Joe Young- 30-Second Soliloquy

Hey guys. My name is Joseph Young, but I go by Joe. My parents called me Joey when I was a kid but I put a stop to that as soon as I was old enough to fend for myself. Joey doesn’t really fit me, I guess. It fits a little kid. Or a teddy bear. Or a baby kangaroo. Not really the look I’m going for…

I was born in Ellicott City, Maryland. My mom and dad, Corinne and Ray, are really good people. My dad’s a federal agent, and my mom is a teacher. I have a little brother named Garret, too. He’s my sidekick. He has autism actually, but that doesn’t affect our brotherly relationship. We roughhouse, fight, and laugh just like any other brothers do.

I always hate it when I meet new people and they ask me about myself. What I like. Who I am. What I do. First of all, are you really that interested? And second of all, how am I supposed to give you a 30-second soliloquy about myself that will enthrall you in the way you’re hoping for? (I guess I’m a little cynical…) Anyways, the Internet is a beautiful place, where I can write these things out, and you can choose to read them, or not. No hard feelings if you skip this part.

•  I love dogs. A lot. But not the tiny yappy ones. They’re kind of useless, if you ask me.
• My favorite band is The Bouncing Souls. I even have a tattoo for them on my forearm.
• Speaking of tattoos, I have 9. Well, 10 if you count the stupid one on my ankle that I got at a house party. But I usually don’t show it off…
•  I live in Baltimore, with my girlfriend and her older sister. My girlfriend and I are coworkers. Her sister is our boss. I don’t know what I was thinking.
• I’m a total movie buff. I love watching them, and talking about them, and collecting them. Sometimes my girlfriend and I just sit in front of our collection and stare, like people in a museum ogling at a famous work of art.

I guess the most interesting thing about me isn’t even really about me, though. It’s really about Garret. See, when you’re a little kid, and your brother has a disability that makes him hit you or bite you, you don’t understand. You know you’re mad, because your parents are more worried about him than they are about the bite mark on your cheek. But you don’t understand why. But then I grew up, and I figured it out, and I realized that getting angry at him, or my parents, wasn’t the answer. It wouldn’t solve anything. Instead, I decided to totally immerse myself in the autism world.

So that job of mine, where my girlfriend and her sister work too? It’s called Itineris. It’s a nonprofit that assists adults with autism in all aspects of life, from learning to tie their shoes to getting their first job. Even the most impacted of our clients have jobs, and some have even started their own businesses. Garret is one of our clients, actually, and he has two jobs – one at a bakery, and one at an art studio. I’m so proud of him.

Every once in while, he’ll still pinch someone. Or bite someone. Or hit someone over the head for no reason. (I guess we all want to do that every once in a while. Difference is, he actually does.) And every once in a while, someone will pinch, or bite, or hit me. But we’ve both made incredible strides while at Itineris. I can’t wait to see what my future holds, and what amazing thing Garret will learn next.