My Favorite Celebrity

Never before have I been presented with the opportunity of meeting and speaking with an acclaimed author, researcher, and the subject of an HBO film. Today, I met Temple Grandin, making this a momentous day in my life thus far. I felt as if I was meeting a famous actor when I woke this morning; in fact, I was almost certain that I was more excited to meet Dr. Grandin than I would have ever been to meet a celebrity like Brad Pitt. Her celebrity status was in part due to my viewing of the biopic HBO film Thinking in Pictures Temple Grandin, which chronicles her life through her unique perspective and diverse method of thinking shaped by her autism. The film was so excellently done that I felt as if I already knew Temple when she stepped into our classroom prepared to answer our questions and speak about her experiences. And yet, I couldn't help but be awed by her unassuming presence and her obvious intelligence.

Dr. Grandin gave us valuable insight this morning and in her book by explaining that because of her form of autism, she think only through the use of specific visual images that she has recorded throughout her life. For example, if one were to say the word “steeple” to her, she would immediately recall many images of individual church steeples that she has seen, whereas the average person may only recall the general conceptual image of a steeple. This difference in thinking has many advantages, and is one of the reasons that Dr. Grandin credits much of her career success to her autism; however, visual thinkers such as herself often encounter difficulty when attempting to grasp abstract concepts. When I realized this during our question and answer session with Dr. Grandin, I asked her, “When someone says the word ‘God,’ what image do you see?”

In response, she smiled and said, “A picture taken by the Hubble Space Telescope of all the many star clusters and galaxies.”

After she had said this, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace. I feel as if Christians are excellent at complicating God and his word, and terrible at thinking simply about Him. Dr. Grandin, in my opinion, experienced a clear representation of God without the usage of and “isms” or complex theologies. She simply experiences God as incomprehensibly infinite and beautiful. Dr. Grandin’s new and wonderfully refreshing perspective challenged me in my existing notions of God and my relation to this incomprehensible being. Because of her deviation from the typical mode of thinking, Temple Grandin daily challenges misconceptions about autism, her work, and life in general. Her success, perseverance, and refreshing perspective on life make her a celebrity worthy of admiration.