Dare To Be Different

• Jason Heard, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2010

I have no choice. Every single day I dare to be different, it’s not that I dare myself to but I can’t change the way I am. Life is hard for me; it’s hard to make friends, hard to join teams and groups and hard to live the way I do.

Ever since I started my school life everything was hard for me. I had to sit by myself at recess and lunch and do activities on my own. I tried talking to people but they always said the same thing “oh sorry I gotta go.” I’m not dumb, I know what they meant and they just didn’t want to be friends with a person like me.

When I started High School I thought everything would be different, I thought I would find new friends and be able to join lots of teams. I tried out for the basketball, footy and soccer team but the coaches all said the same thing “sorry, why don’t you come back next year and try out.” They all thought I was dumb, but I knew what they meant, they didn’t want someone like me on their team.

My life at home is also very complicated. I do things a lot differently to my parents and my brother. I’m very fussy with what colours things are. My favourite colour is green, so every night at dinner I have to have something green on my plate, but I hate green vegetables. My brother is weird he eats anything even mashed potato! I wouldn’t eat that stuff if someone payed me. For some reason the rest of my family isn’t as fussy as me.

I function perfectly fine in my brain and in my head. I can think normal things but on the outside everything is hard, I don’t do what I think. I’m different from everyone else, it’s not fair, what have I ever done wrong?

I have to dare to be different everyday because I’m a boy diagnosed with autism.

(I was inspired to write this story about a friend with autism)