“We know what we are, but not what we may be.” (Hamlet by William Shakespeare) We ran, moving farther away from home with every step. It was dusk, but the darkening sky was not merely from the setting sun. It hadn’t begun yet, but it was quickly looking like it might rain.

I figured that we would have enough time to get home before the storm started, so I decided to let it be, and just continue with the run.

A raindrop hit my cheek.

Then another.

We stopped running. When the thunder crashed I could see the panic in his eyes. We were more than a mile from home, and lightning was flashing across the sky. My brother was scared stiff.

There was really no need to be. We quickly found shelter under an awning at our old middle school, and I called my dad to come pick us up. Cameron, however, …show more content…
Cameron has ADHD and Asperger’s. I'm fully aware of how it makes him different from me, but I accept his limitations and am in awe of his exceptional abilities. Sometimes, I feel like we're yin and yang, that elements I feel weak in are strong in him, and vice versa. How do two people so different come from the same parents?

I'm acutely aware that his situation could have been mine. Our DNA is similar enough that fate could have left us in opposite roles.

My brother has faced more challenges than I have to date, and has handled them as well as he could. Many of the activities deemed important for children for excel in, such as academics or sports, have come more easily to me. But that could change. Cameron could in time shed his childhood challenges and find a smooth ride to success and happiness (I hope he does), while my life could become suddenly and unaccountably more difficult (I hope it doesn’t). There is a great temptation in life to measure yourself against others – how am I doing compared with this or that person - as if these rankings represented someone’s value or worth today, or that they