It’s hard to imagine a more unabashed or showy flower than the California Poppy. And they’re tough—well adapted to long, dry summers. Once in a great while, however, a plant puts out a cream colored variant. As soon as I saw this flower it struck me as a perfect expression of what it so often feels like to be neurodivergent.

I love seeing that young people today are able to embrace and proclaim their difference. It’s still a hard road, but a wonderful change. If I had it to do over, I wouldn’t choose a different temperament, but I would ask to understand myself at a younger age.