I used to live with a family where one of the kids was autistic. We’ll call her Gigi.

Gigi had limited vocabulary and was truly a special need child. She wouldn’t respond if people spoke to her and just seemed lost in her own little world.

The reason why I lived with the family is because for some reason Gigi acknowledged me and it was a rare thing for her to do. The mother asked me if I would be open to living with them to help with Gigi and I accepted because I knew how difficult it was for anyone to be accepted into Gigi’s world. Perhaps it was because I was in my early twenties and she was only ten and probably entering puberty. I think she found something in me that she could relate to in her limited capacity.

Anyway, I lived with this family for a few months but eventually they found a nice house and decided to move. I wasn’t able to go with them due to the location of the house so found new living arrangement.

The day before the move, I sat Gigi down to say goodbye bc she had become very attached to me. I told her in the simplest way I could by saying, “Gigi go. Couch potato stay”. She kept insisting, “Gigi go. Couch potato go” but I had to remain adamant so she understood that I could not go with her.

Finally, after a few minutes of going back and forth, she finally realized I really wasn’t going to live with her family anymore and said, “Gigi cry. Gigi cry.” She then wandered off to watch a Disney movie.

It tore me up and was one of the most touching things I ever experienced.

"I want my daughter to grow up and be like you."

I was living/teaching Emirates in the UAE. My class, all men. So for a man in a patriarchal society to say that to an independent, unmarried, educated, western woman was a wow moment. I felt like I contributed to women around the world being seen, respected, and valued. 😊.

When I was a teenager, I was sent to military school. I’d always been a bit rough around the edges—kind of a troublemaker—but never a bad person at heart. I never finished high school because of some family issues, and later in life, I found out I had bipolar disorder type 2 and ADHD. I didn’t even realize it at the time, but my dad told me that my younger sister had been diagnosed with the same conditions, and he thought I should get evaluated too. He said she reminded him so much of me, and he wanted me to know because, being the old-school guy he is, he never really talked about emotions or apologized much.

Then he told me:
“Hey man, I’m sorry.
I didn’t know.
I thought you needed discipline.
You just needed my help.”

I didn’t think much of it at first, but when I was alone later, I broke down and cried for a few minutes. I didn’t even realize how much I’d been carrying all my life until that moment. It was a relief I can’t really describe, like a weight was finally lifted off my shoulders. I felt lighter, like I physically weighed less.

I’m a Filipina and there was an elderly man in Miami with whom I struck up a conversation.

He was gazing at my face and he said: So this is what your people look like. It’s like all the world combined.

“I’m not letting you do this alone. I’m coming with you.” - My girlfriend and soon to be fiancé when I had to put down my elderly cat three days before Christmas.

We went to the vet and she watched me bawl, we both cried our eyes out, and even still after that she let me grieve at home for an hour. She brought me a coffee, and everything to make sugar cookies from the store. She came back and she said she couldn’t fix it, but she didn’t want me to be alone.

So we played Christmas music, made terribly ugly cookies, and we weren’t okay; but we were together.

That’s when I saw what real, unconditional love looked like.

Adverts for d***s and lawyers.


TV advert 1:

Heres a d**g you should take


TV advert 2:

Were you wrongfully prescribed D**g X? Sue them.

As a Brit married to an American and working in the US here are my findings about things that are different. I love the US dearly so please don’t think I’m being mean.

- in general Americans don’t know anything like as much about our countries as we know about theirs. We know what a 401k is. What Medicare is. What an Ivy League school is. Probably can name most of the states. Then you’ll talk to an American and they’ll not know Wales exists.

- job security. To lose my job 5 years in would be quite a process, would mean I would need to be made redundant and given a severance package or given multiple written and verbal notices that I wasn’t doing what I’m supposed to before I was let go. If I want to leave I need to give several months notice. I’m the us you can get fired for fun, and even in senior roles only need to give a couple of weeks.

- it is one country, but the differences between New York, Alabama, Montana, and Miami are in my opinion more that uk to Denmark, Germany, France. It’s a MASSIVE country, phiysically and culturally.

- In the UK having the English or British flag on your house basically means you’re a racist. Or very into the royal family. Or both.

- Not having a car in some states means you basically can’t go anywhere. I live in one of the world’s biggest cities and I don’t have a car, but in LA I was screwed.

- Commercials for d***s are insane, talking about “moderate to severe ulcerative colitis” in the same way as a new car blows my mind

- Politics is a lot more front and centre in the US. Politicians in the UK are seen as faintly ridiculous

- the hustle culture of the US is admirable but difficult to wrap my head round. When we are not at work or on holiday, we are gone. In the US my colleagues are always always on call, and even if on vacation will get on calls or answer emails. Most of my US colleagues just don’t take holiday. I get in trouble if I DON’T take all my minimum 28 days.

- The 2nd amendment is something brits will never understand. I get the irony of that statement given what it was put there for in the first place.

- Americans think nothing of a 3 or 4 hour drive even making the return journey the same day. This would not be attempted in the uk without a couple of days in between. An hour commute is brutal for a Brit

- I don’t have scientific data. But Americans ALWAYS seem to be carrying a drink. Always.

- Tumble driers and washing machines are vastly superior in the US

- As are sandwiches. Bread is better in the UK though

- Americans have this idea that service is really good there, which is absolutely not my experience. Yes of course I tip, and tip well, I just think overall the service I get tends to be speed over everything

- I am jealous of the “welcome home ma’am” my wife gets at immigration. We do not get that in the uk.

- most brits aren’t scared of the police in the slightest, and they are generally trusted. Obvs ymmv here but there’s less of a ACAB mentality

- Generalising, but the casual confidence Americans have is very unusual to us. The idea of just striking up a conversation with a stranger in the uk is a terrifying one.

Pledge of allegiance every morning in school. Bizarre.