Waching daily May 26 2018

BURNSVILLE, N.C. -- At Mountain Heritage High School in Burnsville, North Carolina, Rachel Newberry caught Ben Robinson completely off guard

He was a little surprised, a little shocked. Ben, who has Down syndrome, had no idea Rachel was going to ask him to senior prom

 Every year we see stories like this -- a typical kid inviting a special needs kid to prom

Stories of kindness. But what makes this so different is that Rachel wasn't trying to be kind

In fact, when she posted the video and strangers started commenting that she was this amazing, incredible young lady with a very good heart, Rachel was a little put off

"Yeah, it's not that at all.  I don't think that me asking my friend to prom makes me a good person," Rachel said

 To understand how Rachel became so wonderfully oblivious to her own grace, you need go back to where this all started

 Rachel and Ben have known each other their entire lives. They were in Sunday school together and immediately took to one another

Rachel was always the one person who could get Ben to calm down. And Ben was always the one person Rachel could count on

Their friendship is so unconditional that for the longest time Rachel didn't even know Ben had Down syndrome

"I guess someone told me eventually and explained it," Rachel said.  But it didn't change anything

"No, no, he's still just my best friend after that," Rachel said.  "When you say best friend, you mean best friend," I said

 "I mean best friend, yeah," Rachel said emotionally. This is what people didn't understand when they saw her video

 Fifty years ago, back when a lot of special needs kids were still being institutionalized, few people could have ever imagined a utopian moment such as this -- a time and place where differences melt away and kids like Ben are recognized less for their Down syndrome, and more for their ability to get down

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