The internet loves cute kids dancing, almost as much as it loves cats. But this little girl is special.

Give this video a watch, and see if you notice anything. Aside from the fact that she’s a cutie with some pretty awesome moves, is there anything you notice about her that’s different?

The first time I watched this, I didn’t see anything different about her compared to all the other bouncing toddler videos out there (other than the fact that she looks a little like a baby Taylor Swift, whose song she’s dancing to).

This little girl is Rilee, and she’s five years old. But, I actually had to read the description to learn that she has Achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism. 

She might never grow past about four feet tall, but I hope she never let’s that stop her from dancing! Right now she’s probably too young to know she’s “different,” and it makes me wonder when and why that awareness kicks in. When do we lose that childlike ability to just be ourselves? I’m not really sure.

I was a confident outgoing kid once, and then one day I felt like I just woke up insecure and ever since I’ve been wondering why? Where did this come from?

All the logic in the world tells me it’s all nonsense, but that somehow isn’t enough to cure myself of it, at least not completely. Once it occurs to us that we might not be “normal” that is suddenly all we want to be. Maybe I can’t un-ring that bell for myself, but I wouldn’t it be lovely if we could spare the next generation from this plague?

So, why is this little girl so special?

Is it because she has dwarfism? Is it because she’s not normal? No, it’s because she’s Rilee, and that’s all she knows. And that’s all she needs to be.

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Author: Kathryn Muyskens

Editor: Catherine Monkman

Photo: YouTube Screen Shot