u/Doveswithbonnets

I began learning German primarily due to the way it sounds, but upon engaging more with native material, I discovered the German speaking world's deep appreciation for nature. It's seen in the culture's love for hiking and Biergartens, in their romantic poets and artists who write with a calculated wonder. Then there's the whole rabbithole of Germany's environmentalist history, which seems distinct from that of other countries in its intensity. What's something that you only discovered about your target language's culture later on in your learning?

There's been a noticeable pattern amongst generation Z and alpha, which appropriates labels. As someone who is both asexual and autistic, I've especially seen these parallels in my respect communities. For both asexuality and autism, definitions have become broader, and so much so to that point the original meaning of these labels is erased. Asexuality quite simply explains itself by the name: the lack of any sexual desire or attraction. So-called "sex-favorable asexuals" have taken over the main asexual subreddits and shut out the voices of actual asexuals, pushing themselves into everything. Maybe you've heard one of these people impede and say "well, asexuals can have sex and enjoy it," or some other excuse for their sex lives. These kinds of comments spread misinformation on asexuality and are dangerous to actual asexuals, who will increasingly be confronted with heterosexuals or asexual-masquerading men with a purity fetish trying to coerce actual asexuals into intimacy. The same erasure of criteria has been occurring with autism. Tiktok and other social media influencers have made the definition of autism so blurry that now "everyone is a little autistic." The spectrum—for them—ranges from unable to speak, to perfectly normal, with everywhere in between counting as autistic. Any slight deviation from normal seems to signal to these people that they're autistic. It's the same way that "sex-favorable asexuals" view heterosexuals as libido-filled humans constantly desiring intimacy, and everything outside of that being on an asexual spectrum. The asexual community has had to create a new forum to avoid all of the sex positive talk and comment bashing. In the same way, actual autists have made spaces like this one for diagnosed individuals who get their voices shut down in the main subreddits.

What are your thoughts?

Currently hoping that there will be something remaining of the package I ordered if it ever arrives at my mailbox. I ordered it on April 20th and it's currently May 20th. It has been cruising along the East Coast for a month, basically, reaching the distribution center a city away from me, only to end up later in a different state. It's visited more states than I have, and if this continues, it might have completed a van tour of the entire United States. It's currently in Florida and I'm in North Carolina. It loves circling back to Washington D.C. and West Virginia. It was in Jamaica a few weeks ago, so I guess we're making some progress.

In light of a researcher reaching out to us, we've added a new rule:

>Individuals or organizations who want to engage with members of r/ActualAspies in research-related projects need to ask permission from the moderators. Please keep in mind that although this is a forum for diagnosed individuals, we can't check the diagnostic status of everyone here, so we can't guarantee accuracy in your results.

If anyone has any questions about this rule, please ask the mod team.

I want to go into archival work and I'm academically in high standing. I have departmental honors, summa cum laude, two majors, and yet I'm being held back by my autism, because to attend a particular grad school's Library & Information Sciences program it would mean moving again, dealing with the whole environment and routine change. I'd have to go through whatever will happen for the sake of a piece of paper. There's a different school that's not as well known, but it's ALA credited and it's offered online. It would be the safer option, but it focuses more on a career in libraries instead of providing a straight path to work in archives. Archives is a competitive field, so going to the prestigious school would give me a 1-UP on paper and provide me more leeway in available positions, ergo allowing me to avoid moving as much for a job. I keep wondering: shouldn't I tough it out and go through the 2 years at the prestigious school? I can't anticipate what it will be like. Being in a new environment isn't an emotion. It's like being waterboarded. Logically, I know nothing is happening, but while it's going on, my brain freaks out. I want to go to a prestigious school but I know there will be stress and I'm not sure how much. I could do something stupid when I'm overwhelmed and get myself killed, or burn out halfway through. I was already having trouble with burnout at four year undergraduate university, needed accommodations for attendance because in the last couple semesters I had increasingly more difficulty leaving my apartment to get to class. When I was taking 4 classes (instead of 3), I would get overwhelmed and hit my shoulder/shins to avoid hitting my head, or I'd get so tired that I'd sleep right upon returning to my apartment. I had trouble eating enough when I wasn't on campus and I barely cleaned my apartment. If I spent a very long time on campus, I would have a headache afterwards for the rest of the day. I really want to find a way to go to the prestigious school and I don't think I'll be satisfied if I pick the lesser option. I'm going to try to reach out to the accessibility office and to the university's School of Library & Information Science to see if it's possible for me to take a few of their courses online or if I could get certain accommodations to make the experience easier.