16 Sep 2008, 11:44 am
Hi my name is Colby but I like to be called colbs (as you can see from my userID) I was born in 1987 with severe birth defects, I wont go into details but basically my guts were hanging out and they had to stuff them back in and sew it up. gross,huh? For the next 2 years of my life I couldn't eat orally and had to be fed through a feeding tube. My childhood was relatively normal I had friends in the neighborhood I would hang out with and often played with them. My Asperger symptoms didn't really start until middle school, it was there I began having an odd obsession with birds, I would talk about them alot and the kids would often tease me about it. This caused me alot of emotional trauma until the point where my parents put me in a catholic school.
When I was in catholic school it was a bit better, the kids treated me kindly but I was still a socially awkward outsider, but I still had a few friends. I also had difficulty with organization (and still do today). At this point the teachers knew something was different with me, after a few psychological analysis (or whatever you call it) I was diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome. After a year in catholic school I was put in a private school for children with other learning disabilities (such as OCD,Dyslexia,ADHD,ect) including Aspergers.It was an incredibly small school and my class size was only 25 people! I made a few friends there (but still considered socially awkward by most of my peers) and started developing an interest in sports. Since this was a subject that alot of people could relate to (unlike birds) I found myself communicating with more people. for the most of my years in high school I spent my time getting good grades,learning social skills and trying to get girls (often socially awkwardly and with disastrous results). My break through year was probably my senior year. For some reason people started to like me and I actually became kinda popular with everyone, I got invited to events and often hung out with people that didn't like me for my awkwardness a few years ago, it felt really good and it was probably the best year of my life.
Outside of high school I was very involved with Boy Scouts. Like school I started out as the awkward reject but developed the skill necessary to be with people. I went to most of the meetings and went on a lot of the camp outs, I even went to Philmont scout ranch in New Mexico on a 86 mile backpacking trip over 5 mountains over 10k ft. By the time I was 16 I was Senior Patrol Leader (similar to a club president) and earned my Eagle Scout rank.
After graduation I attended Paul Smiths College in the Adirondacks majoring in Business administration with the thought that was going to overcome my disability. My first semester was great , I got a B+ average, made several friends and was involved in a lot of clubs. Around Christmas time my cousin introduced me into a game called World of Warcraft.
I was instantly hooked, playing it hours on end, it was like the game was designed with Aspies in mind. Its relatively a repetitive game in which you do a task over and over until you are rewarded with a new level,weapon or piece of armor and it allowed me to communicate with people I felt comfortable doing without all nonverbal stuff involved with real world communication. by my second semester at Paul Smith my grades plummeted, I got 3 Fs and dropped out.
My parents knew I was addicted to WoW, and banned me from playing (even though for a year and a half I played in secrecy). I was given a second chance by going to my local community college trying to get my grades up and get me back into four year college. My first semester I was still playing WoW with a "play responsibly" mentality. My first semester at my community college I maintained a B average and got my first level 70 character (a paladin at that). I was quite proud of myself.
My second semester went smoothly as well. At my Community college I reconnected with some old friends from high school that I still hang out with today.
Last summer I was all out playing WoW, I'm talking about it becoming a full time job on top of my part time job. eat,sleep,work,WoW, that was my life. I eventaully decked out my Paladin in epic gear (got some of the best weapons and armor in layman's terms) and got my second lvl 70 a mage. It was then I realized what I was becoming, I started out as some one who had achieved great things such as an Eagle scout and a college student, Now I was becoming the stereotypical 40 year old virgin playing MMOs in his Mom's basement (quite literally I had to play in the basement to avoid being caught). I did eventually burn out on the game and decided enough is enough and quit.
Currently I am at my third semester at my community college, looking for a four year college where I plan on majoring in environmental science. One of my best friends happens to be an Aspie as well and we often share our hardships together trying to figure out how to live in the NT world.
Right now my goals are to find new friends, find a girlfriend(something I never had and irritates me to this day), get back into four year college and avoid the temptation of playing the next WoW expansion pack coming out soon.
TL;DR version:
Hi my name is Colby but you can call me Colbs, I am currently a college student majoring in an environmental science. I am an avid outdoor enthusiast,gamer and recovering WoW addict. I've been told I am a witty,friendly,insightful and ambitious person. I am happy to join the WP community and I hope to get to know all of you, thanks for reading!! 
16 Sep 2008, 11:55 am
16 Sep 2008, 1:40 pm
16 Sep 2008, 1:46 pm
16 Sep 2008, 2:35 pm
16 Sep 2008, 2:35 pm
16 Sep 2008, 3:28 pm
Nice to meet you, colbs. 
16 Sep 2008, 4:45 pm
