A Moment of Inclusion in Kuala Lumpur

This past Friday, I came back from a two-week trip to Malaysia and Istanbul with my best friend. The Malaysia part was for a personal development program we did together with another friend, where I explored a lot of my feelings and perspectives on living with an invisible physical disability (thank you forever SEEDS Mastery!) ✨

I have so many stories and photos to post eventually, but this one stood out.

Once my friend and I were finished shopping at Central Market in Kuala Lumpur, I ordered a Grab ride (their version of Uber) to pick us up, make a stop to pick up our third friend, and take us to our dinner plans. When I got the ride confirmation, I noticed it said our driver was deaf, and to communicate with him through the chat function.

For most of our interactions during the ride, we did use either the chat or gave each other a thumbs up. It didn’t feel like enough appreciation or inclusion to me, but I don’t know any sign language.

So mid-ride, I quickly Googled how to say “thank you” in sign language, figuring doing that at the end of the ride would be better than nothing.

Just before I got out of the car, I signed “thank you” to the driver, and he signed it back! And even though he was wearing a mask, I could tell from his eyes he was smiling. 🥹

I’ve always felt a kind of empathy and solidarity with other people living with disabilities. Even when they’re different from my own, we’re all living in a world that wasn’t built for us. We all appreciate moments of recognition or inclusion, whether they’re big or small.

And sometimes, a moment of inclusion is just a quick Google search away. ✨🫶🏽

Day 6 of Invisible Disabilities Week: recap of my virtual keynote for The Co-operators

“This session is my YAY” - a screenshot of the Teams chat that was sent to me after my Invisible Disabilities Week talk for The Co-operators’ disability-focused ERG 🥹😂🥰

Was so thrilled to be the virtual keynote speaker yesterday for almost 200 employees across Canada, to talk about disability myths, biases and beliefs and to share the daily yay! Check out the feedback from my talk in my Instagram post here.

I’ve got a few bookings for the week of and week after International Day of Persons with Disabilities in December, but I still have lots of availability that week!

If you’re looking for a virtual or in-person keynote speaker on disability, resilience, belonging or joy, send a yay my way! ✨

Day 5 of Invisible Disabilities Week: my first time meeting someone with my disability in person!

If you’ve ever felt nobody understands what you’re going through, this is your sign we’re never as alone as we think we are.

That was a main reason I rarely talked about my muscle disability for over 30 years - I figured nobody would care or relate. Then, I connected with Carrie.

Carrie and I both have the same rare muscle disorder, have both worked in the arts and for music festivals, and both love sparkle (her @carrieccduk IG bio is “Invisible Disability | Visible Sparkle” and I WISH I’d thought of that myself!) - I’m pretty sure that makes her my doppleganger somehow?! ✨

She reached out to me in January and we realized we have SO much in common. I was in the UK in August for my cousin’s wedding, and we met up during my 2.5-day trip to London - my first time meeting someone with my disability in person! Check out this reel on my Instagram for how our first meeting went.

I’m now so positive that your Carrie is out there too - you just need to share your experiences and what you’re going through, or at least look for people sharing theirs. Let me know when you find them! 💃🏽✨🫶🏽

Thanks to @thedanshaikh for being our personal cameraman and creative director 😂🥰💖

Day 4 of Invisible Disabilities Week - it’s National Scar Appreciation Day!

Today is National Scar Appreciation Day, which I was excited to realize happens during Invisible Disabilities Week! 💃🏽

Last year, I did my first photo shoot for brand/speaker photos. Considering I talked about hiding my leg scar for 25+ years in my Speaker Slam Grand Slam speech (linked here!), I figured I should have some photos of it.

Growing up, I always tried to hide my legs. I didn’t wear shorts in public until my late twenties - other than occasionally on vacations, where I’d never see anyone again. 🙃

When I was 10 days old, I had a muscle biopsy. The doctors didn’t think I was going to live back then (when I was born, I didn’t cry, couldn’t suck to be fed, and couldn’t move my limbs), so they weren’t too concerned with the aesthetics of my surgery. So since then, I’ve had a 3 inch scar on the front of my left thigh.

For years, I hated my scar. It felt like the telltale sign of my disability - which I could hide pretty well until I had to open a heavy door, or walk up a flight of stairs, or get up from sitting on the ground.

After I did my speech about hiding my scar at the Archangel Summit/DestinyFest last year in front of 1,000 people in Toronto, a few people came up to me and said they have scars too that they struggle/d with, and how my talk moved them - which I’d never thought of as a possibility before then, but I loved it so much.

