Author Archives: Tyler McNamer

About Tyler McNamer

Hi! My name is Tyler Allan McNamer. I became one of the few kids that wrote a book during my school days, and I'm still proud of that. Most of my information comes from my book Population: ONE. Other information that's not in the book has been spoken by me as a motivational speaker. In this blog, I'll give out information about the book, and my ways of thinking about the world we live in.

The Legacy of The Rainbow Seed

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In 2003, I had an assignment. That assignment was to work quietly in 3rd grade and write a story about flowers.

I got really really excited when I got that assignment because for one thing, I like writing stories, and I love flowers. I was one of the few boys in Seattle that adore flowers, and I still do today. I would pick flowers and give them to teachers, students, and to my parents. Combining flowers and writing was a good combo for me.

After I wrote the short story, I got good reviews from others around me and how adorable it was, and I felt really good when writing it for other kids that were close to my age. Now that I’m older, I could use that same story I did when I was in 3rd grade and share it to younger kids in this generation.

I took a good long read on my creation and figured out that there’s a lot more than just a rainbow. It has imagination and charm on the characters. I see that it just takes 1 seed to make a whole bunch of flowers of different colors all over the field. There is no such thing as a rainbow springing up after a planted seed and then melting the rainbow to make more seeds, that’s just silly. It’s all a part of the young imagination. But related to that, it takes 1 to make something wonderful. I guess that’s one of the reasons why I wrote the book Population: One.

If you like the story titled The Rainbow Seed, you can read it again and again in my upcoming book Population: One. After all, it’s much better reading stories to children in books rather then on blogs.

Defying A Tiger

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Tigers are brightly colored cats with black stripes. Their color of fur is bright orange, but covering that orange is the dark black stripes. I have bright moments, but sometimes they cloud up with dark moments. Those stripes allow the tiger to blend in with certain surroundings that will make the tiger camouflaged so it can hide. A balance of good moods and bad moods makes it easy to blend into “normal.” If a tiger would be nothing but black, then everyone would know where the “black” tiger would be. Plus, then it would be a panther, and panthers are good at hunting at night. If it were to be all orange, then it would be a cougar. No need to brag, but I’m the best at hide-and-go-seek. Quietly and patiently I hide and make myself comfortable in the forest.

The claws are meant to grab and hold onto their prey. I can grab a hold of something when it comes to goals, and not let go until it’s done.

An average tiger can run fifty miles an hour. I can’t run fifty, but I sure can run fast. Naturally, a person can run fast; my record is twenty miles an hour. Tigers, however, can’t outrun a cheetah since they go an average of seventy miles an hour. I am not the fastest person in the world, but it sure is fun feeling that wind. No one can run without powerful legs.

When I see the eyes, they are focused and calm. Even though the tiger is one of the deadliest animals on the planet, it still has calm eyes. When there’s trouble going on at school like a threat toward me, I don’t shiver. I know they can’t do such things to me. I may look calm, but I have full control of myself and follow my ways of life.

When I see the teeth, I see that they are powerful and bring out fear in others. At times, I’ve had moments where I literally scare people from my own actions. Sometimes, I don’t mean to, but I do a lot of times; I never worry about what I do because I’m me. I don’t see the tigers’ teeth very often unless they are yawning.

The snarl of a tiger makes others stand aside. I never liked it when people wanted me to change, so I say “back off” or anything to make them leave me alone. I hate change in me. Except if it’s on the outside like a haircut or new clothes.

The tiger’s ears are meant for hearing prey coming close by. I like to multitask by listening to one thing, and then go to the other. Whenever I think I might hear something, I silence everyone and hear the sound. Tigers would hear another animal whether or not it was a good animal. I listen to people whether they are good people to be with or not.

Same thing with the nose; if a tiger smells something nice, he eats it. If not, he leaves it alone. If people have personalities that stink, I walk away.

