“Yeah, that’s Dawn, my sister actually. She’s nice and supportive.”

“Am I taking you?”

“OK. I’m leaving, like, at 6:55.”

“6:55. I told them.”

“Life around this house – it’s chaos. Every day is just crazy for us. And Naomi fits right into it.”

“Do you like Drew?”

“Yes. And he’s smart and outgoing.”

“I’m the little sibling of the family. I always get beat on by the big girls. Nah, but Naomi’s really nice. I think she’s the best sister.”

“How rude.”

“She is very much her own individual. She’s not like any kind of stereotype that you would-Or other people would like to put her in a box of. “

“Naomi, what do you think of your mom?”

“She’s nice, and she’s my friend, and I love her so much.”

“I took her to the Justin Bieber concert. What concert did we go to this year, do you remember?”

“Oh, yeah. Shawn Mendes. I like him.”

“Even I liked him.”

“Yeah she does.”

“Are you cheering tonight at the alumni thing?”

“What?”

“What were you practicing yesterday? You were showing me…”

“Oh, that was my dance.”

“We’ve gotten better. Well, I’ve gotten better. She’s always tried to be nice to me. I just usually get really impatient with her. Just like ‘hurry up, go a little faster.’ Like, yesterday, she was really slow, and I was worried we were, like, going to be late to school. So I was kind of like being a little mean.”

“Well, you always take forever to get…”

“Ready?”

“Yeah… Bye Mocha.”

“I’ve been here for, like, four years. And I like this school.”

“I’m going to Mr. Dobson. History. He’s a cool guy.”

“You have to say that because I’m standing here.”

“Yeah.”

“My favorite class is dance.”

“I saw you dancing in the rally.”

“I’ve been dancing a lot.”

“She probably dances every day at home, huh?”

“Yeah. Because it is my passion.”

“Do you like it better than Spanish class?”

“Yes.”

“I hope to move away and go to Taft. And be independent.”

“So the future to me is- I’m excited for her. She’s totally excited for herself. I sometimes have to quiet my fears. I don’t want to limit her. I really believe that she can go beyond a lot of my own personal expectations. Because every time I’ve just kind of let her go, she does more than I thought she could do.”

“I’m sure it’s going to work out fine. Everything has. You know, every stage of the journey you’re like, holding your breath. Junior high, high school. You know? So it’s the correct kind of worry, but it’s not over-worrying.”

“I’m looking forward to finding a job that is fashion. And I hope I can work in there and sell clothes.”

“I definitely know she’ll live independently. Because she already does everything, pretty much.”

“If I wished everyone to understand something about people with Down syndrome, its standing at the distance and making a judgement is just doing that. You really have to experience it for yourself. I wish they can see the positive in me, and find another way to look at me. And think about me as being able to work and talking to them. Advice? Stay true to be the positive ones.”