Mike had finally gone to his therapy appointment and he felt a lot better. He had been prescribed medication again to help him with his anxiety and depression. His therapist was concerned about his nightmares and stress. He was fed up with his mind and he wanted to get better for his family and friends.
He had asked Rob to come with him since Anna had an appointment with Tyler and his teacher. There was a possibility that he had high functioning autism but she wanted him to be tested. There was a correlation between being born with cocaine addiction and disorders like autism and ADHD. If he was evaluated and diagnosed, it would help them know how his brain worked.
Rob was proud of Mike for stepping up and admitting that he needed help. He had a lot on his plate at the moment and he could understand why he was stressed out and overwhelmed. Mike wanted to keep the fact that he was getting help out of the media. Everyone understood and promised to respect his privacy.
He was not surprised that Tyler had possible autism. His parents had suspected it since they met him. Even though he understood and participated in pretend play, he didn't understand changes to his routine or life and he was developmentally behind. He blamed Talinda every time he struggled with what other kids could do easily, such as tying his shoes or making friends at school.
His special needs classroom was such a blessing because they saw him as Tyler, not a kid who made trouble by not sitting still or paying attention. His mind was trying as hard as it could to work but sometimes it became overstimulated or overworked. That led to him having a meltdown, which involved tears.
At the end of a long school day, he needed time to unwind all of his energy before starting his homework. He liked having quiet time to play in his room for an hour after getting home. Once playtime was over, he knew it was time to start homework. The twins knew that their brother needed that quiet time and they left him alone. Their brother was different but they still loved him the same.
"Asher! I go to school and you go to school but you go to school before me!"
He laughed. "That's right. I start school in August. You start a month later in September. You are very smart!"
"With big kids! Bigger than me!"
"They will probably be bigger than me, too. Maybe someday you can go to school with the big kids".
He nodded with a smile.
AsherIsrael: Check out the interview I did with @people magazine! Now in stores and online!
Because of his successful YouTube channel, People magazine wanted to introduce Asher to America. He talked about his time in Jehovah's Witnesses, his YouTube channel, his transgender journey, and going to Harvard at only 16 years old.
Peter bought the magazine after seeing his picture on the cover. He had been in line at the grocery store with Toni when she got excited. Asher! She pointed to the magazine rack and he followed her gaze until he found what she was looking at. He picked the magazine up and put it on the belt to purchase with his other groceries.
Going to college is a dream come true for me because a couple of years ago, it didn't even occur to me that it was in the realm of possibility. I had gone to school with a Bible-based education. I didn't know what math or science was or what the Bill of Rights was. Now that I have the education that I have, everything seems possible. I have a better understanding of what is available to me in the world and I have dreams and goals for the future.
What did he want to do after graduation?
I want to combine mathematics and Japanese. Other than that, I'm not quite sure yet. It might take me four years to figure that out. I'm not in a hurry. I do want to go to Japan sometime after I learn more about the language. I want to meet people and see the culture. I think working or doing an internship in Tokyo would be cool because it's so diverse and there are so many opportunities there in regards to math and science. It's definitely on top of my Things to Do list.
Who is this kid? There was no way he was the same Asher they had come to know. The squad laughed as Olivia was in disbelief.
"How does a 16-year-old get into Harvard?"
"Hard work and a very high IQ", Peter answered.
"What's his IQ score?"
"120. He has the same intelligence as a 20-year-old college graduate. He also applied to Cornell, Yale, Brown, UCLA, and Stanford. They all accepted him but he felt more at home at Harvard".
Their jaws dropped in disbelief!
"120? Damn! He could do whatever career he wanted with that brain! What is he studying", Fin asked?
"Mathematics and Japanese. Mike's dad's side of the family is from Japan. He can say the basic phrases because he's still learning", Amanda answered.
Fin and Olivia were interested in seeing his channel, so Amanda pulled it up on her laptop. He had just uploaded another video ten minutes ago, so they decided to watch it.
"Hey, guys! It's Asher! I was planning on interviewing my little brother but because of protecting his privacy, I was unable to do that. So, today I figured that in the midst of the chaos of getting ready for school and everything, I would talk to you guys about marriage from the perspective of a 16-year-old who has never been married. Ironically enough.
Although I may someday want to get married. That might change depending on what life decides to hand me. At this point, I'm not ruling it out.
One of the biggest things I have learned is to respect your wife. This means respecting her body and respecting her right to be a woman. You do not own your wife. You do not own her body just because she is married to you. I've had men tell me that they respect their wife's decisions because 90% of the time she's right anyway. It also means that if one partner is struggling with depression or other mental illness issues, to help them through that.
I've learned that a father and husband's role is to be a role model for the children. He is a friend but also an authority figure. His role as a husband is to honor and again, respect his wife.
Growing up, my view of marriage was what I witnessed with my birth parents. My father was the breadwinner while my mother was the homemaker. He was the authoritarian while she was the caregiver. They had a very 1950s relationship and that is something that I never wanted. I was raised to be the homemaker because I was born as a female.
When I was in foster care, I started to see how different it could be. Both adults were doing something with regards to work. That was the first time that I had seen a woman taking charge of the house and having a voice. I learned that women are not supposed to be subversive and submissive and that was just incredible and eye-opening for me. There were times when the husband actually sought out her opinion. 'I was thinking of doing this. What do you think?'
I finally understood that the role of a wife is to be equal to her husband. Now that I am adopted, my dad has actually told me to ask my mom so he doesn't get into trouble. For me, that's hilarious. Anyway, I want to know what you guys think. Leave a comment down below with what your opinion is and I'll see you again next time!"
He could have been mistaken for a 20-year-old because of how well and eloquently he spoke and how mature he was. His maturity was way beyond where he was supposed to be as a teenager. No wonder his channel was successful!
"He is going to graduate college, then get his master's degree and maybe his doctorate before he's forty", Fin said.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he did", Amanda said.
They all agreed.
