Leo is a high school student who loves astrology and his mother. Leo sees the world differently than others and he recognizes that his autism is what others say makes him different but what his mom says makes him real. In this story he shares his live as he sees it and as he is presently living it. Sharing stories of bullying and what the day to day feels like in his shoes. He is aware of the things that he does that may make people do a double take, the things that feel normal to him but for others is a little head scratching, but the. joy of Leo is that he doesn’t apologize for any of it because he gives and receives love and that is important to him. It is when he shares high goal before graduation that his heart opens and we see another side of him, one that has a crush, one that makes us pull for him hoping that before graduation our hero wins and he gets the girl, or in his case gets his first day to the movies with Hope. As in most life experiences there is always something or in Leo’s case someone that holds him back. But we get to see a glimpse of Leo’s growth when he confronts the one things standing in his way and with pride and his head held high he walks away feeling fulfilled. Coming of age is easier for some than it is for others, and for Leo it is a day-to-day list of lessons learned. Let’s walk a mile in his shoes as he reminds us how easy it is to be a good person every day.
Makes Me Real
(Scene opens with Leo, a seventeen-year-old senior in high school. He stares into a telescope seeing all the stars makes him smile, beat. He sees the audience, smiles and addresses them.)
I love my mom. She's awesome. If there was a television show where kids got to bring their moms on and tell the entire world how special they were, I would be first in line. (smiles) My mom gave me life but she's also constantly changing mine and reminding me why my life matters to her and why it should matter to me. (apologizing as he sees the audience shift) I know that sounds dramatic but it's important to know that there are millions of people, some of them teenagers, some of them younger out there that are just like me. People who look at themselves in the mirror and ask, “Why am I here?” In that moment expecting or hoping that God or someone will respond with an answer that will justify everything that we deal with in a day, an hour, seemingly every minute. (beat) You remember that movie from the 80s “ET”? I clearly wasn’t alive in that decade but my favorite films are from that time period. Stories were simple, actors were consistent and it’s just my favorite decade for film and music. But for those of you who haven't seen it, in my mind it was one of the first times that aliens were presented in a pretty cool and dynamic way. Baby Drew Barrymore was one of the characters who made this personal connection with ET which was short for extraterrestrial. (Looks through the telescope) I was one of those kids, I had a telescope at the age of 3 and my mom couldn't get me out of the window. At that age I definitely wasn't looking for the answers to my problems but there was something that kept me just curious just looking. I'm looking up at the stars wondering if there really is a planet where ET and his family are thriving