This guest post is by Marissa Hacker who is the Founder and President of Fantastic Friends. We recently had Marissa on our show to discuss her personal experiences in the disability community and to talk more about her relationship with her twin brother Matthew who’s on the autism spectrum.
1) He is brutally honest
Forget sugar coating, there is not a day in my brother’s life where he speaks anything but the truth, it just is not possible. I can ask my brother absolutely ANYTHING, and I can always expect to hear the cold, harsh truth. “Hey Matt, do you like this new deodorant I’m wearing?” I ask. “No, you really stink, Riss.” Matthew replies with the most honest intention.
Your “best friend” is not a best friend unless they are keeping it real with you!
2) His humor is out of this world
There is no such thing as a serious situation in our life. My brother knows how to make light out of anything that comes our way (and I mean anything). A beautiful example is when my brother heard what I said about a mean teacher and went to that class the next day to repeat it to them.
It was his way of standing up for me! I always have a hero (a funny hero that is) to protect me and brighten my day with lots of laughter!
3) He is my personal calendar and an astounding MATTHEWmatician
Matthew is sharp as a pencil! He remembers absolutely everything he hears, word-for- word, and can tell you what time it was said along with the date, what the person was wearing, and what the weather was like outside. He can also find solutions and calculate math problems in his brain without a calculator.
Calculators and Calendars are becoming obsolete because my MATTHEWmatician is the new, hot way of solving your problems. There really is no reason for me to have a calendar or a calculator when I have an incredible best friend always by my side who can remind and calculate things for me!
4) He helps me make connections to things i wouldn’t event think to be connected
Matthew helps me see life from unique perspectives. With his creative mind, Matthew is always connecting interesting ideas and themes together. Over the years, I have learned so much about how everything is so closely connected, and that any idea can form a connection-no; matter how bizarre it seems!
Have you ever thought to correlate someone’s birthday to their persona? Or to connect someone’s action to a reason other than behavior?
A best friend always keeps your wheels turning!
5) He shows me unconditional love and support
Matthew is always there for me with open ears, arms, and endless amounts of hugs. We have a telepathic bond, he can always tell how I am feeling and vice versa. Matthew has made me a more understanding, loving, and accepting person to everyone I meet and I truly can’t thank him enough for that.
Matthew is my best friend and is always making me into a better person each and every day! I feel so blessed for the incredible friendship I have with him!
Different is Beautiful 