In July of 1996, God granted me with a gift. Not only the gift of life, but the gift of a twin brother. We were born only minutes apart, starting our life together that hot, July night. I didn't know it at the time, but my twin brother was born with Down Syndrome. For those who may not know, Down Syndrome is a intellectual disability that is caused from having an extra chromosome in the trisomy-21. It is something that cannot be changed by medication or surgery, only by acceptance. Over our 20 years together, my brother has taught me a lot of things, not only about myself but about the world around me. He has opened up a whole other aspect to life, one that I would not know without him.

1. Self Love.

It seems like my brother always just know when to say the right things. Whether it's when I'm having a bad day and needing an extra push, he gives me an extra long hug in the mornings. He has always showed me that he loves me, and that I am important in his life. When I am struggling with body image or anxiety, he looks me in the eye and tells me I am beautiful. More importantly, he has always been a rock in my life holding me up and supporting me when I need him the most. His positivity overtime has rooted a great and positive self-love trait within me. The way I see myself now and think of myself now has undoubtedly been his efforts and his doings. My brother has not only showed me self love by telling me verbally, but I learned the aspect of self-love through how he sees himself. He always makes sure his shoes match his belt, and his hair always has the perfect amount of gel in it. Your own self-love comes from how you treat yourself. He always compliments himself on different things, like whether or not he nailed that dance move while listening to his favorite song or his new haircut. He shows himself his worth every single day, so why shouldn't I?

2. The Little Things Are Actually The Big Things.

Sometimes in life, between the mess of things like homework and adult responsibilities (sigh), I seem to forget that a billion little things make up one day. Three hundred and sixty five "little days" make up one big year. My brother has taught me to slow down, and appreciate the little things and the little days that life has to offer. To my brother, the little things are being able to feed himself and put on his pajamas at night. But those two little thing makes up the big thing, my brother being independent. Sometimes the little things are what matter the most. He showed me that spending a Saturday night in with my family, isn't a little thing- it's a big thing. Because all of those little things, like Saturday nights spent with my family, make up memories that soon become what we have of our life. And that's pretty big.

3. Always Smile.

As a child, I was always told that a smile was contagious. I would walk down the halls of school with a big smile on my face just hoping someone would smile back. But as I got older, my smile started to fade. My brother, though, never lost his smile. If something bad happens to him or if he gets in trouble at school, he listens carefully and then he smiles. He seems to think that a smile can fix anything, and for him, it can. He has taught me through all his trials and tribulations that a smile is the best medication for sadness. His smile is contagious to everyone that walks by him, and he showed me that.

These are just three things that my brother has taught me, but of course there are plenty, plenty more that I have learned from my sibling with a disability. His disability doesn't "disable" him from being an inspiration to me or anyone else that has the pleasure of knowing him.