Meet my big little brother!

This is my 'little big' brother, Barry (I call him that because he's 5 years older than me, but weighs half as much and is a foot smaller!). My brother has Cerebral Palsy and Scoliosis, and also has what would be classed as 'severe' learning difficulties. His hobbies include hoovering, chasing road sweepers around the streets of Milton Keynes, and working at his work placement Snap.

I've always found it interesting how people react to it when you tell them you have a brother with learning difficulties. It's usually met with a sympathetic (or confused) look and a comment like, 'oh that must be really tough.' I'm incredibly fortunate that with my brother it's not. Don't get me wrong we have our moments! I have more memories than I can count of having to chase after him as he decides he really wants to see what that policeman is doing, and I have to run behind him waving my arms shouting 'it's ok! He's got learning difficulties!'

But despite the fact my brother can't speak, he has taught me more than anyone else I know. First off, he taught me pride. If you grew up watching a man walk into a pub bar, point at the beer he wants, all whilst holding a barbie doll that's having a fight with a toy lorry, and not caring about what anyone around him thinks, it teaches you. It teaches you that you shouldn't care what anyone thinks, and you also learn that people can be very understanding, and often even join in!

He taught me kindness. My mum always tells me the story of how she was on the phone when I was crying as a baby, and he walked up and smashed the phone down, waggled his finger at her, and then pointed at me for attention. I think simple acts like this, stemming the simple desire to not see someone you love unhappy, always stuck with me, as much for it's simplicity but also the importance on my own way of looking at the world.

But more than anything, he taught me that everyone has a right to happiness. My brother needs 24/7 care, but he lives life more than anyone else I know. He's always happy, and it always struck me that the simple purpose of life is the pursuit of happiness. Amongst all the career angst, the relationship dramas, the football losses, all of it, fundamentally, you need to do what makes you happy. I think it's this final point that drew me so strongly to Limitless. We exist to allow people who have lost their happiness a reason to smile, and I believe from the bottom of my heart that no matter what your situation, you have a right, or even an obligation, to pursue what makes you happy, and we are here to facilitate that in anyway we can. I think if we were all able to take that lesson from my little big brother, we'd all be a lot better off for it.