My new year in review: from getting accepted into UMKC's graduate a Disability Studies program, to taking on powerful groups for the betterment of my fellow autistics in Warrensburg, to finishing my BS in Cultural Studies. Later my first pet-sitting job followed by speaking to Camp Encourage's autistic youth, followed by many long days of work, to art classes and nights spent with Tyler. Later starting at UMKC, turning twenty-six, finishing my first graduate semester, and creating many stories, songs, and graphic novels, along with reading several of my Lord of the Rings books and catching up with friends from high school, junior college, and UCM, while connecting with the wonderful Arc of Douglass County/Self-Advocate Coalition in Lawrence. Lastly I look back to getting an offer to come back to my volunteer job from high school at Ten Thousand Villages, endless hours of environmental activism, and one memorable night revisiting the autistic community I started at JCCC. My next year: spend more time with the people I care about, less listening to negativity or giving a shit about someone else's drama, more time working on my writing, art, and environmental crafts, listening more to what my gut tells me, and finish the conclusion to my account of my time spent in Warrensburg, Missouri, and then start on the writing of my account after Warrensburg and the aftermath of the experience, and my stories of dealing with issues in the autistic and disabled community at home and the pleasures and challenges of being here. I also learned to stop doubting and just believe there's a way for things to work out in my love life, for if I stop fostering all this negativity, things will find a way. Clearly, I'm proud of a lot, though it doesn't mean I am free of my own issues in every area of my life. However, I know what I want, and am willing to go far with the people who help me get there. Happy New Year, everybody.
