Here’s To The Next 5 Years
The day before Thanksgiving, November 22nd, my Aunt Eva, Grandpa (Pop-pop), his friend Sara, my brothers Ryan, Luke, and Josh, Mom, Dad, and I, had lunch at the North Market in downtown Columbus. Once we had finished eating, I pulled my phone out and I had a Facebook notification. It was a Facebook memory from Thanksgiving five years ago. My Aunt Cyndi had posted three photos from our Thanksgiving party that year.
The first picture was of my brothers, me, my cousins, Alex, Maci, Nicholas, Ellie, and Cyndi's son Cameron, eating Thanksgiving dinner. The second was of Ryan, Josh, Cameron, and me. The third picture was a group shot of everyone who had come. In addition to those who were already mentioned, Mom, Dad, Pop-pop, Eva, my Mom's mom (Nimba), her husband (Papa) and his mom, Aunt Melissa and Uncle Andy, and Cyndi's daughter Caitlynn were in the picture.
The fact that these pictures were from five years ago was very significant. At that time, I was writing a book about my life called Rules for a Greattastic Life. It was basically a diary written in chapter form. I was struggling to write it because I didn't know what parts would be important for the climax and resolution. My “sister,” August, had recently started a blog called Wild Aster. Inspired by her, I deleted the manuscript of the book and started writing The Greattastic Adventures series about my childhood. In January 2019, I started Rules for a Greattastic Life as a blog!
While I briefly referenced Wild Aster in my first blog, I didn't mention what happened to it in real-time. In the summer of 2019, August worked at a summer camp and didn't have internet access, so Wild Aster died. After that happened, I was a little paranoid that this series would have the same fate, but obviously, it hasn't. In fact, I would not be where I am today if it were not for this blog/podcast!
Firstly, this series led me to do public speaking at my old school, Haugland. That led me to get a job working with kids on the spectrum, both with that company and the company that bought them out, New Story. Secondly, I started public speaking in her class once my family friend, Dr. Brooks, discovered this series. This led me to speak at OCALICONLINE twice, join the Council for Exceptional Children of Ohio’s board, and be a keynote speaker. I have big plans for my advocacy career that I will be announcing soon!
As I looked at those three pictures, I thought about my life over the course of these last five years. Not just the professional part of it but also all of the amazing times I have had in the past five years! I am so thankful for all of the people who have allowed me to spread my message, and I am also thankful for all the people who have helped me live a… well, Greattastic life!
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