A creative writing essay that explores the parallels between the movie “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” and my life. This essay touches on some of my deepest thoughts and my responsibilities as Nick’s sister.

It has been a bit challenging for me to let my creativity flow recently as I have been preoccupied with recent change. About two weeks ago, I started my journey through transferring to a college University. Here is how I have been navigating change and being away from my brother so far…

I have had the same friends my whole life, that I met in elementary and middle school. We have all grown up closely together, so they seamlessly fit into my family’s dynamic. As I prepare to go to a new school next year, I wonder how to introduce my brother to my new friends.

When I think of the number 22, I obviously think of the Taylor Swift song first and I’m sure most people do the same. Unfortunately, the song isn’t the only thing that reminds me of the number 22. For me, this number isn’t as exciting as it seems in the iconic pop hit- am I making it obvious I’m a huge Taylor Swift fan?

I have noticed throughout my life that most people I meet on the spectrum have very routine- oriented lives. In this essay, I discuss my theory as to why people with autism tend love their routines, and explain Nick’s life on a daily basis.

You know how people are always getting a “free pass” because they deal with something difficult? Well incase you might not know, Autism is difficult. And I deal with it every single day. Here is how I give myself a little break from all the stress from time to time.

It is easy when you are in a special needs household to compare your situation to others. I think that is actually a natural thing to do with any aspect of our lives- to compare what we have or don’t have to what we see in other’s lives, as a way to convince ourselves it could always be worse. I used to complain about my brother’s tantrums until it got worse.

When my brother was three years old, he spelled out the word “Shakespeare” with magnets on our refrigerator. In the moment, the only thing my parents could make of this was that he was either the reincarnation of Shakespeare, or he was Autistic. Hint: it wasn’t the first choice.

I have always struggled with the idea of growing up. I had always wanted to be older than I was, but the older I got, the more I wanted to turn back the clock. There are a plethora of reasons a lot of us struggle with the topic of time and life moving forward. For me, a lot of it has to do with my brother.