Cliques. Laughter. Judgement. A room full of hundreds of people filter into groups of twelve. Wooden tables line up like a maze. Each table is oblivious to what is around them. Forty minutes to socialize with friends, feed your brain, and prepare for the next class. But for others, these are forty minutes of loneliness.
     

I shuffle into the lunchroom, making my way through the crowd. Today, something was different. A loud noise bounced from wall to wall, echoing down the halls -- this was not the familiar muffled chatter. My feet froze to the floor, confused. Everyone in the room was standing, facing the same direction, clapping. What is going on?
     

All eyes were on Stephanie, a student with Downs Syndrome. Every day she ate lunch quietly at a table by herself. But today, she was standing, proudly holding a bouquet of spring flowers. Stephanie was just asked to the Senior Prom.
     

Her contagious smile radiated. I could feel the atmosphere in the lunchroom change as the commotion buzzed around the room. Moods skyrocketed, attitudes improved, and problems seemed non-existent. The upperclassmen were inspired to make this Prom a dance that was different than past years.
     

As days passed, The votes for Prom King and Queen were pouring in. To our surprise, Stephanie was the number one, most popular candidate. She arrived with her date, wearing a ravishing pink gown with jeweled accents, glistening with every step she took. The anxious crowd waited for the winners to be revealed. The announcer lifted the microphone, “And the Prom Queen is...Stephanie!”
     

Stephanie wasn’t just the girl with a disability that sat alone at lunch, she was the Prom Queen. The money and preparation that went into Prom didn’t matter to her date, as long as Stephanie was happy. He treated her equally, made her feel special, and the rest of the students followed his lead. Small actions multiply, creating a tremendous positive impact. Everyone should be treated equally, no matter the circumstance.