Continuing with the last article, I also had more experiences in school life as someone with autism. Back in my 7th grade, I moved between art, vocal & theater class, in which none of them triggered my deepest passions besides my special interest, in addition to the pain of being the target of bullying, teasing & insults.
Fortunately, there was a life-changing moment when my dad got a call from his office that he would be sent to the US and he can invite me, my mom & my sister there. I was so excited & glad that all the suffering that I went through for the 1st 7 years of school would be gone.
A year later, my family moved to the US, in which my dad had a work assignment there, my mom stayed home, and I & my sister went to school there. When I went to school there, it was a shock that I didn’t wear any uniform like I used to, and I was so glad that the school’s environment was so warm & friendly, with gorgeous yet sweet friends that I should’ve had years earlier. I’d never ever forgotten the school experience I’ve been there, and especially the wonderful friendships I’ve made.
The thing that really impressed me the most was how friendly & open my friends (especially the girls) & teachers were to me, with no trace of hostility, exclusivist mentality & bullying that I endured back home for so long. That was an experience that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life and would never forget.
My schooling experience in the US changed me dramatically, because it boosted my confidence & self-esteem, made me more open-minded & expressive, and enable me to express my opinions & speak up. Not just my classmates within the same grade, even my juniors & seniors in my school treated me the same way.
I had lots of wonderful experiences with my friends there, from birthday parties, football games, school parties, and I wished to have more with them. Unfortunately, like all good things, it had to come to an end, and I had to go back after 3 years of staying in the US since I want to take the National Exam. Not only it dramatically affected my social life, it increased my knowledge of my special interest in cars since having ideas of the US car market scene.
Once I went home, I was in another shock, and need to re-adapt to the new school curriculum to keep up with my new classmates. Not only that, I still had a very deep pain of leaving my very good friends after befriending them for so long that I constantly messaged them through Facebook & email whenever I had the chance.
Like during elementary school, I used cartoons/anime, as well as drawing as mechanism of coping with all the stress & pain I had to go through. In terms of friendship, it was another kind of déjà-vu, although not as hostile as my elementary school experience.
I also had difficulties with my studies as well; so much that I used both private tutors & outside tutors in order to survive & graduate through high school. I was so glad I survived high school but in the expense of the high amount of stress & mental pain of leaving good friends behind & facing hardships associated with high school students. I really wished I finished high school with my good friends stateside and be a part of Class of 2013 with them, but God says otherwise.
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