I Might Have Skipped Class, But I

There's A Connection That's Hard To Explain. It's The Feeling I Get When I See Someone Shuffle Up To Meet Me, Or Say Something, And I Can Instantly Tell By The Cant Of Their Head Or By The Movement Of Their Arms -- And These Are People Who Aren't Even Full-blown Symptomatic -- That They're One Of Us. And The Look They Give Me, It's Not Just Gratitude -- I Don't Care About The Gratitude -- But Solidarity. And Shared Optimism. And A Resiliency That Just Makes Me Think We're Doing The Right Thing, And That This Truly Is A Community.

Acceptance Is The Key To Everything.

In Terms Of What Happened Over That Hiatus That I Took, I Just Rested. I Spent That Time With My Family, During Their Really Formative Years, And Enjoyed That, And I Messed With Pills And New Medications That Help Me To Deal With Dyskinesia And Some Other Things I Was Struggling With, That I Don't Have As Much Now Because Of Medication To Counter The Side Effects. So, It Just Seemed Like The Right Time To Do It.

When I Was Younger, I Was Always Described As Happy-go-lucky. Then I Drank And I Partied - Did All That Stuff That Might Tell You Maybe There Was A Little Bit Of Untruth In That [description]. Now, The Surprising Thing Is That When I Say Stuff, I Actually Mean It. I Don't Have To Do The Work Of Trying To Formulate My Point Of View. It Just Is. And It's Surprising How Much I Love Life. I Just Really Have A Good Time.

When Life Takes Away, Something Of Greater Value Is Always Given In Return.