World of Jenks: "Can't Make Me Be Me"

In the premiere episode of MTV's newest series World of Jenks Andrew lives with Chad, a 20 year old living with autism. While with Chad school, meets his friends, takes him to NYC (a mistake!), Coney Island, and dives into his life. This episode really opened my eyes to people with autism, at first I just thought autism only effected how people comprehend things, that maybe they were a little "slower" than everyone else, and had trouble socializing. But now I realize that there are many sides of autism and it can affect people differently. Chad suffers from hypersensitivity, which is common in a lot of autistic people. (New fact to me!) I didn't think much of it at first, but his hypersensitivity is what made his trip to NYC a bummer. If you've never been to the city, or don't know much about it (.....!), New York City is a very loud, and busy place. With car horns constantly honking, and the usual bustle of city-dwellers, Chad found it extremely difficult to enjoy his visit, and they ended up cutting the trip very early. I couldn't imagine living with that, not just because I love the city! But because it can totally make or break the moment. Think about all the places that are loud: sporting events, concerts... you couldn't be able to enjoy any of them!

Chad was also very agitated when without his camera. It almost ruins the whole outing for him, when he wasn't able to capture memories of him and his friends at lunch. Even when Andrew offered him his own camera, it wouldn't satisfy him. Also, Chad had a very meticulous evening routine, before he went to bed. Even when his mother moved something slightly, it set him off. When I think about those kind of situations, people with severe OCD pop into my head, but I never knew that people with autism could be in the same boat.

If you didn't check out the show, I really think you should. So far, World of Jenks has gotten a big approval from me, and apparently a lot of people!! It was the most watched premiere in all of MTV history. After going on mtv.com today to watch this episode, I realized that there is indeed another episode entitled "Heaven and Hell" where Andrew lives the life of the rapper, Maino. So, expect a review of that shortly!!

xoxo

P.S. My parents who normally "frown upon" MTV shows, enjoyed this one! So if you're worried about content, (cursing aside) World of Jenks seems pretty good!

Song stuck in my head today: "My Brain is Hanging Upside Down" by The Ramones

Keep on keepin' on,

Madison