When I looked at the lifespan of a tiger, I found out that they live about fifteen years. When my lifespan as a child ended at age fifteen, I felt dead inside. My teenage acquaintances can’t be as active as they were when they were little kids. I am always ready for almost anything because I hate boredom and am always active except for bedtime. I act my age; it’s just that people my age are not as active as they were a long time ago. I still don’t understand that, but anyone can be as active as a child the way I see it. Any animal and any human can live longer than what their average is. At age fifteen, it seemed like my childhood was dying. I wish I could be a child again with my acquaintances as if I were back in the ’90s. My childhood I will keep forever, no matter how many people grow out of it.

Every animal has its senses. Most even have tails. Sometimes, we can all relate to our favorite animals. Go on, pick an animal that you like, and explain why you chose it.

Talking to Themselves

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We all talk to ourselves. For someone who has autism, that person talks to himself in wrong times. To be honest, I do the same thing too sometimes even though I’m older. I would imitate a line from a movie or play because I thought it was such a cool line like:

“Ah-  wait wait let me explain- let me explain something to you- um… I’m not Mr. Lebowski. You’re Mr. Lebowski. I’m the Dude. So that’s what you call me you know uh. That, or um His Dudeness or uh… Duder… or uh… you know, El Duderino, if you’re not into the whole brevity thing.”

That came from the movie The Big Lebowski. I would sometimes repeat that line or any other line that’s funny and cool in inappropriate times, and then I would feel like I shouldn’t of said it in the wrong time when people noticed me talking to myself.

That’s the thing with talking to ourselves, we forget the reality a little bit. Nothing too wrong with talking to ourselves, it’s just going to make ourselves weird.

Sometimes I talk to myself because I would practice what to say later on. I’m a little hard on words sometimes and would forget what to say when it comes to the public. I would repeat myself on what I just said in the past at some times when proud of saying that something.

I have to say, I don’t think people who have autism talk to themselves as much as other people do, it’s just that they talk to themselves more often in the public.

Probably because they are mostly lonely in the public.

Energy Readings

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Some people who have autism have high energy, some people who have autism have low energy. With me, I’m proud to say that I had amazing energy when I was a kid. I was immature back then by using that energy in the wrong time like during class time. I would do recess but still have a lot of energy.

Now a days, I would be calm and relaxed. I use my amazing energy when doing track or riding my bike or any other kind of sport. It took a while to calm down when I was little so what I did was stop, close my eyes, take a deep breath, and then smile. Then, when I opened my eyes, I did a blowing sound. It’s that blowing sound people make when blowing dandelion seeds. I felt calm and ready to take on the day. To me, it’s a way to save my energy for something big like sports or parkour. Not sure if it counts as a sport. Hmm… Oh well.

When I see kids at high school that don’t have as much energy as me, I always wondered why they don’t have a lot of energy. I’ve always thought that teenagers and kids would have tons of energy to do anything in the world that would affect people positively. Unfortunately there is not a lot of energy coming from others around me. Makes me think that my energy is different from the world allowing me to do a lot of stuff. I never understand teenagers even though I am one, because they would tell stories about their parties and all that crazy stuff. I do a lot of crazy cool stuff, but not with those school mates. So what I would do during lunch in high school is walk outside almost all the time. Even when it’s raining. I keep walking.

The way I see it is that rain is the same thing as taking a shower, getting all wet, but yet cold like snow almost. People go outside when there’s snow, people go outside when there’s sun. With me, it doesn’t really matter too much. Is that the same for you? They say that when it rains, it gets depressing, but with me, I smile up in the rain.

When walking in the rain, and when it’s colder, it gives me more endurance to do sports. Of course, I always wear warm clothing, but it’s the walking that counts.

It’s never too late to let out that energy on anything. Even when it means punching the punching bag. Awesome way to let out that kind of energy when feeling angry, or sad. As the years go on, I learned how to manage the energy readings on me, and become more independent.

Kids, it’s super cool to let out the energy on anything. But as you grow up, there are limits. That never means that you will lose that energy, because when it comes to having fun, that energy would be released and that’s how the fun starts.

Looks on the outside.

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I have been observing people’s looks throughout the years. All over school, in the city, on T.V., and a lot of other places in the world.

When I look at myself in the mirror, I see something different then other people. Of course, every face is different, but I’ve noticed that I have a rounder head, bigger smile, red lips, and pale skin.

