Hello from Washington State

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Joined: 10 Aug 2019
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Posts: 8
Location: Seattle, WA

10 Aug 2019, 10:16 pm

Hello everyone, I'm a 21-year-old guy from Washington State who was diagnosed with Asperger's as a kid. I've graduated from high school and community college, and I am currently employed. As a bonus, I've been driving ever since I could get a learner's permit, and it's been no issue for me. Sounds like I'm doing pretty well isn't it?

Well, when I got out of high school, my main goal was to be a graphic designer, but I've spent so much of the last 10 years of my life just trying to survive in school that I've never been able to dabble with different art mediums or build a portfolio. My parents are not confident I would be able to become a graphic designer, and they want me to live out their own mundane 9-5 lives. Now I'm at a loss at what to do with my life next. I really want to make a positive impact on the world and do something significant with my life, but I just don't know how to. There's so many things in life that I'd do for a living, but I feel like it's too late for me to start from scratch. I don't want to clean toilets for a living or end up in an assisted living complex for the rest of my life while the world around me changes for the worse. Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Mona Pereth
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11 Aug 2019, 12:00 pm

WanderingAviator wrote:

Hello everyone, I'm a 21-year-old guy from Washington State who was diagnosed with Asperger's as a kid. I've graduated from high school and community college, and I am currently employed.

Currently employed doing what?

WanderingAviator wrote:

Well, when I got out of high school, my main goal was to be a graphic designer, but I've spent so much of the last 10 years of my life just trying to survive in school that I've never been able to dabble with different art mediums or build a portfolio. My parents are not confident I would be able to become a graphic designer,

Have you done any research of your own, possibly with the help of the career placement office at your junior college, to determine whether the idea of becoming a graphic designer is feasible? And is it too late to start building your portfolio now?

WanderingAviator wrote:

and they want me to live out their own mundane 9-5 lives.

What specifically do they want you to do? Just continue with your present job, or go back to college, or attend a senior college part-time? What specific career goal(s), if any, do your parents recommend?

WanderingAviator wrote:

Now I'm at a loss at what to do with my life next.

If you haven't yet done the above-mentioned research on your own, do that.

WanderingAviator wrote:

I really want to make a positive impact on the world and do something significant with my life, but I just don't know how to.

When you speak of "positive impact," do you just mean professionally, or does this also include things you could do nonprofessionally that wouldn't take up too much of your time?

WanderingAviator wrote:

There's so many things in life that I'd do for a living, but I feel like it's too late for me to start from scratch.

What are some of those things?

WanderingAviator wrote:

I don't want to clean toilets for a living or end up in an assisted living complex for the rest of my life while the world around me changes for the worse. Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Whatever else you do, if you would like to meet some fellow Aspies, you might want to join Square Pegs, which has meetings and social events in Seattle and several other cities in Washington State. More info about Square Pegs here.

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AnonymousAnonymous
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11 Aug 2019, 1:08 pm

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

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jimmy m
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11 Aug 2019, 2:56 pm

Welcome to Wrong Planet!. I am constantly doing things, building things, trying out new things. Because of that I learn. Even though I am 70 and I retired 10 years ago after working for 40 years, every day I learn. One success leads to another to another. So it sounds like you have a few successes behind your belt. You graduated from college. You learned to drive a car. You found employment. So it sounds like you are capable of testing the waters.

There are probably two approaches. The first is to learn the skill of a graphic designer and try and find employment in this area and grow into the profession. This might involve more college or trade school or maybe a good mentor. The second is to embrace all that you love in graphics designing and treat it as one of your special interest and evolve the skills and use the funds from your current employment to feed your skill development, buy the tools that you need and the materials. Evolve the hobby.

As a hobby, you are free to grow it any way you want. You have no boss. You are the boss. Many Aspies have unlimited energy when it comes to their special interest. Almost 20 years ago, I built a website. I had no training, took no courses. I just did it because I had the talent to do that.

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Persephone29
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12 Aug 2019, 8:00 am

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

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martianprincess
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13 Aug 2019, 12:18 pm

WanderingAviator wrote:

There's no timeline. You are only 21, you have plenty of time to build a portfolio and keep moving.
I'm 29 and JUST NOW applying to medical school next year. I feel young (well, mostly

), and I'm not stopping myself just because of my age. You shouldn't either.
Good luck!

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Nydcat
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13 Aug 2019, 12:25 pm

Hello

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