Every chapter of This Little Light of Mine ends with a section called “Kirstin’s side of the story.” It is clear from reading those sections that Kirstin has lots to say. Here are some of her words.

“Everyone is special in his or her own way.”

“Everybody should be treated nicely by other people. We all need to have respect for each other every day.”

“If someone is having trouble learning to read, I would tell them not to give up. You can do it if you put your mind to it. Read as much as you can and you’ll get better at it. We all have problems. Yours is learning to read, but you can solve it. Find a good teacher who will help you and never give up on you.”

“I have some advice for high school students who want to go to college. College is not an easy thing to do, but you can learn to do it. Do the best you can. That is all you can do. All you have to do is believe in yourself. Tell yourself that you are special in a lot of ways. It doesn’t matter who you are as long as you have parents and friends to help you. Don’t let any teachers tell you that you can’t do it.”

“My mom wants to know why we like The Wizard of Oz so much. I think it is because everyone in the story has problems, but they have what they need to solve their problems. The scarecrow wishes for a brain. He thinks he isn’t smart, but he really is. Tin man wishes for a heart. The wizard tell him ‘A heart is not judged by how much you love, but how much you are loved by others.’ The Cowardly Lion wishes for courage. He faces the Wicked Witch and he is brave when he needs to be.  Dorothy wants to go home. Glinda tells her she always has the power to go back home.  The ruby slippers help her when she says ‘There’s no place like home.’ Everyone is wishing for something, but they have it all the time. They just don’t realize it until the Wizard points it out.”

“My advice to someone looking for a job is be flexible and willing to help people when they need it. Don’t be afraid to learn new jobs. It makes you more valuable, and it’s job security.”

“I read the book by Dale Evans. I was crying when I read about Dale’s child with Down syndrome. I was sorry that she died. I know she is happy in heaven. I think she is looking down on me right now. She is helping us who have Down syndrome.”

“We are all angels in this world. We all should care.  We all should love.  We all have feelings. We all should forgive. Talk about your problems with others who have experiences like you. Control your anger with other people. We all have heroes. We all need someone to look up to. ”

“We need to keep our earth clean. That way we will have a place to live and grow up. We all have to do our part.”

From: This Little Light of Mine, A woman with Down syndrome shines brightly in the world. This book is available on Amazon