My Autistic Perspective on 2023 A.D.
Happy New Year!
"For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne" - Robert Burns
Wow, 2023 A.D. Decades ago, people thought the "future" would include video telephones, advanced A.I., flying cars, cities in the sky, goofy futuristic clothes, daily trips to Mars, and robots indistinguishable from humans.
While only the first two examples became realities (so far), there's no denying that 2023 A.D. was a year to remember, and a particularly positive one in my life. I finally broke free of my comfort zone and began pursuing goals that would've once seemed unattainable due to my autism and social anxieties.
I finally recovered my Xbox account after twelve years and had a great reunion with my Xbox 360. I enrolled in karate and tai chi classes, took driving lessons, earned my G2 driver's licence, and pursued swimming lessons. I rekindled my passionate hobbies of writing, photography, and art, and improved my skills at making funny collages.
I also dusted off my long-dormant blog to raise autism awareness. Unfortunately, Meta took issue with this, censoring and banning my blog without reason. However, this hurdle led me to get reacquainted with the much cooler, pre-social media, old web of my childhood. There's so much awesome creativity within the Neocities community. This was the perfect place to express myself freely and openly, without fear of being censored or banned by a heartless, multi-billion-dollar conglomerate.
The only obstacle I faced was the intimidating HTML language. But I powered through the confusion and taught myself enough coding to create this site, where I continue covering the autistic topics that Meta bafflingly wanted to silence. It's also great being able to explore and share other topics of interest that wouldn't work in the confined space of a social media post.
In closing, I thank God, my parents, friends and relatives, family doctor, and former psychologist for all the progress I've made, and the blessings I've received, over the course of 2023 A.D. I look forward to continuing this forward momentum, and wish you all much health, prosperity, and happiness in the year (and years) ahead. Have a safe and wonderful New Year, everybody. As always, love, peace, and chicken grease!