hi, I’m Katie!
In writing Weird Sensitive Creatures, my goal is to empower young neurodivergent minds like myself to live authentically, own their weird, and embrace radical self-love. Yes, it’s true that being neurodivergent in a neurotypical world isn’t always easy.. but it’s not true that being neurodivergent has to mean never feeling genuine love for ourselves, feeling shame for our differences, and living to fit a mold that was never meant for us in the first place.
Our neurodivergent traits make us different, not less. Being neurodivergent is a different way of being that should be celebrated and embraced.. not mourned or pitied. We weren’t meant to live the lives that other people want for us – we were meant to live the kind of lives that make us happy. Just like everyone is, we are so worthy and deserving of living this life, and freely being more of our true selves. Not who we felt we had to be in order to get the acceptance and belonging from others that we craved.
This blog is all about letting go of this person, and becoming more of who we’ve always been behind the mask. It’s about empowering and inspiring you to love yourself and create the kind of life that makes you happy… in every aspect, too.
Whether you’re on the spectrum, have ADHD/ADD, Down Syndrome, Bipolar, Dyspraxia, OCD, Tourettes, or anything else, this blog is written for you. As neurodivergent adults, it’s damn time that more empowering and inspiring lifestyle content written just for us existed on the internet.. and that’s exactly what you’ll find in this blog. I publish about two posts a week around the topics of self-love, masking, neurodiversity, alternative income, mental health, and relationships. As I continue writing the blog, you’ll be seeing new posts about style, travel, alternative living, spirituality.. and who knows what else. 🙂 You can expect a lot of tips, personal insights and stories, recommendations, awesome free resources, and more.
While Weird Sensitive Creatures was created specifically for neurodivergent adults, it welcomes everyone of all neurotypes, groups, and backgrounds. Neurotypical or neurodivegent, gay or straight, religious or spiritual, all creatures are always welcome here.
how i got here
In late 2016, my boyfriend at the time was the first person to ever suggest I was autistic. I’d never considered this before, and at first, I didn’t know what to think. But, I started researching Autism and learning about it for myself. As I did, more and more things that I was never able understand about myself were finally making sense. Why eye contact felt so uncomfortable, why I was so quiet and shy as a child, and why talking about my feelings had always been so difficult for me.. and on and on.
All of these things and more brought me to the realization that I was very likely autistic.. and after thoroughly researching Autism and learning about other autistic people’s experiences, I felt confident enough to self-identify as autistic. In August of 2019, this realization was officially confirmed when I was given a professional Autism diagnosis.. along with one for Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Dysthymia, and Dyscalculia. It was also confirmed that I have both ADHD and Nonverbal Learning Disablity.. and more than likely, Alexithymia, too.
While some people might say it’s a tragedy to be given these diagnoses, it was quite the opposite for me. I’d already suspected many of these differences, and having them confirmed was incredibly validating and healing. It felt so good to finally know why I struggled so much in school. Hearing someone tell me that my social and communication challenges were real, (and not just in my head) brought me so much peace.
Of course, I’d already known most of these things.. it just felt good to get the professional confirmation of them. Now that I had this confirmation, I felt confident enough to do what I’d been wanting to do for the last two years before – start a blog sharing my experiences and my journey as a late diagnosed neurodivergent woman.
Learning about all of my neurodivergent traits has been one of the best things to ever happen to me. As much as I wish I’d learned about them sooner, I’m so grateful that I learned about them at all. Finding out that I’m autistic is the reason why, after years of struggling with low self-esteem that I have the love that I have for myself today. It gave me a desire to know myself and to grow myself.. and to be relentless in making those things happen.
It led to me immersing myself in spirituality and personal development. With the help of mindfulness and a daily meditation practice, I’ve healed so much of my anxiety. I’ve become passionate about journaling, and regularly use it to process my thoughts and emotions. Through practicing self-compassion, I’m learning to see the gift in my imperfections – my awkward moments, my impulsivity, and my socially anxious moments. After years of struggling so much and feeling so lost, I finally feel at home with myself… and all I want to do now is help other people like me feel at home with themselves too.
Learning that I’m autistic was the furthest thing from a tragedy in my life – it freed me to be more of my true self and begin creating an authentic life that makes me happy. I consider it the greatest gift that I’ve ever been given.
More things about me
I’m currently saving for a van that I’ll be converting into a mobile home and solo traveling in across the US and Canada.
I have a sassy, but lovable tuxedo cat named Kitty.
I’m a big fan of vintage styles of all kinds. I love thrifting and finding authentic vintage, as well as recreating vintage inspired looks.
