Since I have autism, I tend to develop very intense, very singular

File: IMG_2719.jpg (26KB, 350x468px) Image search: [Google]

26KB, 350x468px

Since I have autism, I tend to develop very intense, very singular interests. My mother was always so happy when those interests were literature or science or something "useful".

The past 3 years however? That interest has been Kung Fu Panda, it's currently my favorite thing in the entire world.

I still get kinda ashamed when my mother brings it up. She doesn't understand why I have posters and plushies and a pair of Po slippers. She tells me people must think I'm childish and immature.

But here's the thing, as odd as it sounds, this series has been a life saver for me. I've loved it since the very first movie came out but I just within the past three years REALLY got into it. The main character starts out hating himself and wanting nothing more than to change, then by the third movie he's made all his dreams and more come true. He didn't achieve success until he was an adult, which in the face of "your entire life depends on what and how you do as a teenager" is EXTREMELY encouraging. The movies show that no matter what you face, you can and WILL overcome it and come out stronger in the end. That's a lesson I keep trying to remind myself of, and it's kept me alive more than a few times.

On a more meta note, the series got me back into writing. That's one of the few things I've ever been any good at and I almost gave it up for good out of fear that I'd lost that talent. Then I started writing fanfiction. Not only did I rediscover my love for writing, I'm also considered one of the most decent TiPo authors on Tumblr.

And my mom's concern about everyone thinking I'm immature for liking it? No one I know thinks so. If I'm ever having a bad day, my roommate will sit down with me, my Po and Tigress plushies, lots of Dr. Pepper, and the second movie (my favorite!). I go to a small school so everyone knows me as that one girl who loves KFP. All of my friends know how personal the series is to me and they not only respect that, they're supportive of it.