Just another reminder that we’re never as alone as we might think we are in our experiences. I still don’t love my scar, but it's there. I accept it more than I used to, and don’t hide it from people or in photos anymore. And I think little Lauren would be happy with that. ✨🫶🏽

Day 3 of Invisible Disabilities Week Sirius XM Canada interview and brunch thoughts

Yesterday, I was on Sirius XM Canada’s The Boost morning show for Invisible Disabilities Week. Afterwards, I had brunch with a new friend who also has a mobility disability, who’s been on a self-acceptance journey similar to mine.

During the interview, I was asked what advice I’d give to someone with an invisible disability who wants to talk about it, but isn’t sure how to share it publicly, and I said 2 things:

First, start getting used to telling people other things about yourself, unrelated to your disability, that you don’t usually share - an unusual food pairing you’re into, or somewhere you’ve always wanted to travel, or a hobby you were into as a kid - anything you don’t generally talk about much. Mention things like that here and there, because that’s a small step in getting used to talking about something you usually don’t, and how it feels.

Second, start with one person. Maybe you can bring it up to someone who has a friend/family with a disability as well, or someone who has something you know they get nervous to talk about too. Once you get over the fear of telling one person, it can get easier to tell a second, and a third, and how you want to go from there.

Afterward at brunch with my friend, we talked about how we both tried to avoid facing/accepting our disabilities for years. I said when I finally did accept and start talking about it, I also then had to face when things are harder for me, or when I’m having a difficult time - and that it was easier to ignore that some situations ARE harder because of my disability, when I was pushing my feelings about it away in general. His face lit up when he immediately agreed, and I was so heart-warmed that he related.

I was watching Suits a while ago, and a line from an episode hit me - that “true power is not pretending to be what you’re not, it’s admitting the truth of who you are.”

To me, Invisible Disabilities Week (Oct 19-25) is about creating visibility and community for those living with them, and to encourage others to share their stories and experiences.

Because every time someone steps up and says who they are, the world becomes a better, more interesting place. ✨

Day 2 of Invisible Disabilities Week - Sirius XM Canada interview on The Boost!

Started my morning at Sirius XM Canada today for Canada Talks channel’s The Boost morning show, talking about my disability acceptance journey and Invisible Disabilities Week!

Thank you SO much to Liza Fromer, Patrick Bateman, Vicky Sparks and Nakita for having me - more thoughts and photos to come, and look out for Oct 20th’s The Boost episode on Sirius XM Canada’s Canada Talks channel (channel 167)! 🙌🏽💙✨

Thanks to the best publicist Dan Shaikh of Speaker Slam - today was the first time we’ve been to one of my interviews together! Check out my BTS highlight reel of the interview on my Instagram page here🎉

Day 1 of Invisible Disabilities Week - time for a re-introduction!

Today’s the start of Invisible Disabilities Week - a good time for a (re-)introduction! ✨

So hi! I’m Lauren - invisible disability speaker, accessibility advocate & frequent yay-sayer (fun fact, my 8th grade yearbook has one of my Favourite Sayings as “Yay!” so that part of me has been around a longgg time 😄)

I was born with Central Core Disease, a rare muscle disorder where some of the mitochondria in my muscle cells is missing. You might’ve seen the meme that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, converting food into energy and energy into strength. My own strength is about 33% of the average person, so a lot of things are harder for me.

Even though I was born with it, I was undiagnosed until I was 20, and didn’t hear the 33% strength part until 26. Pre-20, I knew I had a muscle disability, but not what, and pre-26, had no idea how far off I was from the average person.

With no language or terms to understand/explain it, and with a lot of internalized ableism, I hid it as much as I could for 30+ years. I used to tear up anytime I had to tell someone new - I’ve only been open for the last 3 years.

That’s when I spoke about it for the first time in a Speaker Slam competition - because I’d seen other speakers with disabilities share their stories, and was like “wait, we can talk about it?!” I’d never seen the point of sharing it before, and realized maybe the point was to help others feel seen, the way those speakers did for me.

6 months later, I competed again, to get more comfortable talking about it. I qualified for the 2023 Grand Slam finals, became the #2 Inspirational Speaker of the Year with this speech, and things took off!

Now, I’m a keynote speaker on invisible disabilities, resilience and belonging, the first and only Invisible Disabilities Association (IDA) Ambassador in Canada, and an Ambassador for the Rick Hansen Foundation School Program. I’ve had 20+ media features, and raised over $5,000 USD for the IDA. Best of all, I get to be part of the disability representation for others, that I never knew I needed for myself.

