A teenage girl with Down syndrome was surprised and delighted to be crowned homecoming queen at her school's ceremony earlier this month.
Anne Jennings, a seventeen-year-old girl with Down syndrome, has always had a hard time at her Chicago high school. Though she attended some classes with her peers during the early grades, in recent years, she’d been placed in special education classes, making her feel alienated from the rest of the group. While she had close friends at school, she’d always wished that she wasn’t different from her classmates. “She would ask, ‘Why did God make me have Down syndrome?’” her mother, Ellen Jennings, told the Chicago Tribune.
Anne’s mother never had a good answer to give her—but finally, the teenager has discovered that there’s nothing wrong with being exactly who she is: on October 3rd, she was surprised and delighted to be crowned homecoming queen of her class at Libertyville High School.
Her classmates had worked together for weeks to give her this special moment, even forming a Facebook group called “Annie Jennings for Homecoming Queen,” which had over 300 members. One of the students commented on the site, “Annie has already won in my book! She is beautiful outside AND more importantly INSIDE.”
“Amazing. Unbelievable,” said Ellen Jennings. “You teach kids to do the right thing and treat people all like individuals, and look what happens.”
Since receiving the ceremonial crown, Jennings has been ecstatic, and the show of support from her classmates has given her a huge self-esteem boost. “Before, I was just plain me,” she said. “When I was queen, it changed. It’s amazing. Everyone loves me. I love me.”