is not fair to adopt a pet and not to be able to take care of it. Like not being able to afford veterinary bills.
Yes, I want a pet badly. Because animals understand me more than people. Dogs and cats have never bullied me, harmed me, threatened me, or done anything else horribly. People have done that, many people have done that, but pets like cats and dogs have not.
5: Getting respect for Autism and disabilities
If there is one major issue happening right now, that is getting respect for people like myself and others who have autism or other disabilities. Because right now, the amount of people with disabilities experiencing bullying, hate, and threats is off the charts!
And it’s all thanks to the current political landscape. We have a president right now who simply hates autism. We have an administration who is doing everything possible to roll back services for disabled people and to discriminate against disabled people. And it’s not just the political landscape. The amount of average people discriminating against disabled people is through the roof as well.
And it’s incredibly sad, and it should not be like this, but sadly it is right now. I compare the current landscape with disabled people to Nazi Germany, where the Nazis discriminated against disabled people. Then they rounded up disabled people and exterminated them.
I’m not saying that’s the next step for disabled people today. But it sure seems like we are heading for incredibly dark times for every disabled person in this country. And most people just do not care about stopping it. That’s the way I see it.
So thank you to everyone on every social media platform for leaving me birthday wishes. I will eventually get back to you. But today is a day to just get out of the house, do a few fun things for myself, and think about things.
Because that is pretty much the only thing special I could do today, think about things.