And I truly believe every time someone steps up and says who they are, the world becomes a better, more interesting place. ✨

One Invisible Disabilities Week keynote down, one to go!

“I live with a lot of invisible disabilities, and your presentation spoke loudly to me, so thank you.” 🙏🏽

Any time a host or attendee of one of my talks has a response like the one above that I heard today, I’m so heartwarmed and encouraged - not only that my message is reaching the people who need to hear it, but that more people with invisible disabilities are finding the representation they need to see, just like I did/do.

Was so thrilled to be the virtual keynote speaker today for over 230 employees at Employment and Social Development Canada! And equally thrilled to see the comments and 100% feedback (check that out here!) 🎉

I’ve got one more talk for Invisible Disabilities Week next week, and then I’m looking ahead to International Day of Persons with Disabilities in December.

If you’re looking for a virtual or in-person keynote speaker on disability, resilience, belonging or joy, send a yay my way! ✨

Catch me on Sirius XM Canada’s The Boost morning show to kick off Invisible Disabilities Week!

DID YOU KNOW that an estimated up to 80% of disabilities are non-apparent? I spent 30+ years hiding my muscle disability because I could, and because I didn’t want to talk about it.

But the fact that it was non-apparent also made it feel harder and more nerve-wracking to bring it up at all. What would people think or assume about me, if they knew I had a muscle disability?

It took me a long time to realize that my disability isn’t the problem - ableism is.

So excited to be on Sirius XM Canada’s The Boost morning show on Mon Oct 20 around 8:30-40 am, to talk about my journey and getting 13 buildings/monuments across 10 Canadian cities to light up for invisible disabilities!

Invisible Disabilities Week (Oct 19-25) is a time to normalize discussions around disability and listen to people’s experiences with their own, so I love seeing more recognition of it this month.

Thanks to the best publicist Dan Shaikh! 💃🏽💙✨

Invisible Disabilities Week speaking engagement for The Co-operators

In less than 10 days, I’ll be speaking virtually to 200-300 employees at The Co-operators about disability biases and beliefs, supporting invisible disabilities and fostering an empathetic, inclusive culture - a dream fit for Invisible Disabilities Week next week!

From my story of hiding my rare muscle disorder as much as I could for 30+ years, to rethinking common invisible disability myths and swapping in more inclusive language/responses, I’m so excited to speak to the ERG members - one of my favourite audiences!

To me, Invisible Disabilities Week (Oct 19-25) is about creating visibility and community for those living with them, and to encourage others to share their stories and experiences.

Because every time someone steps up and says who they are, the world becomes a better, more interesting place. ✨

Two disability inclusion speakers walk into a restaurant: reflections with Chris Ruden

When I first met Chris Ruden a little over 2 years ago, he was already a successful speaker. When I first heard him speak, I was in awe and felt such a connection.

Not because I wanted to be a successful speaker too - when we met, even though we were in the same inspirational speaking competition, I hadn’t thought much past that yet. But because I knew he understood the journey of hiding a disability you were born with, in a way nobody I’d ever met up until that point did. He understood a part of me, in a way I hadn’t realized I’d never felt understood before.

There’s something special about connecting with someone who just gets you that way, even when your disability experiences are different. Cut to 2 years later, I’m now in his speaker mentorship program - learning how to share my journey in belonging, self-acceptance and resilience to reach people who need to hear it, the way I needed to hear his.

Yesterday, we got together during his barely 24-hour trip to my hometown of Brampton, ON, and it felt just as special again to connect. Now that I’ve stepped into being a speaker, I feel super lucky to have our paths crossing again.

It’s wild to think that if I’d never started talking about my rare muscle disability, I never would’ve found the people like Chris who relate. Which is forever one of the lessons that I hope people take away from my talks - that even if you feel alone in your experience, there are others out there who understand you.

We all have things about ourselves that we’re afraid to share. But it’s through sharing them, that we finally - finally - find our people. ✨

Check out the 13 Canadian buildings and monuments I’ve gotten to light up for Invisible Disabilities Week

We’re two weeks away from Invisible Disabilities Week, and I’m so excited to have gotten 13 buildings/monuments across ten Canadian cities lighting up to bring awareness to invisible disabilities! 🎉

This is the third Invisible Disabilities Week that I’ve been ✨open✨ about the rare muscle disorder I was born with, Central Core Disease.

