Day Six of Get it Down–Speaking of the Queen
The homecoming queen at my kids high school is totally deserving of the honor. I first met A when she was in 6th grade. When she was in 8th grade, DS16 was in 7th grade. He was a new student in a new school district, and the only people he knew were kids from our church. There were quite a few in the 8th grade at the school, but two in particular were quite the popular folks. There was E, who was on the football team, and there was A who was the captain of the cheerleading squad. I had no idea if they would be kind to DS16, or if speaking to him would taint their image.
Day one came, and E and A greeted DS16 cheerfully at school. They introduced him to their friends. They made it cool to be friends with DS16. As a result, students who had never been around a person with special needs became comfortable with DS16. They followed the lead of E and A and treated DS16 with friendliness and kindness.
DS16 has a very outgoing personality, so he was fine from there. He soon got to know pretty much the entire school, and now that he is in high school, he can hardly get through the hall for needing to say hello to every. single. person. Could he have made a great impression on his own? He probably could have. But middle school is a tricky age. And two kids risked their status to make a kid with Down syndrome feel a part of their world, and I have no doubt it made the transition that much smoother for DS16.
A is every bit the beauty on the inside that she is on the outside, and that is why her school has voted her queen. She deserves the honor.