Between Spectrums

Maintaining Friendships

When I was a kid, my family and I would move to a new place. Among all the places we moved to, there are couple of places that are near and dear to my heart. One of them being a small community called Oakley, Idaho. We actually moved there a couple of times. And what made it awesome was being with my good friend. Though he was a year younger than me and a grade below me, we had a lot in common. Same interests, and we were alike in many ways. But my family and I moved and my friend and I took different paths. When I visited him a while back, he was really different as he changed a lot and it was kind of hard to connect with him. Our once strong friendship is now just a distance memory and he's doing his own thing. Same thing with most of the people I met on my mission, as well as college, it was like once they see me they don't really want to talk to me like I was some creeper they want to get away from. Granted I may had sometimes act strange, but that doesn't mean I'm really strange. It doesn't bother me as much. If a person doesn't want to be my friend it's his or her choice. It just sometimes hurt to think that because of you leaving a bad impression that people don't want to talk to you.

People with autism, like any other person, want a friend that can be there for them. It's hard enough to think that you're different and that you can't do a whole lot of things, but it's quite hard from them to communicate with people and make connections. What they want is people who could understand them, connect with them, and be at their side. Some do push people away either because they want to be alone or not wanting the pains of being rejected, and some may have a snotty attitude that you don't want to be near. But there are those who feel lonely, which may lead them to depression. Now it is a choice to be happy or miserable, but having a friend or being a friend can help a person's self-esteem. Maintaining a lasting friendship is one the many gifts an autistic person can have. So I would like to extend this challenge to you. Whether the person has a disability or not, be a friend to those who you think looks lonely. Talk to them, get to know them, let them know that they can look to you as a friend, and help them maintain that friendship. That can be the best thing that you can do. Because when times get tough, you got a friend in them.

Thank you for your time 

Tay Gallagher