I have Moebius Syndrome and was born without the ability to physically smile, among other things such as inability to close my lips, lack of lateral eye movement and an underdeveloped left side of the body. However, like most people with Moebius I never let that stop me from doing the things I wanted to do. 

People with Moebius are special, not because of their physical limitations, but because of their strength, resilience, warmth, humor and humility. I find that people sometimes marginalize, push aside, and/or underestimate people that physically look different or sound different than them. The good thing is, we never underestimate ourselves.

At the age of 29, I have worked for the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer for 4 seasons – in the sport I’ve loved since I was 3 years old. It’s a profession and position that probably no one on the outside thought was a realistic possibility for someone like me. The good thing is I always saw it as a realistic possibility for myself, and that’s all that matters. Over the past 3 seasons I have worked with some of the brightest minds in soccer in this country and am blessed to work for one of the best clubs in the league. This past season we went on to win the Supporters’ Shield, given to the team in the league with the best regular season record… and not only did we have the best record that season, but we had the best record in the league’s 27-year history and shattered a number of club and league records on the way to being named Supporters’’ Shield winners. It was an incredible moment for me personally to reflect upon everything I had done and worked towards in my young life and how much determination, belief in myself and help from others that it took to get there. A real “pinch me” moment proving that physical differences or sounding different don’t need to have any impact upon what you want to do with your life and/or what goals you set out to achieve. A kid with Moebius Syndrome played a role, albeit small one, in winning one of US professional soccer’s biggest and best trophies – that’s pretty cool. Thinking back to a 9-, 10- or 11-year-old me, I’d think that would be amazing and something I could only dream about. 

No matter what you look like, sound like, whoever you are… good things can happen if you believe in yourself and attack whatever you want in life. It may take more work or more determination than you think, but it can be done – and it will be done if you want it enough and work towards it. I am proud to be a part of the Moebius Syndrome community and proud of all my fellow Moebius brothers and sisters.