I had a crush on a kid at our school when I was about 12 or 13 that later ended up in jail for attempted murder. I know that I obviously never could have known that would happen, but I can't believe I almost asked this person out :( Glad I didn't though!
Well isn't that something. Yikes.
Mistakes?
I have a lot, but last year was probably the biggest.
Last year I was diagnosed with autism (mild though) and so I went to my friend's mom for assistance with what to do with this information. I was very vulnerable at this time and had little self confidence, and was pretty much seeking solace from a ****** stigma.
BIG. MISTAKE.
This person is, to put it lightly, bat#@$% insane. She told me to do all sorts of stupid ****, and I'm glad that I didn't do all of it, but I still did some of it and I'm still embarrassed about it. All because of a lack of self-esteem from a diagnosis that ended up not really changing much in my life.
To list some of the crazy crap she told me:
-She said it was impossible to like roller coasters because of my condition (despite me liking roller coasters)
-She said I should sign up for disability even though I was able to hold a job, just for the welfare (thank god I didn't)
-She said I should drop most of my classes behind my parents' back, despite the fact that they paid for them
-She said I had to drop down to one day a week for work because it was too stressful, even though it was impossible to pay my bills unless I got 2 days a week
-She blindly listed statements about people with autism that simply aren't ubiquitous (such as being tolerant, observant, diligent, ect - none of these traits were, ironically, descriptive of her son)
-She told me that the doctor who diagnosed me was WRONG AND THEY OBVIOUSLY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT, because they didn't specifically diagnose me with Asperger's
-She almost convinced me to live in her house, which probably should be condemned because of the awful condition it was in.
I offered to do them tons of **** for free. I offered to finish their stairs (I had tremendous trouble walking down them because I walk on my toes, and their "stairs" were simply two planks nailed onto a frame), I gave them gas, food, ceramic gifts intended for my (now) late grandmother, and THEY ****ED ME THE HELL OVER. I'm so goddamn stupid. I drove that idiot son everywhere and he NEVER paid for gas, and only paid occasionally for his side of the meal. The most that idiot's ever given me back in return is $10 and a book he found in his house. I gave them so freaking much. I even ordered a gift that was 70$ for him, on my then Chuck E. Cheese's wage, that I ended up not giving to him because of the fallout later. I still have it, and I have really torn feelings about it.
Even better was that this enabled the son to pretty much verbally abuse me in public. First off, the son had mild asperger's, but it was so mild that you probably wouldn't even know if you met him (unlike me, who sticks out). He would actually pull me aside in the mall and talk down to me - taking advantage of the fact that he was about a foot taller than me. He'd tell me all the things I was doing wrong in my life and I actually bought that bull because I didn't know what to believe. It's comforting that now I know that I wasn't wrong and he was - he was 4 years older than me and never drove a car, had a job, and took the equivalent of 4 credit hours
a year, and even though I have to bust my ass for what I have, I HAVE IT.
The worst part - me, being naive as all hell, almost fell for ALL OF THAT ****. It didn't take until I met my best friend to realize just how ****ed up everything was. Thank god I only went to counseling for a few weeks (which ended up me just *****ing about how crazy this woman and her son were).
It all ended for her when I called her out on her bull in a respectful letter, to which she replied in the most juvenile of ways, fully consisting a list of defensive statements in ALL CAPS BECAUSE THAT WAY YOU KNOW THAT SHE'S MAD. ALSO, REALLY BAD GRAMMAR BECAUSE, THAT WAY I KNOWS SHES EVEN. MORE MAD.
And the son? Well, I invited him to hang out with my best friend, who's completely blind, and he said he couldn't because "he can't play the same video games as eachother". I'm sorry, I don't give a **** if you have Asperger's or not, that's the most retardedly ignorant statement I've ever heard someone utter in my personal existence. Nope, I'm not friends with that guy anymore. The blind guy? Well, we're in this weirdo relationship right now but he's my peanut butter to my jelly.
I mean, just looking the hell back... what the **** did I even SEE in her?! I guess it's because she SEEMED to know a lot about it, but I've talked to a lot of psychologists about it since, they've heard my story and just think she's as crazy as I do. The thing I noticed about these licensed psychologists is that even though they can tell I have this condition, they don't tell me what I can't do, but help me work through what I can, and I've made damn leaps in the last year, to the point where, at least on the internet, it's nigh unrecognizable. So yeah. Looking back it's really amazing how much that purgatory pulled me through and how far I've come. I have a damn social life now! And I have some real good friends now. So I guess good came from it.
Crazy people. Try not to fall into that trap.