{"id":695304,"date":"2022-08-22T14:01:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-22T18:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/?post_type=article&p=695304"},"modified":"2023-01-06T14:43:06","modified_gmt":"2023-01-06T19:43:06","slug":"why-i-had-to-leave-the-community-i-loved-to-find-the-school-that-served-my-needs","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/why-i-had-to-leave-the-community-i-loved-to-find-the-school-that-served-my-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Had To Leave The Community I Loved To Find the School That Served My Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
After finishing my freshman year of high school, I\u2019ve taken time to reflect on my experiences. It was an unusual year where I attended two schools: the first semester was at a Los Angeles area high school near my former home in Playa Del Rey and the second semester was at South High School in South Torrance, where I live now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coming out of COVID-19 isolation, I looked forward to making up for many missed social opportunities with friends. I joined the track team at my new school and did well in my events. I made good friends with some of my teammates and other students on campus, which can be challenging for me as a person with autism. When my mom was looking for a church for us to attend, my track coach shared information about his church, and we began attending on Sundays; I also went to a Wednesday church youth group when my study schedule allowed it. Thanks to social media, I could keep in contact with friends from my former school, and I even have a girlfriend who attended my old school.<\/p>\n\n\n