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There are many factors that in a lifetime help to determine who you are. Yet for me there is that one circumstance which influenced my being and ultimately changed my life forever. I've had many experiences in all my years that have helped to make me the person that I am today, but none has done so more than when I began working with individuals with disabilities. One can never fully appreciate all they have until they immerse themselves in helping those who can't help themselves. Giving friendship and compassion to those who yearned for attention gave me a sense of pride and them a sense of self-worth. Many of these individuals had either been abandoned or had no family at all and I became their only source of companionship. "Kate, you're my best friend." The sound of a six year old girl with Down Syndrome proclaiming her admiration for me still rings sweet in my ear. I was told she was rarely verbal and had