I walked out of a class tonight, angry and frustrated. There is a great deal I could write about how I feel and what annoyed me, but the essential information is that there is a limit to the stresses I can tolerate. Even though I speak on surviving college, the…
Category: Writing
All things writing related in my life.
At the start of every semester, I suffer from extreme anxiety. I dislike learning how new classes will function. I also have a general distaste for classes that seem to repeat the same basic themes and topics. As a graduate student in any given field, the primary figures in the…
This is a rant, based on exchanges elsewhere… One of the unavoidable aspects of writing and speaking publicly about autism is that I am certain to offend someone with nearly every sentence I type or speak. I have been told I don’t know “anything at all” about autism or its…
I am definitely a hypersensitive individual — physically (and emotionally). The cold weather of Minnesota forces me to wear more clothes, including hats, gloves, and even a face mask at times. Thermal pants for the windchill are also required some mornings. I itch. I scratch. I get annoyed. It’s like…
November 29, 2007, was a lousy day. I did poorly, very poorly, on an exam in statistics. The damage to self-esteem was fairly deep. I’m not supposed to do poorly on any test, in any class. I’ve seldom done well with written tests — it is painful to write for…
My original intention was to seek a doctorate to develop better digital writing tools for students, without specializing in autism or other special needs. Right now, it seems I’m heading towards disabilities and writing. I wish I could educate far more teachers on developmental disorders and brain injuries so we…
For a graduate course in curriculum, we have been asked to experiment with “mind mapping” software. I believe any organizational tool might help autistic students. They probably help most students. As my previous post reflects, I’ve never been comfortable with such maps personally, though I realize many people find the…
Some weekends are long, even when they technically aren’t that bad. They just seem to pass slowly, while I get nothing accomplished. We have a bathroom to finish. It’s tiled, almost. It is usable. But unfinished. I don’t know why I am so exhausted by the weekends, but I am.…
I need routines, and this school year (as well as the move to the Midwest in general) has already been playing havoc with my routines. Plus, I simply don’t like the claustrophobia I am experiencing in the city. Today was tough. I held on as long as I could, but…
We are in the process of moving, which is overwhelming for most people. In my case, it’s physically and emotionally debilitating this week. I am exhausted just thinking about all the productivity lost during the last year… and now I will lose at least another year. Worse, I know this…