Later on, I had a thought that says that people who have autism look very different face-wise and it bothered me for a while. I then figured out that even people have less confidence about themselves as well, so that makes me no different from everyone else. As I was writing my book, I had this theory that I can’t slow down to looks, there needs to be confidence about the looks on the outside. I think that people should feel good about themselves and not have the looks slow them down. Of course, it’s always great to take care of the outside like brushing teeth, washing, bathing, and eating. Because even having good food makes people feel good about themselves.

I’ve always heard of that saying “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” and for a while… I don’t know why it’s being said. A book cover doesn’t have attitude with speech. A book cover needs to show what the book is about, that’s like a preview on what it’s going to be about. A book cover that says “Stinky Feat.” is something I would never read. Unless if it says “The Runner.” Then it would bring my attention. To me, it all counts on the outside and on the inside in order to be a great person.

These are all just thoughts that come up to my mind, because to me, it’s always cool to see what other people are thinking about the world. Especially to someone who has autism, it’s a whole new experience.

Why Avoid Eye Contact?

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Kids who have autism avoid eye contact a lot of times, and I was one of those kids who avoided eye contact with a lot of people.

There are many reasons why kids who have autism would avoid eye contact with other people. Here is a small list on why I think the reason is.

  • Feeling guilty about almost everything they did
  • Feeling like everything the person says to them is bad
  • Have to hide their looks because of low confidence in appearance.
  • Extremely shy
  • Don’t like to be talked to because of interuption
  • Afraid to kiss the person talking

That’s right. The reason why I said “Afraid to kiss the person talking” is because to be honest with you, I had that feeling. Embarrassing I know, but if I was even more honest with you, I made great eye contact on a girl that I liked when I was in 2nd grade. I don’t stare, because I need time to blink.

Whenever I get asked what’s wrong because of me looking away at the person talking, I was always afraid to respond because at the time I either don’t know the answer or to be honest with #6 on the list. Besides how ridiculous and embarrassing would that be if I told that kind of truth? That’s why it’s good to finally share it in this cool blog of mine (Built by my Dad).

So when you see someone who has autism having trouble looking at people, it’s never too late to ask why. Kids, respond to the question, said by yours truly Tyler McNamer. I have autism, and it takes time to make full eye contact to people when talking. It’s good to start young.

Now a days when I see that same girl, I look away because of embarrassment. It’s a normal trait people have when seeing someone beautiful. It takes an even longer time to make great eye contact to those kind of people.

The Freshman King

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The Freshman King.

2009 Homecoming Court

(That woman on the phone and that man peeking out are just strangers. I don’t know them, and that’s okay.)

On the first year of high school, I was first introduced to the peer pressure that’s in high school. Believe it or not, it’s not from the older kids, it’s from my peers at the time.

On the ‘welcome back to school’ assembly, the seniors asked the foreign exchanged students to come down and introduce themselves. Kids around me told me to go down there, but I didn’t know it was for foreign exchanged students, so I went anyways clueless and introduced myself as Tyler and saying that I’m a freshman. I was embarrassed that I didn’t know it was for the other kids, so I went to my seat and looked back at the crowd thinking to myself “This is a small community. This will be fun.”

I thought of that because at the football game, I dressed in dark clothing with a black cowboy hat on. (I was holding it up in the air on this picture, but my hand was cut off.) I was in the shadows and came out yelling “GOOOO!!!!!” and the seniors know exactly what to do and yelled out “SPARTANS!!!” I got people really riled up on the class of 2010 and on the beginning of 2009.

When I did my performance, I became a great star on high school, and the votes kept coming for me being the “Freshman King” for Homecoming Court. It was an amazing feeling being gifted in that kind of way. Most of the thanks goes to the seniors for accepting new surprises like a single Freshman showing no mercy in showing high school spirit.
GO SPARTANS!

The Bond Between Water and Autism

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I’ve been noticing lately that there have been a relationship with the water and with people who have autism.

I can understand that whole thing because I remembered the time that I enjoyed the water when I was 3 months old. I love swimming myself, it’s always fun going into the water and feel free.

