It’s always funny when someone asks you, “what’s your story?”
How much do people want to know? What can they handle?
I’m often unsure how much to share and pick and choose which details I reveal because I, like all people, am an elaborate and complex human being.
Will they react with confusion when I tell them I am a late discovered, multiply NeuroDivergent Adult (diagnosed Autistic at 29 and with ADHD 33).
Is it even worth it to go into my gender identity because I know how I present and the assumptions people will make?
Will they roll their eyes when I tell them that I’m a NonBinary, GenderFluid, PanSexual Human who also is PolyAmorous? Will they tell me I’ve got too many labels and need to “stop making up identities”?
When I tell people I use they/them pronouns because I’m neither he nor she – will they even try to get it right? Is it worth it, and do I have the energy to explain this right now?
I am a person with many labels and identities, including a few I’ve taken on my own, changing my name (Lyric) and starting a blog (NeuroDivergent Rebel).
My labels have given me power and a sense of pride, identity, and belonging I never had before.
I spent 29 years of my life without many of these labels, feeling alone, knowing I was different but not having a vocabulary to express my feelings or share my true self with the world – as a butterfly stuck in a dark cocoon, hoping to be set free.
Creating a vocabulary around your identity is essential because it allows for shared human experiences. People in minority groups take on labels because we often do not see ourselves in the mainstream media.
Many of us grow up feeling isolated and alone – like freaks of nature or lesser versions of humanity because of this lack of acceptance and visibility.
“I don’t like all these labels people sort themselves into” – often said by people who have never been marginalized/always have been in the “dominant” group (straight/white/non-disabled/neurotypical).
They’re uncomfortable with our labels, but they’ve never been considered lesser.
I’ve learned that “Why do you have to label everything and cause division?” = “I don’t truly understand you or your struggles.”
The only way people outside of a minority group will learn about the issues a minority faces is to make them care about the members of the minority group – and see us as complete humans, not broken, deviant, or lesser humans.
Unfortunately, many people do not fully accept or understand NeuroDivergent and Queer people, dismissing and casting us aside as undesirables.
That is why I started my blog, NeuroDivergent Rebel, to educate and show the human sides of my existence.
Only I can define me – if I am bold enough to do so.
I want to inspire others to be boldly authentic and not hide their true selves to the world, assuming it’s safe for them to do so.