For my first IDW in 2023, I was floored to be named the winner of the “But You LOOK Good” Inspiration Award by the Invisible Disabilities Association (floored because the past winners include comedian Wayne Brady and TV personality Yolanda Hadid!).

In 2024 for my second IDW, I did an interview with Mississauga News for an article on a report that the cost of living in Mississauga for people with disabilities is up to 39% higher than for those without disabilities, and did my first corporate talk for Arc’teryx’ disability-focused ERG.

This year, I’m doing another interview and corporate talk (more on those later), and I’ve been encouraging cities to light up to bring awareness to the invisible disabilities community.

An estimated up to 80% of disabilities are invisible/non-apparent, making it easier for them to be ignored or not supported by others, and harder for those living with them to advocate for themselves.

To me, Invisible Disabilities Week is about creating visibility and community for those living with them, and to encourage others to share their stories and experiences.

Because every time someone steps up and says who they are, the world becomes a better, more interesting place. ✨

Check out the list of locations and dates of the lightings below!

• Apron Tower - Toronto Pearson Airport - Oct 19

• Clock Tower - Mississauga Civic Centre - Oct 19

• Niagara sign - Niagara Region - Oct 19

• Clock Tower - Brampton City Hall - Oct 19

• City Hall - Peterborough City Hall - Oct 19

• Vaughan City Hall - City of Vaughan - Oct 20

• Oakville Town Hall - Town of Oakville - Oct 20

• Moncton City Hall, New Brunswick - Oct 20

• Downtown Place - Moncton, New Brunswick - Oct 20

• Avenir Centre - Moncton, New Brunswick - Oct 20

• Downing Street - Moncton, New Brunswick - Oct 20

• Fred A. Lundy Bridge - Town of Newmarket - Oct 21 

• Hamilton sign - City of Hamilton - Oct 22

National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) Speaking Event for ESDC!

Two weeks from today, I’ll be speaking virtually to 500-1,000 employees at Employment and Social Development Canada about supporting invisible disabilities in the workplace, exploring disability biases and beliefs and fostering an empathetic, inclusive culture - a dream fit for National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and just a few days before Invisible Disabilities Week!

From my story of hiding my invisible physical disability from colleagues for 10+ years, to how to raise awareness about + normalize disability in the workplace, I’m excited to share my newest keynote talk.

Thank you to the team at A-Speakers for their support on this session!

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month - here’s why remote work is a Yay

DID YOU KNOW, October has both National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), and Invisible Disabilities Week?

Back in 2013, I was looking for my first job out of university. The idea of commuting made me nervous - I find walking to and standing on public transit tiring, and I was worried I’d be too tired by the end of the day to do all the domestic upkeep of living alone.

When I came across a job at nonprofit arts organization that produced a huge South Asian festival, helping run such a massive event seemed impossible. I knew it’d involve being on my feet for hours, which I wasn’t sure I’d physically be able to do - I’d always had to avoid the classic retail or restaurant jobs growing up, because I knew I’d be too sore and exhausted being on my feet that regularly.

The main reason I decided to accept the job? It was mostly remote work. The festival itself would be exhausting, but a one-time thing to push through. Leading up to and after that, I’d only have to go in to an “office” once a week, and otherwise be able to work from home.

After working my first-ever festival, I was on my feet at least 15 hours and couldn’t walk without limping for a week. Every year after each festival, I’d still be sore for days, and it’d take me a week or two to get back to normal.

But I stayed for 11+ years - partly because I enjoyed it, and partly because even though in the short run it was hard, in the long run it was easier than some alternatives.

What works for me and my disability experience is kind of like a sprint vs a marathon - I could push through a burst of a busy, tiring time, because I was able to rest more outside of festival season. Whereas with an in-person office job, I’d be expending energy more steadily for a longer time, which is really difficult when you’re working with 33% strength of the average person.

Here’s your friendly reminder that remote work isn’t just a “perk” or a “nice to have” or a “wow they’re lucky/must be nice” - it’s an important part of keeping workplaces accessible to people with disabilities.

In some cases, it can keep a dedicated, detail-oriented, yay-saying employee around for 11+ years. 💁🏽‍♀️✨

It’s not difficult for everyone - and that’s the point

This past weekend, I was at a digital detox summer camp for adults called Camp Reset. It was my second time - my first was in 2022, days after I spoke publicly about my muscle disability for the first time.

