Assume that I can so maybe I will
This is the incredible slogan that’s gone viral thanks to CoorDown’s campaign for World Down Syndrome Day — and it’s all about raising awareness of individuals with Down’s Syndrome as functioning, thriving, wonderful human beings.
It’s frustrating that we live in a world where campaigns like this still need to be voiced, but that’s a whole other soap box I won’t focus on today.
And you might be reading this via Admin by Sarah’s page and thinking, “what has this got to do with admin?!”
Well did you know:
What I wanted to share today was the massive encouragement I’ve had from knowing, loving and having the privilege of sharing life with individuals who happen to have Down’s Syndrome. You could say it’s something that was forced upon me when the force of nature that is my sister came into my life with her extra chromosome (read: extra sass/grumpiness in the morning/determination/ability to remember ABBA lyrics/etc). I can honestly say, it’s the best thing that’s ever been “forced” on me.
To take my sister as the biggest example in my life, I have assumed so many things about her. A taste of these shameful assumptions includes:
“She won’t be able to take the bus on her own.”
“She’ll struggle to hold down a job.”
“She can’t cope with this difficult emotional thing that’s happened.”
And in making those assumptions (whether I’ve said them out loud or they’ve been a passing thought), I’ve put her in a box.
And what she always seems to do is bust out of that box and prove me absolutely wrong. I really, really love it when she does this and I am deeply ashamed for the times where I’ve been the one shutting the box.
I’ve seen it in other friends with Down’s Syndrome too when I’ve made assumptions about their life and the small, cotton-wool-wrapped environment I think they’ll probably end up in …only to watch them shine, proclaiming “hello world, I’m coming for you!”
My journey over the last few years has often felt the other way around — assuming I can, only to find that I won’t. I’ve “failed” a lot. I’ve pulled out of qualifications, left jobs due to poor mental and physical health, gone up and down the emotional rollercoaster, and been incredibly inconsistent.
So while I often feel like I’m putting myself back in the box and I’ve fallen into a mindset of just assuming I can’t; it’s my sister who others assume won’t be able to [fill in the blank]. Weird, right?
Remembering the assumptions I shouldn’t (and strive not to) put on my sister, are also the assumptions I shouldn’t put on myself. If I assume I can’t, then I absolutely won’t.
If I assume we can, then maybe we will.
My favourite thing my sister says to me is:
“It will be okay, Sarah.”
So far, she’s been 100% right.
This has been impactful beyond what I could ever tell her. If it wasn’t for her instilling this mindset in me, I wouldn’t have taken a step of confidence and set up Admin by Sarah.
Perhaps this is an assumption others make a lot:
“Sarah cares for her sister because her sister couldn’t possibly look after herself, never mind anybody else.”
Meanwhile, my sister has held me together on multiple occasions and consistently pushes me to do better. She also laughs at my jokes, so has clearly got her head screwed on.
Today is rightfully the day to celebrate Down’s Syndrome. That little chromosome that makes the world of difference. The individuals who have Down’s Syndrome who are human in all their glorious, messy, beautiful ways.
And shouting the message:
Assume that I can so maybe I will.
I’ll certainly be celebrating my sister (alongside other loved ones who have Down’s Syndrome) and all the ways she takes assumptions and kicks their butts. And Admin by Sarah will always be grateful to everybody who backs us — but especially those for whom life isn’t always the easiest, yet don’t stop cheerleading. Thanks, little sis.
