Throughout my life I have had many friends, but the three friends that have affected my life the greatest are Joseph, and Joshua Cornelius, and Zachary Koepke. Each of them has a disease called Muscular Dystrophy. The disease causes deterioration of muscle at a young age, and due to it, most people with the disease are unable to walk, and are bound to a wheelchair for most of their lives. People with Muscular Dystrophy also have a life expectancy of around twenty-one years. A friend of mine introduced Josh and Joey to me one day, and I hung out with them almost every day for the next five years. I met Zach in elementary school, and I am still good friends with him.

I met Joseph Cornelius when he was seventeen. We had similar interests; we were both die hard Minnesota Twins fans, and we both enjoyed playing games on our computers. Joey was an artist. He would spend his spare time building model cars, drawing, and doing graphic design on his computer. He also loved to fish, just like his father, and his brother Josh. Joey was a dedicated student when it came to school, and he always made sure that he did his homework before he played any games. In 2001 he graduated from high school and attended Minnesota West Community and Technical College in Canby, where he got a degree that allowed him to get him a job doing something he loved doing, graphic design. Joey passed away due a heart attack in 2006, at the age of twenty-three.

Josh Cornelius was a classmate of my brother Darrin, and is one of my best friends. He loves to play video games, and watch movies. Josh was always more playful and talkative than Joey, and he always wanted to know what was on my mind. He has been a great friend and has helped me many times that I have been down. He graduated from high school in 2004. Josh has always been a fighter. The level of his disease was much worse than Joey’s from the start, but he has always been a strong person, and he continues to fight to this day. I do not see Josh as often as I used to due to a communication difficulty that can make being with him very hard emotionally. Josh is now twenty-three.

Zachary Koepke began going to elementary school with me in third grade. He has always been at the top of my class academically, and he has always been friendly to anyone that offered to be his friend. Zach has a different kind of Muscular Dystrophy, and his life expectancy is much higher than the other two boys. Zach enjoys art just as much as Joey did, and he enjoys video games just as much as Josh did. Zach has never let his condition stop him from doing anything. He enjoys playing sports like hockey, and he can find a solution to almost any problem that he may be in. Zach will be graduating this year, and attending technical college to get his liberal arts degree. He has always had a great interest in history, so I believe he will go on to do something such as teaching social studies, or he will continue with his art like Joey did, and make a living out of that. Zach is now seventeen.

These three taught me that you should never look differently at anyone, no matter what condition they are in, because the odds are, they are a normal human being, just like you. They also showed me that I should always keep my head up high, and keep fighting, no matter how down I am. Most importantly they showed me that no matter who you are, and no matter what condition you are in you can do anything you want, as long as you can set your mind to it.