QOTW #6: World Down Syndrome Day

Hi there! How are you? I hope you have had an amazing Monday and it will lead to an amazing week!

This is probably one of the most honest, heartfelt and emotional posts you'll see me writing, and I'm already tearing up just at the thought of it. And that's because I'm going to talk about a topic that really touches my heart and that I'm really, really passionate about.

Today is the World Down Syndrome Day. If you read my last post 50 Facts About Me you'll be aware of the fact that my best friend has Down Syndrome, so yes, this is a special day for me and I'd like to share this part of me that's so important with you.

First of all, let me start by saying that she IS my best friend. I don't say it so she will feel better. I don't say it out of pity. And I don't say it to look good. She is my best friend because she has taught me so many things. She is my best friend because she makes me a better person.

I can't even find the words to describe it, so I'm going to switch to the quote. And this quote is so important. My best friend has Down Syndrome, but she ISN'T Down Syndrome. This affectation is a characteristic about her, the same way we all have our particularities, but there is so much more to her that you could miss if you just look at that extra chromosome.

And it's not even like it only happens with Down Syndrome. I have anxiety, but I'm not anxiety. Other people have other things, but they're not that thing. And I find it really sad that some people can't go beyond that, because there is so much greatness they aren't seeing.

The only thing they want is to be treated equal. To have friends, to go out with them, to have a job, to have rights, to decide for themselves, to feel like humans. Because they feel the same way we do. They get happy, sad, upset, angry, nervous, excited... and then, why do we treat them like they're so different than we are?

I read a quote of a father directed to his daughter, who had Down Syndrome, and I thought it to be so brilliant: I have the feeling that I think more, but the question still stands: what things are more worth thinking?

I feel like this quote leads me where I wanted to go. People keep thinking she's lucky to have me, but honestly? I'm the one who is lucky to have her. She saved me in so many ways. She has taught me so many important things. She makes me better. She makes me more human.

And in the end... what is a disability? She finds it more difficult to get to some places, but she works as hard as it gets to reach her goals. And honestly, in the years I've been on this Earth, if I've learned one thing, it's that the only thing that matters in the end is being able to love.

When it comes to that, the disabled ones are the rest of us.

A big big hug,


Acqua