"Why are people staring?"

A question I often asked my mother as a child when we would all be out in public together. To me, my older sister was normal. We were all normal; we were the same. Little did I know at the time, what made my family special would inspire my entire life's purpose.

I have 5 siblings. I know, that's a ton of children. As I always said, there's never a dull moment here at the Nagy Household. I, being somewhere in the middle of the bunch, have always looked up to my older siblings, and have always helped with my younger siblings. We worked as a team to help one another throughout life's trials and tribulation and, for the most part, had each others backs, looking out for one another in school and essentially being 'Mama Bear' whenever needed.

I was fortunate enough to be born closest to my older sister, Molly. Being two and a half years apart, we went to the same schools during different parts of our K-12 years. As a kid I didn't realize she was different until I hit grade school and people asked me what was wrong with my sister. I remember being confused not understanding why people kept asking me, I thought everyone had a sister like my own. A sister who spoke differently, talked all the time, and wanted to know everyone schedules, all day, everyday. A sister who had people come in and work with her, and then afterwards would let us come in and 'play' too. A sister who needed help with several things during the day just like I did as a kid.

I started to put the pieces together as I got older, and by 3rd grade I understood my sister wasn't like me--and that was okay. Molly made our lives interesting. She made us understand people just like her. She made me a better sister and a better person. I grew to understand her disability and others in her classroom. I looked out for her, making sure the cruel people that lurked in the school system didn't get the chance to show their true colors. I understood other people like her, and how to appropriately interact and treat with people with special needs.

My sister being in a moderate to intensive needs classroom exposed me to the other side of the disabilities spectrum. I understood just how severe that side of the spectrum could be, and how lucky I was to have my sister in my life. I understood how lucky I was to have a sister that could speak and tell us stories from her day and could feed herself and have a quality life. I was lucky to have that understanding and compassion long before most people do because I grew up with her.

I had wanted to be a teacher my entire life, and up until high school, I was not sure what type of teacher I wanted to be. It wasn't until I really began to think where my heart was that it seemed so clear that I wasn't sure why I had not seen it sooner. I wanted to take my current knowledge of everything I knew about my sister and her life, my personal experience in her classrooms and at home and combine it with my love for learning and teaching others.

When we walked across the stage together for high school graduation I had nothing but pride in my heart: that was my sister, my inspiration, and we finished that stage of life together.

My sister is my biggest inspiration with her continual happiness and joy that she brings my family. From her silliness to her constant worry of where we are and what every sibling is currently doing, I am grateful that she is in my life.

I am even more grateful that she is what fuels my inspiration to be the teacher that I am going to be. She has taught me so much, and I am grateful to be able to give that back to people that are just as special and amazing as she is.