I'm Sydney.

But almost everyone calls me Syd.

I’m a wife, Dachshund mom, professional ballerina, mental health advocate, and singer living in New York City. At age 11, I was misdiagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, followed by subsequent diagnoses of Major Depressive Disorder and Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia. As an adult, I finally received a correct diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. I spent so much of my childhood and teenage years trying to hide my diseases before I came to a realization - I don't have to hide. I'm fine the way I am, and my diagnoses don't make me less than. I am proudly Autistic.

I spend most of my time in auditions, classes, and rehearsals, but in my free hours I write and speak out about living and thriving with mental health issues in the demanding (but beautiful) world of classical ballet. I love books, babies, sunsets over Manhattan, tea of any kind, vintage dresses, museums, the Lord, cooking, my family, music made before I was born, giving gifts, and football. 

I don't have it all together. It may look like that sometimes, but trust and believe - there is only Jet glue and Jesus holding this whole situation together. But that's the whole point I'm here to prove - your mental health matters, your best changes every day, it's okay to be different, you are not broken, and It's okay to not be okay.