masking as human

Have you ever had the feeling that you’re not quite human? That you just don’t quite fit in this world? That there is something that makes you different? Well, I have. I have that feeling every single day. I have lived with that feeling for as long as I can remember. I’m autistic, but long before anyone realized I was autistic, I realized that I was different. And I didn’t like that. So I tried to conform, to pretend, to hide everything about myself that might make me seem weird or different. And the problem is: I succeeded.