Topic: Autism Spectrum Disorder

What Is It?: It’s a development disorder that affects the way people develop natural skills in life. It has a vast amount of symptoms and effects, so anyone who has autism can be different from everyone else. About 1 in 54 children have this diagnosis in the United States.

Why  Am I Covering This?: I have been diagnosed on the autism spectrum since I was three years old. Ever since I started my development, socializing and focusing on certain tasks have been especially difficult. In fact, I still struggle with it today. However, my diagnosis has been able to give me amazing strengths, like my sense of kindness and my increased amount of empathy for others. In short, I would like to highlight my life through the lens of my camera, as if they were my eyes.

This is a picture I did not take

Of the sand beneath my feet, the sound of waves breaking, an occasional shell poking the bottom of my foot, the sun halfway sinking into the water-filled horizon, groups of adults talking as they bathe in the sun’s rays, kids splashing in the cold water, seagulls flying and stealing food from families, the smell of salt crashing into my nose, the immense amount of peace filling my lungs with serenity, the wind carrying my negative thoughts away for a while, the beauty of the beach etching its mark on my soul.