I didn't ask to be different. I didn't ask to be judged by society. I didn't choose to become autistic.... I am autistic. I was born in Houston Texas may 10th 1990 weighing 7lbs, 7oz. I was a long healthy baby with red hair. I did normal things babies do such as crawl and walk. when I was about 3-4 years old my mum and dad knew something was wrong. they had me checked out. the diagnoses was mild mentally retarded. when I was 7 years old, the school district referred me to a child psychologist in Houston under the care of Dr. Jesse David Wood. he checked me out which took hours. when he came out he told my mum and dad i had autism. I saw tears in their eyes and didn't understand what was going on. I was in speech therapy, music therapy, etc. I was picked on a lot due to my disability. when I was 8 I started picking up the violin and everything changed. I took violin lessons, played for recitals even went to orchestra camp. when I got into middle school I was in orchestra from 5-12 grade. i got to go to competitions and play in front of judges; I would come back with medals and certificates. in 2008 I played for my sisters wedding and was offered to play for other events such as church, weddings and banquets. I also joined the conroe symphony orchestra. when I graduated from High school I went to Eastern New Mexico University in Roswell NM to study culinary arts and graduated in may of 2012. Now I am 24 years old living in Santa Fe NM with the love of my life Matt. I do have my ups and downs but I still get help from therapy. unfortunately I don't have my parents around to hug me and say " I'm proud of you" but they are in heaven saying that. I may have autism, but I beat the odds and proved those who said I couldn't do anything wrong.

Jamie Murphy
Santa Fe, NM