(The Linzey Series 6/7: Val/Best Friend/Sister)

I looked ahead and saw my entire family laughing and walking together on the boardwalk. It was the most beautiful day at the beach but I was absolutely miserable. My own mental health struggles had set in and I was growing more anxious by the second.

I’ll never forget the first time LB was up to bat. The pitcher will never forget it either. Because every time she steps into the batter’s box, she first starts flapping her arms up and down getting the crowd to cheer for her, then she yells ‘hey throw the ball, what are you afraid of old man.’ She doesn’t always hit the ball, but she still makes the crowd cheer for her anyway. And when she is playing basketball and she makes a basket, the crowd goes crazy and she breaks into her favorite dance moves as she makes her way down the court.

If there is a dance floor Linzey will find it and OWN it...even if at first she’s not welcome! One time a huge group of us were on a cruise to celebrate one of my daughter’s 21st birthdays. One night we all decided to go to the club and dance. When we got to the door the bouncer let everyone through without hesitation until Linzey walked up. The bouncer stopped her and insisted she show ID. She did not have her ID on her but neither did anyone else in our group who were let in before her and some who were even younger than Linzey.

“Flashback to one of our big family vacations up to the snow. We were getting ready to head out of the cabin for a day of skiing and in the hustle of the morning rush to get ready, Linzey and I got in a huge fight. It all started when I made bacon for everyone, but she grabbed most of the pieces and began to chow down. When I noticed there was no more bacon left, I looked around and saw the culprit and yelled ‘baconator!’

Have you ever seen someone across the way and said to yourself ‘I wish I was friends with them.’ When I first saw Linzey walking confidently across the way in HS PE (2012), I knew I wanted to be matched with her in our school's Best Buddies program. She’s the type of girl that draws people in with her confidence, sass, and care. Now the question was, would she want to be matched with me? At no point did I want to be her friend because she had Down syndrome but I wanted to be her friend because of who she is. She was the most popular girl in PE!

Name: Linzey Borrelli / "LB"

Age: 25

Hobbies: Dancing, Singing, Getting my nails done, Getting my monthly massage, Hanging w/my girls & Going to church "My favorite thing about myself is I am a good friend and a good dancer."

I never imagined myself dancing around a public park pathway, blasting “uptown funk” and swaying my arms without a care in the world, that is until I met Linzey… Her lack of inhibitions has broken me out of my shell and freed me to just be me. I became her roommate three months ago when I moved into her family’s house to be closer to school. And since then we've become great friends and I’ve been a witness to her truly fabulous and unfiltered life