OK, I wanted to post this to try and help anyone else who suffers from this 'disability'. Please don't criticise me for being honest.
I have struggled for a long time to come to terms with the fact that I am a little different from other people. My mother had no clue what was 'wrong' with me until I was about 9 years old. Of course, she knew that something was different about me because I was angered easily, struggled to make friends, found it nearly impossible to make eye contact with anyone and had little obsessions that I felt a compulsion to learn everything about before promptly moving on to another one.
At first, I was diagnosed with ADHD. I still to this day have no idea why because I was never hyper as a child - I liked staying in with books and taking walks through the fields near my house.
I was put on tablets to help with my 'ADHD', which had a negative effect on me. I became spaced out, dreamy, unresponsive. My family realised that I didn't actually have ADHD and after some research found that I was more likely to have Asperger syndrome and anxiety. She had me diagnosed and then made the mistake of telling my middle school (years 6-8 for anyone who doesn't know). My school immediately started to treat me differently, like I was thick, explaining everything really slowly (I don't think they fully knew what it was). I remember in year 7 being seated on a separate table for Art and the teacher would constantly come over and ask if I was okay - I'm talking every 10 minutes. I got told I'd never be able to do A-Levels, never get anywhere because I didn't have the confidence to do so.
Luckily my high school was absolutely brilliant, and I have partially them to thank for where I am now. They understood what Aspergers was and helped build my confidence up to the point where I felt 'normal'. I managed to get 3As, 5Bs, 4Cs in my GCSEs.
Year 12, for me, was horrible. My college somehow managed to destroy all confidence that I had struggled to build up in high school. My teachers made it clear they had no confidence in me so I stopped going to college and as a result got EEUU in my exams. I had no other option but to move colleges, change subjects and begin again. I am not someone who entirely blames the college and teachers - I lost all motivation to revise back in January.
Year 12 part 2! My new college is even better than my high school was. My confidence is up again to the point where I can walk down the street without keeping my eyes fixed to the pavement. I became a student rep, made a few friends even. At the end of last term I was even able to give a Sociology presentation on my own without going tomato-red and stuttering my way through it.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is this: if you are like me and have been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, you are simply different, it is not a curse, nor a life-ending disability. If you can embrace it instead of trying to hide it, it is a blessing in disguise. You just have to come to the realisation that it can be a good thing. For example, if you are already different, what is the harm in sticking up for your political, religious or any other views you may have? What is the harm in developing little obsessions as long as you have someone to talk about them, and they make you happy? It just means you have a wide knowledge of things that other people don't. If you are different, and are used to being isolated and alone, it will not come as a shock to you when you have to spend time alone. But the hard part is, like me, you will find it hard to believe that unless you come to this realisation yourself.
This is why I want to go into Politics, with a party that many others criticise, to prove that a small child with no confidence can become someone who changes the view of Asperger syndrome. And no, I have no intent of posting this anonymously. Because I have learnt not to be ashamed of who I am - I am, in fact, proud of something that makes me unique.
I can only hope that my honesty has helped just one person. x
Edit: Update! I got ABC this year! So happy!