My brother Jonathan ignites my spark. At the age of three, he was diagnosed with autism. I grew up watching him struggle with everyday activities. Making friends was a daunting task with rarely any positive outcome. He would have difficulty expressing himself. At home he would be always talking, smiling, making me laugh. In public, he was dead silent; unable to show the world who he really was. I do not consider his diagnosis a curse. Instead, I consider it a blessing. My brother has inspired me to change the world. Even though he will never know it, he is the reason I have become me. My brother is my hero. No matter what I am going through, he gives me hope. Watching him overcome his disability inspires me to overcome the little road blocks in my way. Through watching my brother grow up, I have seen first-hand how difficult it is to give a child with special needs the academic and emotional attention they need. My parents would send him to numerous therapists, attempting to discover the culprit for the problem. As I grew older, my parents began to have higher expectations for me. They expected that I would care more for my brother not just as a sister, but as an adult. Caring for an autistic brother became a daunting and frustrating task, but in my pursuit to grow and care for my brother, I too grew. I came to know that my brother was not different or what doctors called 'special'; he was an ordinary teenage boy, living life at a slower pace. I’m inspired to make a