What drives me as a designer

Kindness and an open mind

I have a brother with intellectual and social disabilities which makes him unique. He has a different way of seeing the world and interacts with people in unique ways. My parents and I try to guide him to fit in with everyone else because that’s what we know. Being immigrants, my parents made many sacrifices to assimilate into America. They did everything they could to create the life that my brother and I have today.

However, I have come to realize recently that no matter what my parents and I say, my brother makes the active choice every day to be different. He constantly reminds us that being different should be celebrated. Even though being different should be cherished, our society tends to dismiss our diversity. It is heartbreaking to watch my brother take on challenges in life, only to be put down because of his differences and his perceived lack of intelligence and social skills.

Being around people who are not similar to you is uncomfortable, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t learn and grow from others who see things differently. Being by my brother’s side my whole life, I can tell you I’ve learned more than I can imagine, and there’s still so much to learn. If we could all take a moment and be open with someone different from us, there’s so much growth that we could experience.