Feature Friday: I’m Not Your Inspiration, Thank You Very Much!

Earlier this week, when I asked my uncle to review my CV (he used to work at IBM), he told me to include the fact that I’m an ambassador for the autistic community.

In response, he gave me a link to a Ideas.Ted.com blog post regarding the late Stella Young’s 2014 Ted Talk I watched way back then (see at the bottom of this post). I wrote a little comment about it underneath at the time, and promptly forgot about it.

Six years later, I’m surprised to find that my words got included in the blog as a Smart Comment. This is what I wrote:

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Confessions of an Introvert: Networking

Recently, I just started networking. So far over the last month, I’ve had three meetings: one virtual and two in-person.

But, be it in person or online, it is scary!

Networking was not something I did before. It was just a business term I would hear about without giving much of a second thought about it.

So, this is new for me.

Having disabilities and being an introvert-at-heart, meeting people is personally a very challenging thing for me to do. As I’m delving into a new career path, I want to put my best foot forward, so I give it a shot. Yet, my anxiety does go up a little with the numerous questions in my head:

The Three Cs That The Covid-19 Pandemic Lockdown Gave Me

There are three Cs that personally enhanced me since the Covid-19 Pandemic Lockdown started in March 2020:

1. Creativity
2. Coding
3. Culture

Amidst a worldwide pandemic that halted the world to its knees and made it pause, these three Cs came into my life, and probably wouldn’t have happened if we were not made to lockdown.

Gendered Dressing

One of the most oddest things I’ve encountered since I’ve identified as non-binary is that I only get compliments if I’m dressed in a femme way.

Absolutely nothing when I’m masculine dressed (which is practically every single day) or when I gender-blend.¹

I find it odd and outdated.

Are we so set in our ways that we will only compliment a person if they are dressed in the style of the gender they were born into?

I haven’t felt femme for a super long time now. It’s rare if I am; it either has to be a special event or I’m feeling unusually feminine.

This came about again recently at work…

1. It was a laundry day when I wore a t-shirt dress and leggings, as I didn’t have my usual jeans and t-shirt. She was saying I looked great. This may not seem unusual, but really, she never compliments me on my appearance. Unless I look like a girl.
2. Another day, a customer complimented me on my short back and sides haircut. When I gave my thanks and explained it was all my Dad’s barber’s work, they were quick to say that it still looked very feminine.

In this day and age, people should stop thinking that they have to see everything as pink or blue and place who they say in what society for so long has said what humans are.

Gender is fluid now.

And just because someone like me doesn’t conform to what people think a gender should look like that doesn’t mean they don’t want compliments on their appearance.

¹ Except from my Dad, who gives full thumbs up whenever I don a blazer. Or one of my best friends when I send them a photo of my gender-blended outfit. They are brilliant!

September Starts

I love September.

It’s my most favourite month of the year: the leaves are changing colour, the weather is at a more comfortable temperature with still sunny days, and a sense of renewal opens up.

Personally, ’tis the season when new things start to happen: new home, new course, or new adventures. Spring and fall are the two times of the year when new life turns over: spring sows the seeds of change and they are finally harvested in the autumn.

It’s like life moves itself along with nature.