I am writing to you after reading the column "College is about learning from experiences" (April 23). I am the proud mother of a little girl who happens to have Down syndrome, and I want you to know that this column gave me goosebumps. It is columns like this that open up the world for my daughter and all children and people with special needs. I sit here with tears in my eyes as I write to you because my heart is full with hope and inspiration. You so often hear only of the poor choices, selfish attitudes and negative outcomes that can go along with high school and college-aged teenagers.

As the mother of a special little girl, I often look toward to that time in my daughter's future with nothing but fear -- fear that by the time my daughter's peers are that age she will not be accepted. At least not accpeted in the fulfilling ways that she is now as a child surrounded by other innocent children in elementary school. But the column renewed my faith in her future and the future of our society. When young men can remind us what life is truly about through their everyday experiences like this, it gives us all hope and renews our faith in all of mankind. Thank you so very much for publishing such a positive story. All too often we only hear and read stories that accentuate the negative aspects of people and our society. It is so refreshing to read an uplifting column like this. Also, a huge thank you to the amazing author who may believe he's a typical, everyday young man, but to families like mine, he is a hero.