In Bloom
They gave it a name—
the way I flinch,
the way I fade,
the way I speak in sharp angles
and notice things no one else does.
They said: this is what you are.
But they only saw me
under fluorescent lights,
with dull conversations
and wrong-sized rooms.
They saw a body braced against weather
and called it the climate.
They didn’t see the version of me
that laughs from the belly,
that finishes thoughts like constellations,
that never forgets to feel.
They didn’t see the version of me
in bloom.
Where I am not too much.
Where my rhythm is the beat.
Where I don’t have to shrink or translate.
You want to know who I am?
Don’t watch me survive.
Watch me belong.
Field Note: Who You Are in Bloom
Sometimes, a diagnosis captures how a person survives — not how they thrive.
AuADHD traits like bluntness, distractibility, overwhelm, or social fatigue might be completely real — but context-dependent. They show up in environments where the person is misunderstood, under-stimulated, or forced to perform a self that doesn't fit.
In the wrong room, you're scattered. Too much. Not enough.
In the right room, you're brilliant. Funny. So present it’s electric.
What if that’s the whole truth?
The diagnosis might describe who you are under strain,
but not who you are in bloom.
Your nervous system isn’t faulty.
It’s just calibrated for different surroundings —
places with better light, clearer air, and people who don’t make you explain yourself.
Some people don’t need to be fixed.
They need to be replanted.