I’ve spent 22 years hyper-aware of how my brain deviates from normality — be it my intense emotions, my hypersensitivity to those of others, or my affinity for rules.
Throughout my school years, I found comfort in academia.
It was the place I didn’t have to mask, in fact my ability to hyper-focus was an asset. Academic giftedness became my identity.
In other areas of life, I learned to dilute qualities others considered “odd” to a tolerable level, but in doing so I also diluted myself.