00:00I used to go up to strangers and hug them because it made me happy. My rare
00:05condition means I love everyone. Williams syndrome is a super rare genetic
00:10condition characterized by cognitive and developmental issues and highly social
00:16personalities. Oh, okay. I was hesitant in the beginning to even put her on social
00:22media. It would really irk me when they would make comments on my sister. I worry
00:27people will take advantage of her, but I will always be there to protect my
00:31sister. You haven't been there for me since I was born. Yeah. We are going to the
00:38thrift store to find new items so we can create something really cool today.
00:45Where's your jacket? Throw me mine. Thank you. I'm Alexandra. I'm 27 years old. I'm
00:54Victoria. I'm 30 years old. I'm this one's sister. Me and my sister spent every day
00:59together. I love hanging out with her. Sometimes we argue. I mean, we're sisters.
01:06That's what sisters do. She's a precious sister. That's why. My rare condition means
01:13I love everyone. Williams syndrome is a condition kind of like down syndrome, but
01:20we're missing chromosome seven. It's characterized by cognitive and
01:26developmental issues. Along with the developmental delays, they also have very
01:31like highly social personalities. Hi, I'm Alexandra. I have Williams syndrome. They all
01:37have an affinity for music. Do you know Nickelback? I do. Love that band. They have
01:44similar facial features and y'all have a wider mouth and then y'all usually all have
01:50like the starburst blue eyes. A lot of y'all do. Oh, yeah. If he came close to my eyes,
01:55you would see it. My parents were always very open and honest about her disability. Our mom,
02:06she took her out of school and she got homeschooled where she could have the
02:10one-on-one attention that she actually needed. It was kind of in that point where kids aren't
02:16so as accepting when they kind of get to that age where they start forming friend groups and, oh,
02:21she's a little different. That's something I really, I don't think she would have been able to handle.
02:27But she didn't have to go through that. No. Are you happy? Are you happy about that? Oh, yeah.
02:33Oh, this is not as cute as I thought it was. She has so many cute clothes. It's ridiculous. I love
02:46clothes. They're so pretty. Well, we like fun, happy, like funky clothes. It's kind of hard to find. So we
02:56just make our own. It's like treasure hunting. We like treasure hunting and then we like creating. So
03:02we treasure hunt and create all at the same time. That's funky.
03:07I get excited immediately. She goes like this. She got blue nails. Thank you.
03:19Yeah, if I know them well enough. Yeah, but back when you were younger, it wasn't if you knew them well
03:28enough. I used to love hugging people that I didn't know because it made me happy. She would. So she
03:36would wander off and just give anybody a hug, which is sweet. And most people don't mind. But, you know,
03:42some people do mind. Not everyone is friendly. Not everyone has good intentions. It took a while
03:48for you to understand that. Victoria taught me not to. I worry people will take advantage of her,
03:56but I will always be there to protect my sister. In the car. Good job. I'm about to call all my
04:04friends. Oh, Lord have mercy. Hopefully it works. Hi. I talked to my friends that have the same
04:13William Syndrome. She's made William Syndrome friends from all over the world. They Facebook
04:20Messenger all the time. Like all the time. I'll be like sewing and I'll look over and some of them
04:28are sleeping and they're like watching each other sleep. Some of them are like dancing and doing their
04:33own thing. We're really crazy. It doesn't feel tiring to match her happy energy. She's always been that
04:41way. It's always been a consistent in my life. What do y'all ask me to do to Alexandra when y'all
04:46are on the phone? Oh, no, no, no, no, no. I know where this is going. Don't. Huh? You can tickle her.
04:52And tickle her. So the mottos that are on our clothes, we try to use phrases that are like be
05:00yourself, stay weird, normal is boring. You know, if you're weird, that's fine. Like embrace how you're
05:06unique. I love that one. You like this one of you? Yeah. Yeah. It says normal is boring and it has
05:13the William Syndrome logo on there as well. So any of our items like t-shirts wise that we make that
05:19has the William Syndrome logo, we donate a portion of our profits to the association. These colors
05:26match together. You like those colors? Yes. So I do the sewing because I enjoy it and she like has
05:32no interest in sewing. But she helps. You want to cut it? When she cuts, it's a little jagged, but I like
05:40that. It just adds some uniqueness to it. She likes to, I mean, have the final say-so on the designs to
05:48make sure that they're Alexandra approved. So all of the designs have been Alexandra approved before
05:54they go on the website. And I'll get something and I'll say, what do you think about this? And she'll be
06:00like, no, that's ugly. And so I'll try again until- I'll be honest with you. I will tell her how it
06:06is. This one's one of my favorites because it has me on it. Then you cut off the bottom to this to make
06:13it like frayed and worn looking. Oh, okay. Walk towards me with your model walk and runway go.
06:32And then strike your pose. Good job.
06:35I feel good. She is the best model. Oh, oh, I look good. Which one do you think? Oh,
06:47that one's cute. You like that one? Yeah. I like that one. And we make videos for what do we make
06:54videos for? TikTok or Instagram. Are you ready? Yeah. I feel like I have tried to create platforms to
07:04where it is positive and there is love. Everyone gets trolls and it would really
07:09irk me when they would make comments on my sister. And that was part of the reason why I was hesitant
07:15in the beginning to even put her on social media. I mean, there are things that could get her down,
07:22but she chooses not to. So it makes me proud. Just the way that she loves and cares about people
07:28is a good reminder for me to just see the world from her point of view. Because I think our world,
07:38especially nowadays, just needs a lot more of that. Why are you proud of me?
07:43So you have been there for me since I was born? Yeah. But I'm always going to be there for you.
07:51That's what sisters are for. Huh? You should be happy with what makes you unique. Because normal's like
08:02really boring. Yeah. Yeah.
08:21you should be happy with what makes you unique.
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