Cards on the table: for Google money I’d do it too. If they want to enshittify their product until the competition has a fighting chance, who am I to stop them? Sure, it’s an annoying and anticonsumer thing to do. But making a “free” product’s bad qualities harder to circumvent isn’t the ethical hill I’m going to die on.

I actually fit it all in my blue jeans! I have a pocket organizer that holds the small stuff and it all works out spacewise. Heavy though, have to wear a belt to keep everything in place.

I have an awesome pocket organizer thing I was gifted that holds all the small stuff. So I’m really only putting like 5 things in my pockets when I’m getting ready to walk out the door.

My kit:

• pocket knife
• flashlight
• wallet
• folding phone stand
• phone
• earbuds
• pen (with a cap, not a clicky)
• sharpie
• breath mints
• 4’ multi-end charging cable
• thumb drive
• lightning > 3.5mm (aux)
• USBC > 3.5mm
• bandaids
• OTC drugs (Advil, Tylenol, Aleve, Benadryl, lactase (I’m lactose intolerant))

Everything on that list was added because I needed it and didn’t have it on multiple occasions. There have been plenty of other things that I would love to carry, but found too bulky to justify.

A note to everyone recommending condoms: they do expire, and can wear through if carried in an environment with friction (wallet, pocket, etc). I prefer to play it safe and make a stop at a drug store should the need arise.

Honestly? Just keep living your life. It can come as a real shock to discover you are autistic, but you have to remember that you have been your whole life and have made it this far. It will take time to come to terms with - if you need help processing, that’s exactly what therapy is for. Many health insurance plans these days cover a few sessions a year. If you’re still on your parent’s health insurance plan and are worried about asking them, you can just say you’re working through some stuff happening at work/school/friends/whatever. Or that a lot of your friends have benefited from it and you want to try it and see.

With time you’ll come to accept that this is just part of who you are. It doesn’t define you, and it’s not a new thing that’s going to throw your life off course. In contrast, it will likely actually improve your life over time. Understanding this about yourself will help you see and understand a lot of feelings and behaviors you’ve been unable to explain in the past. And now that you know about these things, you can seek to improve yourself or set healthy boundaries depending on what’s appropriate. It’s a journey for sure, and there will be parts that bring new meaning to “ignorance is bliss”. But in the long run you will be a better person for it, more comfortable in your own skin.