I suck as an advocate. I’m
not always patient. I don’t always hold space in my heart for understanding and
compassion. I don’t always follow my own advice, and practice what I preach.
The truth is, sometimes I’m a hypocrite. Sometimes I get frustrated just as
much by my own fellow spectrum dwellers as I do by all the anti-vaxxers and
autism warrior moms out there. Sometimes, I’m even impatient with those who
need my patience most; my family…several of whom are on the spectrum or otherwise
equally as Neurodivergent as I am. I want so badly to help, to speak out, and
to make the world a better place, that sometimes, I fail to live up to my own standards.
I’m sorry for that…I really,
truly am.
I can’t promise I will never
fail – to fail is human after all. What I can promise, however, is to
always pick myself back up. I promise to always listen, to always try, and to
always learn from my moments of failure. I promise to use them to inform my activism,
and to let them show me the way towards being a better human. I promise that I
DO in fact understand that each of our struggles are unique, and that I will
always be here if you need someone to talk to or support you. I can’t promise I
will be able to do so with money…but that’s millennial living for you.
Most importantly, I promise
to never give up the fight. To never stop trying to be the best advocate I
possibly can be, and to never allow the failure to win.
So yes, I suck as an advocate
– but I will never stop learning how to be a better one.
Yours in Diversity,
Adam Michael
