Greek Myths and ASD · 3:10am February 14th
Greek mythology tells of a Trojan princess named Cassandra who was famous for making prophecies that no one believed. One version of the story goes that Cassandra served as a priestess of the god Apollo, who had given her the gift of prophecy as a sign of his, ahem, “favor.” Cassandra rejected Apollo’s advances, and unable to take back the gift, he cursed her so that no one would believe her prophecies. 
Some days, I can’t help but feel as if ASD is some kind of Ancient Greek curse similar to the one Apollo gave Cassandra. 
“You will have the ability to notice small details that others easily miss, potentially solving a lot of problems, but you will be unable to communicate your thoughts clearly.” “You will have the capacity to memorize large volumes of information, but none of it will be useful.” “Your imagination will have to the power to create and destroy thousands of worlds, but you will only be able to share a select few with a handful of people, and most of those worlds won’t even be fully formed.” Okay, that last one might not be exclusive to ASD, but I feel like that experience is more likely to happen to creative people with some sort of neurodivergence. 
Hypothetically, if ASD was a curse from an Ancient Greek god, which god came up with it, and what did the poor soul who was first cursed with it do to tick him/her off? 
Then again, what if ASD wasn’t the work of one god but a collaboration, intentional or not, between multiple? That would explain why people with the disorder have so many different presentations. 
Why would it hereditary though? Now that I think about it, the Greek gods are notoriously petty and easily angered. Why wouldn’t it be hereditary?
For those who don’t know, Cassandra’s story ended in tragedy. The Greeks sacked Troy and slaughtered Cassandra’s family. Agamemnon took Cassandra as his concubine and forced her to return with him to Greece where they were immediately murdered by Agamemnon’s wife and her side guy. 
I can’t help but wonder if Cassandra’s story could have possibly had a happy ending. Maybe it could have if just one person believed her prophecies. All I know is that I definitely don’t want my story to end like hers, and thankfully, it doesn’t have to. 
I may not be able to completely overcome all the things that I currently struggle with, but I know I can overcome them just enough to live a happy, fulfilling, purposeful life. A lot of other people before me did; I can, too.
Strictly coming from someone who is still undiagnosed but has an almost certainty that she isn't neurotypical, I know neurodivergence can seriously feel like a real burden and even a curse sometimes, especially when trying to go out into the word and "fit in" amongst mostly neurotypical people whose experiences are much different. But I guess at least a good thing about it is that, unlike Cassandra, you know you're not alone in this. There are many people out there who also have these struggles daily, and like you've said, many of them have found ways to live fulfilling lives, and so can you. And you'll figure it out at your own pace.