In 2022, I had a difficult time - my cabin was on the opposite side of the campground from basically everything, so it was an 8-10 min walk on uneven ground to do anything/go back at night. I hadn’t requested any accommodations, because I hadn’t thought of that scenario - and wasn’t used to thinking about accommodations. I was used to pushing through, because I never used to talk about my disability.

This time, I requested a cabin closer to the activities and on flat ground, which helped. Also in our cabin was a guy in his late 20s, with a visible disability with one of his legs.

I mentioned my disability to him, and while we didn’t get to chat about our experiences much, I’m always excited to encounter another young person with a mobility disability.

I mentioned my 2022 cabin experience to him, and he said something along the lines of how for some people, their number of steps don’t matter to them, and it’s good that the people whose steps do matter, can be given a closer cabin.

Hearing him say that lit a lightbulb in my mind to something I hadn’t realized before - I’d thought because the 2022 cabin was far/difficult for me to go back and forth from, that meant it was difficult for everyone. I’d thought “well this sucks, but it sucks for everyone in a far cabin, so it might as well be me dealing with it too.”

But it’s not as difficult for everyone. Some people can easily do thousands of more steps in a day than I can, and some people love hiking. Some people didn’t have that experience physically wipe them out like it did for me.

It’s so interesting to uncover ways I’ve normalized difficulty to myself without realizing it. I’m still not great at communicating what can make a situation easier or more equitable for me, as opposed to just pushing through difficulty when I don’t have to, but I’m working on it! 🎉✨

I’m a finalist for the 2025 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Award by the Women’s Nonprofit Network!

This is definitely a daily yay - an absolute joy to be named as a finalist for the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging award by the Women’s Nonprofit Network and presented by GreenShield! 🥹

After 11+ years in the nonprofit sector at MonstrARTIty and #BollywoodMonster Mashup, and now in my second career as an invisible disability speaker and an Ambassador for the Invisible Disabilities Association and the Rick Hansen Foundation School Program, it feels so special to have my work recognized. Especially alongside leaders like my fellow finalists!

The Women’s Nonprofit Network Awards winners will be announced on Oct 21 - wish me luck! 🙏🏽🎉✨

Chris, Lucas and the Daily Yay

In May 2024, I did a Mobility Awareness Month walking fundraiser for the Invisible Disabilities Association, and was posting about it to get donations. 

A few days in, I wake up and see the largest single donation I’d ever received, from a man named Chris.

But - I’d never met Chris and had no idea who he was.

I looked closer at the name and thought wait, I recognize this - he tried to add me on LinkedIn a few weeks ago, but I didn’t do anything with it, because I didn’t know him.

So I go to LinkedIn, accept his invitation and message him something like “hey Chris, thanks for connecting.  I just saw that you made a really generous donation to my fundraiser, thank you so much! What’s your connection with invisible disabilities? Do you have one yourself or know somebody who does?”

Chris wrote back about an hour later with the message screenshot above.  🥹

“Hi Lauren -

First of all…BIG FAN!

Yes, my 8 year old son (Lucas) was diagnosed with CCD a few years ago. Tough age for him right now so I was looking for people with a similar condition and ran across your video on speaker slam. We watched it together and now try to celebrate a “Yay” everyday. Sharing your story has made a big impact on him - so happy to help and thank you for raising awareness for CCD and similar conditions. If theres ever anything I can do to support your efforts please dont hesitate to reach out.

Chris”

I read this message and I’m like bursting and melting at the same time, for the rest of the day. I never used to talk about my disability - partly because I didn’t have a diagnosis or name of it until my early twenties, so I didn’t know how to explain it to people.

Even after, I didn’t think there was a point of talking about it + figured nobody would understand.

I’d never really thought about the mental health aspect of living with a rare physical disability. But when I look back on that part of my life, where I didn’t have anything to Google to find people going through the same thing, or a name to research to find out why my body was the way it was, it was a pretty lonely experience.

I can only imagine what it would have been like to see representation, or see somebody talking about their disability and living their life, and the impact that would have made on me at 8 years old.

Chris and Lucas are what made me realize we never know who we’re impacting, just by being and sharing who we are. And that by owning and sharing our difficult experiences, we can be the representation and light for others to know that they can get through their difficult experiences too.

And thank goodness that during Disability Pride Month and beyond, there are so many of us out there, sharing our stories. 🤍💃🏽✨

What happens when you don’t “look” disabled? CTV Your Morning interview

“Whether you have the same diagnosis or not, so many people go through the same experience that you can then bond over.” 🤍

Such a joy to chat with Teddy Wilson last week on Jul 22 on CTV Your Morning, about the fear of sharing invisible disabilities and the community I found when I started talking about my own.

