Dear Reader,

You may not know this, but I have Down syndrome. All my life I have felt alone and different. Sometimes, I would shut myself off and be ashamed of who I am, but I learned over time that I am not alone because I have people who I look up to who love me even though I am different. What I want you to know is that you are not alone either. There are people in your life who love and trust YOU and that is enough. Friends may come and go but remember, each of our journeys is unique; no journey looks the same. Your own personal life is different from mine, but I know you have challenges just as I do. I have learned that as you move forward through your life, it helps to look for hope. It also helps to refuse to allow people to tear you down. You are special and God made you exactly the right way. Trust this, believe, and do not doubt yourself. There will always be people on your path who make you feel stuck or less than. Have the courage to boost yourself up. Be your own best fan.

I wrote these quotes to help me and now to help you, too. I want you to believe that you have a place to come and feel safe and welcome. Come to these pages when you are feeling alone, or stuck, or blocked, or doubting yourself. This journal will be a place to be inspired: write, feel it all, color it out, and get some good advice for how to handle life when things get hard. Best of luck on your journey.

Katelyn Reed

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Katelyn Reed is an active young adult with Down syndrome from Brea, California. In addition to publishing her first book, Katleyn has been professionally acting since the age of 4. She is a downhill skier and has earned her first-degree black belt. Her great joy is singing, and dancing and she is a six-year veteran of a competitive show choir called the United Choirs of Brea. Katelyn loves to write, especially poetry, and since 2018, has been writing original quotes from her perspective as a young adult living and thriving with an intellectual disability. Katelyn has been showing the world since February 2003 that nothing can stop her from accessing and rocking a full and productive life. Wisdom from the Whiteboard is her first published work. She hopes to one day create a second volume dedicated to her poetry. Katelyn is currently attending UC Davis in Davis, CA and is in her first year as a Redwood SEED Scholar, Class of 2026.