This Is Me…

I am an artist, a musician, a woodworker, a creator, and…

I’m Autistic.

(In case you wanted to know; my favorite color is Orange.)

I am an artist.

When I say I am an artist, I mean in the general sense. I’m not a painter, but I like painting. I’m not a sketch artist, but I enjoy drawing. I’m not an architect but I like designing houses. I’m not a photographer but I love taking pictures. I even designed this website, but I’m not a web designer. You get the idea.

I am a musician.

I love music. It is my equalizer. It is my passion. There are so many ways that I literally cannot function without it. When all other things are just noise to me, music brings me peace. Playing music is even more powerful to me than just listening to it. It allows me to feel, when life gets so overwhelming that I don’t know how to move, or even just to breath.

I am a woodworker.

Woodworking is in my genes. Both of my grandfathers built things out of wood. From an early age my father taught me the basics of tools and how to use them. I have always found making things was an important creative outlet for me. I have always had a need to make things as perfect as I could. While I have learned that I will never be perfect, it is still important to me to make things with long lasting quality. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing it right.

I am a creator.

I have never been satisfied with the standard ways of doing things. This includes everything from math to metal work. When I was in school many years ago, I didn’t understand the standard way of doing math. It was way too complicated for me. Not that I didn’t understand how to do it, I just didn’t understand why there were so many steps to get the answers. So, I just got the answers my own, more simple way. In metal shop I was taught how to do basic metalworking. In this class there were specific plans on how to make certain projects that were required for the class. I never followed one plan in the class. I always made my own version of it. I wanted to make something I would be happy to own. This isn’t because I think I know better than anyone else. I don’t. I do it because I enjoy being creative.

I’m Autistic.

Almost my entire life I didn’t know. I always noticed that things were different from other people. I asked myself why constantly. I knew what other people had told me was the way to be. I believed it myself. It all made logical sense. So I tried my best to be like everyone else. The more I tried the less successful I was. So I asked myself; “Self, why can’t I seem to do what other people do so easily? Why can’t I do what I know I should do? Why do I feel so different? When will I figure it out? I’m not unintelligent. Why do I feel so ignorant?” Well, as I recently found out, I am Autistic. Suddenly everything made sense. I am intelligent. I just see the world differently. I’m not disabled. I’m alternatively enabled.

That’s Me.

Almost. Obviously I can’t write my life story on one page that’s easily digestible. Let’s face it; most of you wouldn’t want to read a book about my life anyway, when you came here for other reasons. Thanks for taking the time to read this little bit about me. I wish you well on your own life’s journey.