27% of Canadians identify as having a disability. This Disability Pride Month, may we all see more of the representation we need to realize that we’re not alone in our experiences after all. 🫶🏽✨💃🏽

Thanks to my publicist Dan Shaikh and the amazing CTV Your Morning team for bringing more awareness to this story! You can watch the interview here🙏🏽

Later that evening on the day of my interview, I was at an event and someone mentioned to me that they don’t think they have a story themselves, compared to someone like me who has an “adversity.”

And I told them that until I started talking about my muscle disability (because I saw other Speaker Slam speakers talking about their disabilities), I didn’t think I had a story either. That my mom spent 30+ years telling me I should “share my story,” and I was like “what are you talking about, I don’t have a story, this is just my regular life, nobody is going to care.”

I didn’t realize there were people like me who would care, because they can relate to my journey. I didn’t think about the impact it would have made on me to see myself reflected in someone else’s experience while they talk about it openly.

I never thought I’d one day be part of the representation I didn’t realize I needed, but I’m so, so glad to have that chance. And I hope other people who see my story realize that by sharing whatever they’re living through, that they can be someone’s representation too 🙏🏽💞✨

For a long time, I didn’t even know how to talk about it

For a long time, I didn’t even know how to talk about my disability - I was in my mid-twenties when my muscle specialist finally quantified it to me, and I learned I have about 33% strength of the average person. Not 33% LESS strength, just straight up, 33% strength. A wildly failing grade, finally assigned to what felt like my ability to do literally anything. 

Driving home from my appointment, not only was I surprised, I was mad. I had lived 26 years with no understanding of my own body, but now I finally had an explanation that other people could understand, and it almost felt worse. What kind of life can I have on 33% strength?

I’ve only been ✨open✨ about my muscle disability for 2.5ish years, which is recent enough that it still feels wild to think back on my life when I was undiagnosed (20+ years), or had no easy way to conceptualize/explain it (26 years) or avoided telling people as much as I could (30+ years).

Until recently, I never really thought about the mental health side of living with a rare physical disability. But when I remember having no name of a condition I could research to find out why my body was the way it was, and no terms to Google to find other people living with the same disorder, and not knowing I was part of the rare disease community or that one even existed, I do remember that it was kind of a lonely experience.

I think that’s part of why I like talking about it so much now - especially during Disability Pride Month - because when we talk about disability, we find the people who can relate, and realize that even if our diagnoses or journeys have been different, that we’re not alone in them after all. 💫

That time I accidentally achieved a bucket list dream

When I was young, I wanted to be either an actor or a late night show comedy writer (among a few other things, but those two were constants).

I loved watching talk show monologues and SNL, and I had a bucket list dream of one day getting laughs in a comedy club (I definitely considered myself too shy for stand-up back then, but I did admire them!).

Over the 15-20 years since then, I mostly forgot about that dream. I didn’t even think about it when I got asked to be part of a love-themed storytelling show, Once Upon a Woman, that was happening in a comedy club last year.

The day of the show I was SO stressed. I knew my 8-minute story by heart - the story of matching with my now-boyfriend online during the pandemic, telling him about my muscle disability for the first time on our second date, and becoming an invisible disability speaker on resilience and belonging - but was super self-conscious about still having a cough from a cold that was ending.

I’d never performed under these conditions before, and I wasn’t even sure I COULD get through 5 minutes of talking without a coughing fit, let alone 8.

Eventually my time slot came, and miraculously I made it through without a single cough. Getting off stage I felt a huge wave of relief, followed by a spike of excitement at another realization - I had just gotten SO MANY LAUGHS at a comedy club! The bucket list goal I hadn’t thought about for 15+ years actually happened!

Little Lauren would have been shocked, and maybe initially horrified, but probably eventually proud. Because little Lauren never talked about her disability. She thought if she shared it too early, it could scare people off. She never would have imagined achieving one of her bucket list goals by sharing a dating story where she had to own who she is.

If there’s anything I’ve learned from my journey of being open about my muscle disability, it’s that it’s a lot easier to work WITH who you are, as opposed to trying to work against who you are. And I really hope that as more people see my story, they can embrace this lesson too 🫶🏽✨

PS - I didn’t get a good video at that show, but I told the same story at a Replay Storytelling show and got so many laughs there too - you can watch the video on YouTube here!