I will probably fail at this too.

Hear me out before you navigate away to your next shot of dopamine. This isn’t going to be a self-deprecating blog where I cry onto the top of my mask as I try to run away from humanity and myself. What it will be is a space where I share a life with a neuro-divergent mind. It is a unique life; it is mine alone and in writing about my journey I only hope that you find a nugget of truth or insight. You, my dear reader, may not be “lucky” to possess a neuro-divergent mind, but I’m going to guess if you don’t, you know someone who does.

Why the depressing title?

I’ve lived with a form of ADHD my entire life. I say “a form” because ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (as it is poorly named), it a single term to describe an enormous spectrum of neurological types influenced by a large number of variables, both genetic and environmental. Find 100 people and line them up next to each other who have been diagnosed with ADHD and, while you’ll find similarities, not one of them will be the same. I was diagnosed when I was 8 years old and only recently have begun to dig deep into what this disorder is all about. I want to find words and phrases for the behaviors I have, discover tips and tricks to cope and win, spending energy optimally to live a successful life both professionally and personally.

A common trait of people with ADHD is the excitement to start a new venture, only to quickly get bored with it. Here is where my first title fits in. I am calling myself out in starting this series in that I know I will have to focus additional energy to ensure its success. I am going to find accountability partners (hopefully you, kind reader), that I can continue with alongside of. And while I truly believe no one care what I’m going to write, I also know that my fear of failure has already determined my failure. By starting this, I am showing myself that even if I do fail, it wasn’t because I ran away.

What is this about, then?

This project is about me, talking about me, writing about problems I encounter and how I overcome or fail. It’s going to be a project that I am going to frame as small nuggets of information and ideas in how to live, communicate, and grow with a neuro-divergent mind.

I’m going to write like my brain works as I share my life with a neuro-divergent mind. This means subjects will be unrelated while I get stuck on one topic for too long, or get distracted, or be annoying, or too loud, or I’ll run away. In the end, my goal is to take it a week at a time and include at least one bit of learning.

While the topics will revolve around what’s in my head, I’m doing this for you. You’re here because of a search result, or a link someone forwarded, or a post on Twitter or Instagram, one of which piqued your interest. I hope I keep it and I hope we create something fun together.

-b