Caleb Popejoy used to hate large groups of people more than anything. When he was moving from middle school to high school, he was actually quite terrified at the prospect of having to be surrounded by bigger and bigger groups of teenagers and teachers.
While he certainly hated being near and around these crowds, the idea of him ever being comfortable standing in front of them was utterly ridiculous. Not in a million years would you ever see or hear Caleb even close to the front of the crowd.
That is, until Caleb’s freshman year, when he laid eyes on the big bear head sitting in the front office. Caleb has autism and is considered antisocial by most accounts, but when Caleb was allowed to put on the full bear suit as the school’s mascot, all of his fears disappeared in an instant.
He could dance in front of crowds (like the amazing cow mascot), hug strangers, high-five babies; Caleb could do everything simply because he had the ability to hide behind a mask.
But then something funny happened. He took off the mask and suit and suddenly realized that he was open to socializing and making friends. If he was comfortable hiding inside the costume, what was so different and scary about just being in his own skin?
You can find Caleb these days hugging his friends and high fiving strangers, with or without his mascot costume on!
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