My First Entry 2/18/20

                                         
          Well, this is it!! I can't believe I am finally starting my own blog! I have wanted to do this for a while. But just could never find a good time to sit down and get started. However, since we are getting new carpeting in two bedrooms today and I am stuck downstairs with nothing better to do, I thought today would be the perfect day to finally get this party started!!

First let me start out with a little background information about myself.  My name is Colleen and I am a typical young woman who just happens to have high functioning autism. Autism is usually characterized as a disorder that affects social and communication skills. However, I don't like to view my autism as a "disorder" or "disability." Instead I see it as a different kind of wiring. In other words, I feel like I am the same kind of person as everyone else. I am just slow to warm up in social situations and often have difficulty starting and maintaining conversations with others. I am also incredibly sensitive to loud noises and become frightened whenever I hear something strident such as a popping balloon or even the vacuum cleaner. In addition, I also find motor skills such as cutting with a knife and pouring a drink challenging because of the hand-eye coordination required to complete these tasks. However, I do not let my challenges bring me down or get in the way of my dreams because they make me unique and are a big part of who I am. And I wouldn't change that for anything!!

Currently, I work part time as a library page. My tasks include shelving books, pulling books that people request and setting up for programs. My absolute favorite thing about my job is all the weird book titles I come across while shelving and pulling everyday. I keep a list of these titles on my phone and update it weekly. I now have well over 100 titles on that list! My favorites include, "You're a Bad Ass Everyday", "How to Date Men When You Hate Men" and of course, "Crazy Sexy Juice."
Aside from working, I enjoy music of all kinds and love to play the piano and sing. Last Christmas , I even got to play and sing "Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant in front of my church congregation. It was an incredible experience that I will never forget and according to my friend Jojo, it blessed a lot of people!!

But my most favorite thing to do is attend College and Career Bible Study every Monday night at Jojo's house. I began attending last summer because I needed some new friends and decided that I wanted to grow deeper in my faith in God. And that ended up being one of the best decisions I have ever made! I enjoy walking through the front door every week, seeing all my friends and getting to catch up on life. I also love to make personalized crafts for all of my friends and hand them out every week. My most recent art project was Valentine's day cards decorated with stickers and clip art I found online. (I think my friend Tyler liked that one the most!) but the best part is being able to connect through God's word in the laid back environment of the women's group upstairs and to get to share how God has worked in our lives and has helped us grow into the remarkable individuals we are today!

Last night at Study was women's appreciation night. The guys group that usually meets in the basement, cooked dinner for all of us women and it went way beyond my expectations!! There were two long tables set out with table cloths, plates, silverware, candles and even a menu at each place with choices of meat and sauce for our pasta dishes! There was even wine and champagne! The guys also dressed up and a few of them acted as waiters and took our "orders", while others brought out the food to us! It was a very well planned and fun experience and the guys really went all out to make us women feel appreciated.  My favorite thing I ate was the cinnamon coffee cake (courtesy of my friend Joe).  However, my favorite part of the night was when Jojo's husband Bryce played the guitar and we sang along to two different worship songs. I could really feel God's presence as we were seated in a circle together in the middle of the living room and singing "How He Loves Us All." It really made me feel like I was part of something really special and I felt more connected with the group than I had ever felt in the past seven months I have been attending. The night ended with a final prayer and group hug!

* I am going to try to make it a commitment to update this blog weekly!! Hope you enjoy!

Colleen <3