That way lies madness...
Think about it. For me, at least, becoming NT (which, while I am undiagnosed would certainly be a change!) would mean my head would be clear and my interests might cease to interest me, the conversations that once bored me would make sense, I would make small talk and not bother to wonder why or what it all means, I'd look at the chaos of the day before and likely not be able to stand it, might even throw some things out... Try to organize all the important things, which would be different than the day before... Might even look with envying eyes at a minivan.
Then I'd change back, find stuff missing, try to resettle into things, and wonder whether it's worth it to feel my uniqueness so richly at the expense of a clear head.
But as I am now, I mostly accept myself, and many times almost tremble (in a bad way) at what I could have been had I been like my sister. I wonder if she even draws anymore... she used to... she is decidedly a member of my very peculiar family, but she was always NT, within it all.
I find a couple of media items best illustrate what it means to me... The Christmas episode of iCarly in which she wished that her sculptor brother Spencer had been "born normal" after his magnetic metal sculpture Christmas tree catches fire and burns some gifts that she made and had placed underneath. He (after the inevitable angel shows up) becomes a desk jockey, with boring hair and an exaggeratedly dull mode of speech and a lovely home. She screams when she sees him. Who wouldn't?
And the song "Mission" by Rush. It's about art but it speaks to me about my whole weirdness. I've bolded the parts that are especially apt:
Hold your fire
Keep it burning bright
Hold the flame 'til the dream ignites
A spirit with a vision is a dream
With a mission
I hear their passionate music
Read the words that touch my heart
I gaze at their feverish pictures
The secrets that set them apart
When I feel the powerful visions
Their fire has made alive
I wish I had that instinct
I wish I had that drive
Spirits fly on dangerous missions
Imaginations on fire
Focused high on soaring ambitions
Consumed in a single desire
In the grip of a nameless possession
A slave to the drive of obsession
A spirit with a vision is a dream
With a mission
I watch their images flicker
Bringing light to a lifeless screen
I walk through their beautiful buildings
And I wish I had their dreams
But dreams don't need to have motion
To keep their spark alive
Obsession has to have action
Pride turns on the drive
It's cold comfort
To the ones without it
To know how they struggled
How they suffered about it
If their lives were exotic and strange
They would likely have gladly exchanged them
For something a little more plain
Maybe something a little more sane
We each pay a fabulous price
For our visions of paradise
But a spirit with a vision is a dream
With a mission
I don't actually know what that line means... A spirit with a vision is a dream with a mission... but the lines about how people without artistic inclinations (I think) would be alright with it if they knew how difficult it could be to have it... I love that and it works both ways. If I could be NT for a day I might never want to return, remembering how strange it could be... Not being what is considered NT, I'd hate to be what I perceive them to be, without what I have, being an artist myself, and able to soar with the imagination I've been given.
I apologize if that bothers anyone. I know for many there seem to be no compensations for not knowing how to get along with other people. I know I am fortunate. And it's a toughie... and if I was faced with the choice, I'd probably just go insane.
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"Pack up my head, I'm goin' to Paris!" - P.W.
The world loves diversity... as long as it's pretty, makes them look smart and doesn't put them out in any way.
There's the road, and the road less traveled, and then there's MY road.