“Fitting in is becoming who you think you need to be in order to be accepted. Belonging is being your authentic self and knowing that no matter what happens, you belong to you.” – Brene Brown

Our tagline at Friends Life Community (FLC) is “Everyone deserves to belong.” Unfortunately, adults with developmental disabilities are often asked to shift, stretch, mold, change, adapt, and behave in a way that allows them to “fit in” to a society that is not designed for them.  

While most of us live our lives trying to be authentic and accept ourselves for who we are, the Friends show up every day with pure authenticity. They belong to themselves. They love themselves. They live life, unapologetically.  

They have what the rest of us are trying to achieve. And the irony is – if we were better at loving ourselves, being authentic, and knew true belonging, then the world would not be a place where anyone had to fight to “fit in.”  

The Friends have already mastered the hard part. They simply want what we have – autonomy, people who know their name, friends, a paid job, choices, to live on their own, significant others – but they often miss out because they are unwilling to be anyone other than who they are to gain those things.

Maybe we would all have more of what we want if they didn’t have to.