I first met my girlfriend when I was leaving home for the first time. I was newly 18, and ready for change. I hopped aboard a plane from the United States, and flew to Ontario, Canada. We were only friends at first, but she still knew me better than anyone else. When I had nowhere to go, she was there for me. As the days flew by, I felt myself falling more and more in love with her. I'd known from the start that she has autism, and I had had very little experience with the "disorder" until I met her and immersed myself into her world.
From a young age, society had conditioned Dawn to believe that autism meant there was something wrong with her. She apologized for her quirks, and tried to hide them. As I began reassuring her more, she stopped trying to be "normal" around me. I soon became the only person she felt truly comfortable with. She stopped hiding her stimming from me, and began asking me the questions that other people had told her were stupid. I told her that I didn't want her to hide anything from me, and she could just be herself. In doing so, she opened herself up to me as she had no one before, and I did the same.
Eventually, I got up the courage to ask her out. After a moment of consideration, she answered with a smile and a nod. Since then, we have been going strong. There have been meltdowns, arguments, misunderstandings, and problems, much like any relationship. Her brain works differently than mine, and can be hard to understand. Yet, I wouldn't change a single thing about her. I love her, not despite her autism, but for it. Autism helps make her who she is. She is logical, intelligent, honest, and passionate. She is also loving, gentle, kind, beautiful, empathetic, caring, and uniquely amazing. Everyone has a right to be who they are, the only people who should be ashamed are the ones who deny you that right.
Merrillville, IN
