The Moth
Hi, my name is Amanda! I am a 30-year-old gal living in central Pennsylvania with my partner, kitty named Juno, and more plushies, plants, poetry, and art than I know what to do with. When I’m not being a cozy bug, I work full-time as a land use planner. I also like to bop to music and go to shows, photograph my plushies, play Neopets, tend to my plants, and organize everything but my thoughts.
In the last 15 years, I’ve slowly stopped writing, eliminating one of my most important outlets. The demands of adulthood and a series of big life events left me feeling so lost that writing felt like a terrible chore. As a result, more than a decade of my life has passed by, and I’ve done very little to process much of it.
It took me four years after high school to find the courage to attend community college. And not long after starting, I stopped writing…
I stopped writing before I ever heard the words avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder – all strung together in that order. My biggest challenge, something I’d faced my entire life, finally had a name.
I stopped writing before my parents divorced. I was 22 years old and the life I knew shattered. I grieved my childhood.
I stopped writing before my niece and nephew were born. I see so much of myself in them. Who I was and who I am.
I stopped writing before I started working full-time. The burnout nearly killed me, but I found answers in the battle.
I stopped writing before I tried therapy. Before I tried medication. Before I knew how to advocate for myself. I was so sure I’d give up.
I stopped writing before I learned I was autistic. It was right there all along. After a lifetime of confusion, everything started to make sense.
cosymoth 