An old picture I found of Jindaiji Temple - taken during my time living in Japan. I thought this would be the end of my journey, but it turned out to be the start.
We all have a voice, a story to tell, a parable to share with others.
For too long I feel I haven’t been using my voice to its fullest potential. Which comes back to the “different, not less” tag line – that is now the mantra of the autistic community. I now hope that this voice can assist others in making the right choices if they decide to travel.
Humans are creatures of habit – it’s not a unique phenomenon amongst those who are autistic (we just sometimes practice it in different ways). It’s easy to get comfortable in life. It’s even easier to settle for less than you want and need, then watch your life pass you by. But sometimes you have to take a stand for yourself and what is truly important to your own desires.
The world is a scary place, it’s easier to cower away from it all to avoid any ‘unnecessary’ pain, or perceived risks. On top of that, many autistic people are prone to extreme sensory overload which can make many things allistic people take for granted more of a challenge. Yet, in breaking out of the loop myself during my teenage years, I came to realise that I was missing out on all the wonders and beauty the world has to offer. Now I can safely say I’m in a position where I genuinely feel grateful to be alive and experiencing all these wonderful places outside the realm of ‘the cards I was dealt’.
Of course, that doesn’t mean things have been plain sailing. I’ve had my fair share of negative experiences on my travels, but as I continue this path more and more all these unfavourable things are starting to feel minor in the long run.
Everything is a process, and you must treat life as such in order to gain a rounded perspective – at least that’s how I now feel!
It’s easy to accept the way our lives are, rather than take the risk of changing our environment (in whatever form that may be), even if our current situation is one of unhappiness, mundanity, misfortune etc.
Finally taking a stand and saying no to the way things were and getting out of my hometown, my comfort zone, basically all I had really known up until that point was truly the best resolve I had ever made. And the thing that made me push myself forward was the need for a more enriched life.
I often hear online that discomfort brings growth – and I guess that much is true in my case. Once you move past whatever brought you the discomfort, it makes you yearn for more growth. Discomfort forces you to adapt, change, adjust. Being autistic, however, I felt like this can also come with the fine tuning of finding where the point is between discomfort and pain – as nobody wants to experience a meltdown or shutdown from being pushed too hard.
Nonetheless, travel slowly allowed me to learn to take charge of my current situation (as well as create new ones!), and to never apologize for who I am and what I cannot change about myself (i.e. inherent characteristics).
There is a lot to be said about finding comfort in relatability. I would often feel like the odd one out or like I was the only one who feels a certain way when there’s nobody else who can relate to your experiences or feelings. I sometimes still feel this way, but I hope in earnest that by sharing these experiences others can find some comfort in knowing they aren’t alone in their thoughts – particularly in terms of traveling as an autistic person.
An important part of my growth was finding communities or even just like-minded individuals who went through the same/similar experiences that I went through, share the same sentiments, or experience the same difficulties. This applies to my life within the realms of autism and outside.
In doing so, I have been able to find peace with my various thoughts and as well as what it means to be autistic.
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