I love seeing people with Trisomy 21 living their dreams. I got teary eyed when I watched this video of Andrew Self, a 21 year old young man with Down syndrome competing on a show in England.

I kept thinking of how this young man’s mother must be feeling, her heart must have been ready to jump out of her chest with pride as she watched him. Moms are the silent warriors behind every successful adult, doing all those small things day in and out that will never be seen or acknowledged but that have made a difference. But she knows what it took to get him on that stage.

The way this competition is set up is that the performer begins in a closed studio where the audience is able to see him via video. 25 seconds into his dance routine, he has gotten 75% of the audience vote, the walls come up and he’s suddenly in front of the live audience.

In addition to watching this very talented dancer, I also loved seeing his best friend in the audience – and when he ran on to stage and hugged him I was more than just a little teary eyed.

Why is that? What is it that inspires this kind of emotion? As the parent of kids with T21 it’s not surprising that I would be touched. But why were so many people in the audience and even one of the judges crying when they watched this performance? What was it that people found so touching and inspiring?

I think there’s some element of the contrast between what was expected and what they saw.

Maybe it’s the unabashed emotion that both Andrew and his friend expressed. Most of us put a cap on their feelings, but they didn’t.

Maybe it’s recognizing what it must have taken to overcome so many barriers to reach this point.

What do you think? If when you watch this you feel a sense of poignancy, why do you think that is?

Avivah