This guest essay is by Sam Rivera (a pseudonym).
Published under a pseudonym at the applicant’s request. Identifying details have been generalized where needed. The accompanying image is a stock photograph.
My story of autism was when i was 5 years old I was looking the world with colorful way and I was very creative and a friendly with other as soon I was a kid I was like to watch cartoons I was like to play with toys videogames gameboy and i also was having a happy life before I was 6 life was happiness and also full of help after I was 6 everything was much awful kids doing bullying to me for being fat some of then was fighty on me everyone just threatening bad and not well done when I was 6 to 11 I was on a big pressure in my home country school was a pain in the head everyone threat me bad no one care about me as soon as I I make little friends but does friendship was not worthly because I never seen they for long period of time as well everyone at my neighbored hood kids was very idiot and was not real friend because they only use you to make fun of you and they were keep doing the same. As I grow up 11 to 12 and I went to the USA I was feeling free because my mom say I born in the United States and that was part from my home country as soon i was studying in here I was learning english and now I dominated friendship was a little open but the bullying was still there and hitting me hard at everything as well as the years past 14 to 17 the school was use to me a lot of people were friendly now no much bullying around and everything was much creative for more a lot of ideas plans for the future no much bad ideas use my head for everything burn cells at my body to be ok and have my high volume of ideas everything was happiness and colorful. 16 to 20 everything was good enjoying my life being happy no bullying around I was graduated from school than I apply for highschool after this I was much applying to high school in which i dedicated 4 years of my life everything was cool and I think this was the last moment of childhood I have but it was very weird and hard at the same time because kids were idiots and was not the kind of people that was like good because they laugh of other’s people problems and always act like they were superior but now I notice that there were a wasted of time because they never look for the one who help then after all this I graduated from high school and never know about then after I graduated from high school I apply to college which was a college and i was denied because we were on pandemic era and they was required a vaccine than 1 year after in 2022 I was apply again and than I got accepted after they take away the vaccine away I apply as a culinary student as soon I graduated in 2024 I apply for another college and here we are now continued the story I have 1 year on another college and I can say that college is a little limited and their is no much friends or humanity there everything is not like very colorful and I feeling the person's nonsense like there in college their is no much person that talks or care about other since they just there to graduted but they not looking for nothin than their on diplomas.But this how I grown up has a child with autism and I really appreciate the time and dedication you spend in my story and I really trying to keep fower for what I wanna do ll the ideas I have as a kid as a teenage and as an adult are now having a result getting a house getting benefit getting good frienships contacts taht help me does thing I was saying as a kid are now getting real and now i feeling more cofidence no matter how much negative people are with me don't even care how mcuh people say I going to fail or having trouble with it I know what I want to do and which person to pick I still ahve autism and I know how to use the creativity that gave me as an adult now because I have a lot to work and do about it.
This essay was submitted to the KFM Making a Difference scholarship program, founded by Dr. Kerry Magro to support autistic students pursuing postsecondary education.