That is basically why people who have autism would feel when being in the water, they feel free. Of course, no one has to agree with me, but that’s my intent on it when it comes to the water. I would swim for hours and hours at the pool mostly just underwater. At a young age, I learned how to deflate my “airbags” in my lungs to make me sink down on the deep end of the pool and just sit there for a while. Then I would rocket myself up.

The thing about water and swimming is that no one can just walk in order to move, they can just move all over as if people are flying. That’s why penguins are still considered as birds because although they can’t fly in the air, they can fly and glide in the water. Outrages on the other hand fly through the wind by using their running speed. Although not flying in the air, they seem to fly while running. There are a lot of ways to describe flying, but it’s always common when flying goes up in the air. Water is close enough, but not quite.

I tend to look at things closer in order to observe what’s going on in my surroundings. I remember as a baby I would look at the water that’s dripping down off my hands and feet seeing all of the little drops and the big drops. Splashing the water was exciting for me because I saw lots and lots of water droplets going everywhere. At first, I thought all water is the same and safe to drink. It was then I learned that salt water isn’t very tasty and sickening to the tummy.

Water is a mystery for a lot of people who have autism, and they enjoy that mystery. That’s how I see it.

After Saying Goodbye to the Seniors

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I keep on hearing students saying that freshman year was a bad year. For me, I think that any year is a good year as long as people see it as good.

I felt like I had a great year being a freshman. As a matter of fact I had some help becoming a Freshman king thanks to the seniors. They thought I was cool, and I brought back the charm to them when proving myself that I can have great enthusiasm to my high school, no matter how tall I am or how young I am. I was pretty short back then as a freshman, and still am a little short as a senior today.

After being with the seniors of 2010, I thought that all seniors would be friendly to the lower grades, but according to my Dad, he says that the lower grades would get all the glory when they are seniors. It’s been like that for over a hundred years. It’s not fair, but I guess that’s the way it should be. To me, I don’t think it should be like that for seniors to treat others lower and make them higher. I think that there is an equal to students because they are in the same school.

Then you have all the other students that have me outnumbered saying that they don’t want to support the lower grades like I hoped. It’s not fair, but I guess it is what it is.

Even if the seniors would be mean to the freshmen, I would still enjoy their company. I believed that when a group of kids had a long history of going to school, I think that their is an act of kindness to their hearts, and that’s what I did. I befriended the seniors and wrote an article about them when they were about to leave.

After they left, school wasn’t the same.

The Senior Farewell

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Goodbye Seniors!

Tyler McNamer

Guest Reporter

“I can’t believe it! The big kids are going away!” That’s what I would say if I were in first grade, but I’m not in first grade anymore—I’m just a freshman. But since you’re reading this, I’ll say it again: “I can’t believe it! The big kids are going away!”

Every time I walk to school, every time I sit in my classes, at lunch, on the grass, or even by your side, I always feel happy with all the people who make this school a whole unit, and that includes the senior students. For the most part, every grade is separated into its own place during lunches. While kids don’t feel like they have to be in the same place every day, they go to the table or place because their closest friends are sitting there. My fellow freshman classmates and I feel like we have a lot of freedom, but you seniors, you get to do almost anything in the world.

I think every freshman should take the opportunity to get to know all of you. Everyone of you is the icon for the whole island and your full blooded Spartan spirit; the true high school spirit that has the power of cheering for your friends and having fun with them! As seniors, you have set the example for the underclassmen on campus. To those who still haven’t learned this, they are missing out on your wiseness. Well, anyway, I just wish my fellow freshman friends would know the ways of the Spartan Spirit like you guys. I always love it when you guys cheer us Spartans on. One person yells “Go!” and a huge wave of fans cheer “SPARTANS!!!!!!” The shouts are those of freshmen, juniors, and sophomores, but the ones who start the Spartan Spirit roar are the seniors!

It’s close to summer, and I bet you’re all excited and looking forward to fun in the sun and then going off to college in the fall. I’m excited for you too! But I am also sad to see all of you go. All of you bring a smile to my face by making the school complete. When I go back to school after summer vacation, it may not be the same without you. Not that I don’t trust the juniors and sophomores, but you know what I mean.

So before you guys go, I’m writing this to thank you for opening my heart to school, and I’ll just say this one last thing—Goodbye Seniors, and good luck in finding your future!