February 13, 2011

The Ups of Downs “The talent for being happy is appreciating and liking what you have, instead of what you don’t have.” Woody Allen interprets it best. Many people tend to have a hard time trying to find a reason to genuinely appreciate the life they have. Being satisfied isn’t enough anymore, people desire want what they don’t have. Life does come with its ups and downs, and nothing can be guaranteed but that’s no excuse for not being happy with the life one was given. Yes, it can be tough and there are misfortunes, but perception is the key. Even though my brother has the misfortune of having Down syndrome he doesn’t let the negatives of this disorder bring him down, instead he finds happiness with the life he was blessed with. Trisomy 21, commonly known as Down syndrome is a genetic birth defect. It is the leading birth defect in America and effects about 1 and 800 babies. There can be several disorders that affect an individual. Anywhere from degrees of intellectual disabilities, heart defects, health problems, and characteristic facial features. Most of these symptoms are common in individuals that have Down syndrome. Having these affects can be extremely disappointing to a person. Just the thought of knowing you are not the same as everyone else. Most would dread on the fact that they aren’t as one would say “normal.” These facts though, show no sign of affecting my brother and the things he accomplishes day to day. He may not look exactly the same as everyone else but he lives his life like a regular 14 year old boy does. He goes to school, participates, socializes, and plays games. Besides being mentally slower than most he is a normal teenage boy. Yet I must say that watching him I can see the simple struggles he faces every day. At home even amongst the family I can see the hardships he faces. For example he talks and tries to pronounce a word like peanut butter and has to repeat himself several times for anyone to understand. I can see the frustration grow in his face from having to say it over and over because no one can really understand him. Also the difficulties he faces on trying to do things independently, for example making food. He is determined to make his own sandwich and cut it but has a hard time; I can see how upset he gets when having to ask for help. He plays video games and when there are captions on the screen he yells for someone to read them for him. He squints his eyes and twists his head back and forth similar to a dog trying to comprehend what he just heard. The simple things that people take for granted, my brother struggles to do but i can see the happiness he gets when he accomplishes something. Out in public I can see barricades he has to face. Even though he doesn’t fully look like a person with Down syndrome he still gets stared at like he is an alien. When he talks aloud people turn and look and stare as if what he is saying is a foreign language. When he interacts with people he doesn’t know, there are always two common reactions; they smile and try to understand him or they smile turn away, sigh, and ask someone what he is saying. He gets confused often and when someone doesn’t understand him he grows impatient and moody. He is not fully capable of going places alone or doing tasks all by himself, but when he tries people hover over him watching his every move. He glances up at them and if he could clearly announce what he was thinking I bet he would be saying “leave me alone I can do it myself.” Adults and children alike are cruel and say callous, rude remarks. He doesn’t have the intellectual capacity to know when someone is making fun of him straight to his face, so he laughs and pretends he understands when he has no idea what they are saying. The disabilities to talk, write, read, comprehend, and even be independent have severely altered my brother’s life. Patience and time is all that is needed to understand my brother. He has to overcome daily challenges. Life for him is far from perfect. He is limited and because of this he gets aggravated; watching the world around him do things that he can’t do. He is impulsive and is a slow learner. He has difficulties talking, writing, reading, comprehending, playing sports, and doing things that most don’t even have to try at. He can’t go out alone, or even shower and get dressed without someone’s help. He has a defect that he can’t cure, and even though he is disabled he is the happiest kid I know. No matter the situation, even when I know he is frustrated he never dwells. He doesn’t complain or mope because he isn’t like everyone else, yet it looks as if he embraces his differences and does what he can to his best ability. No one’s life is perfect and everyone must face hardships, but the sooner ones learns this the faster they can appreciate the life they were given. So the next time one considers their life is tough just imagine, it could be worse. The greatest tool is to appreciate and find happiness. For the first step to being happy, is to create happiness within yourself.