These are not in any particular order! I just wrote them down as I thought of them. These are the top 5 moments that relate to Tourette’s that happened during the Camp Twitch and Shout counselor reunion weekend. Here’s No. 2:
Another highlight of my trip was spending time with my co-counselor from camp. Two of my co-counselors from my cabin ended up coming on the trip, and I love both of them! The one that I am especially close to is the one who has Tourette’s — I’ll give her the pen name of Tasha for my blog.
Tasha’s tics aren’t very noticeable, but they’re there. She also has bad anxiety and OCD like me. Tasha and I had the best conversations together that weekend! Of course, we had great regular conversations talking about things like our dogs, things we did as little kids that got us in trouble, and talking about boys or jobs or school — but we also had a lot of great conversations about Tourette’s, OCD and anxiety.
What I love is that we talk about it like it’s so normal, like we’re talking about anything else that’s a part of our life. We talk about it like it’s normal because it’s normal for us. I feel like I have so much in common with her, and she is certainly the closest thing I’ve had to an big sister.
I told her about my OCD and how I’m so embarrassed by it. She is the only person who is not a therapist who I have told specifics to about my OCD, and I told her this. She asked why, and I told her that it’s because it just feels so embarrassing for me.
Her response was she doesn’t think it’s embarrassing because she has such similar things. That really made me feel comfortable. I feel so comfortable around her and tell her things about myself that I never ever tell other people. She is also an incredibly open person and shared so much about her tics, OCD and anxiety with me over the course of the weekend.
And, of course, when I tic she treats it like its 100 percent normal because ticcing is so normal for her. We bonded even more than we had previously bonded at camp as co-counselors, and she told me many times that she was so glad I came. We got to spend a lot of 1-on-1 time together since we got to hang out at the airport together during my layover and since we got to ride on the second plane together.
When we were at the airport, she painted my nails. I never let anyone paint my nails because of my sensory issues, but I wanted her to paint my nails, so I put up with the bad smell of the nail polish and the initial discomfort of the polish on my nails. I felt like this was special.
Look for No. 1 tomorrow! And in case you missed them — here is No. 5, here is No. 4 and here is No. 3!