Travel my second love

Posted by Christine Laplace on September 27th, 2019

I have always been a bit of an introvert. As a child I was not very outgoing and perhaps suffered from mild depression. This made it difficult for me to accept changes in my immediate environment and the people around me. Years later I was diagnosed as being on the Autism Spectrum disorder. But they classified me as a high functional autistic person; someone that only had traces of the disorder. That diagnosis changed a lot of things for me. It gave me a new window into why the world seemed so confusing to me while others could so easily fit in and adapt. 

Soon I was in college and discovered my love for books and design. I majored in design and went on a field trip to France. That led to one of the biggest transformations for me. I was of course hesitant at first to be thrust into this completely new culture and alien environment. But the city somehow also felt known to me (I've been told many other people experience this too). The charm and the romance also helped make me fall in love with the city. (P.S. if you want to visit Paris do check out this great online resource: https://wikiparis.org) When I was back in the US, I was a lot more confident, positive, outgoing than before. I went on to become a graphics designer and travel across 20 countries in Europe, 8 in Africa, 9 in Asia, and 5 in Latin America. I met Greg along the way and settled down (sort of) with two kids. 

I hope my story gave hope to some of you out there in a similar situation. There is plenty to look forward to even if you are found to be on the ASD.