LETTER TO MY 24-YEAR-OLD SELF.

Dear Peter,

Today you have met somebody who you hope will be the answer to your dreams, but you will find that she is anything but. She is a student, but she is really after someone with money, even though she won’t admit to it. She seems nice enough, but she’s not.

One thing that you have to learn about the neurotypical world, hard and different to the neurodiverse world though it is, is when someone says, “Maybe I can ring you,” what they really mean is either, “If I don’t get a better offer,” or “No, I’m not really interested.” Another thing to watch out for is if someone makes an excuse because they couldn’t do something, if it’s not true, chances are they won’t remember. This person agreed to go to the movies with you but rang you over an hour earlier to tell you that their car had broken down and rang you back to ensure that you received the message, and when you later asked if they got their car fixed, seemed to not remember it. And then they said, “Oh, yes, it was a battery problem.” You might have thought that they cared by ringing you twice, but in reality, they were just easing their conscience, as they got a better offer.

This person did agree to go to the movies with you at a later date, but you’ll catch them out with a big lie later on. Okay, she wasn’t in a relationship with you, but she told you a big lie, and then you knew to break away.

One of the lessons is, don’t let people string you along. Some people don’t know how to tell you the truth without realising that it’s better to be hurt by the truth than protected by a lie.

Life will get better, Peter. You’ll meet your community.

Love, 49-year-old Peter.