Being the Original You

Understanding the magic in being who you truly are is a gift given to me by my brother Brian.  I didn’t know I had a brother until I was about 11 years old.  He was my dad’s sone from previous marriage.  We, my sister and I were told that Brian was different than most of us, you see he was born with Down Syndrome, but when we got to know him he was just Brian.  He was 5 years older than me and everything about Brian was BIG!

Brian had a big personality, big voice, big social life, big passions, big enthusiasm, big dislikes and a big family!  I’ve been witness to Brian dancing in a pub with every single woman there, especially if it was country music playing.  I’ve seen him with a beer in one hand, conducting the band with the other and singing every word.  I’ve also seen Brian hold down 3 jobs, have a girlfriend and live on his own even though when he was born his parents were told to put him in a facility because he would never amount to anything!

Now Brian could be nothing but original and I wouldn’t have wanted him to be any other way.  Throughout Brian’s life he could never hide his Original Him, he looked like he had Down Syndrome but he let his awesomeness shine through.

Being original and unique can give you opportunities that you never thought existed.  You know it’s not what you see but how you see, where others saw a disable young man with Down Syndrome and a great loss, his family saw opportunity.

Don’t allow the words of other to dictate the vision of your life.  Embracing your awesomeness and uniqueness should never be undervalued. Our inner voice sometimes tells us that we must conform to what other people believe we should be like, act like or feel like.  But authenticity is paramount; originality is not something you can replicate.

What Brian has taught all of us is being original is the fastest, surest way to be truly seen, heard and respected!