At 30, Lauren has many interests. She attends all R friends five days a week, takes violin and piano lessons, participates in an acting workshop, enjoys tabletop games, and is learning archery. She also loves stories, creating characters, and finding the details and hidden clues that make them interesting.

For Lauren, learning something new often starts with curiosity.

“I really like analyzing stories and picking apart things,” Lauren said. She enjoys watching series and thinking deeply about the characters, theories, clues, and details woven into them. Her interest in storytelling also extends to the characters and stories she creates with her longtime pen pal, Brianna, who lives in Scotland.

The two first met through the online game WolfQuest, where they bonded over their shared love of wolves and storytelling. They began playing together, developing stories and bouncing ideas off each other. Even though they live in different time zones, their friendship grew beyond the game.

“It was surreal getting to meet her in person,” Lauren said.

Lauren and Brianna have now traveled to meet each other more than once. Lauren traveled to Scotland as part of her high school graduation trip, and Brianna later came to the United States. For Lauren’s 30th birthday, the two spent time together at Universal Studios for four days, exploring Epic Universe and meeting characters from How to Train Your Dragon, one of Lauren’s favorite stories.

Lauren’s love of stories has also influenced the skills she chooses to learn. After watching the anime Your Lie in April, which features a piano-playing protagonist, Lauren decided she wanted to learn piano. She taught herself and now takes piano lessons alongside her violin lessons.

She has been playing violin for about three years and performs in recitals. For her 30th birthday, Lauren’s violin was professionally painted with cherry blossoms and characters inspired by Your Lie in April. She also had it signed by an English voice actor from the series.

Music is just one area where Lauren continues to challenge herself. She recently started learning archery, inspired in part by her interest in archer characters such as Robin Hood.

“I always loved archers, so I was like, can I learn how to shoot a bow?” Lauren said.

She did more than try it once. Lauren now has a compound bow and has continued practicing. She is proud of hitting a bullseye and of seeing herself improve over time.

Lauren hopes other people can take away from her experiences the willingness to try something new.

“If you don’t try, how do you know you’ll fail?” she said.

Lauren knows firsthand that trying something new can be intimidating. She is afraid of heights but went parasailing anyway. She was nervous about archery but tried it at a fair and eventually began learning it herself. She also took on a role in an acting workshop that required her to learn how to use Heelys, something she had never done before.

For Lauren, those experiences are about getting firsthand experience and seeing what is possible.

“I think the biggest thing is if you’re not really sure if you can do it, get some firsthand experience,” she said. “If you’re not sure, just try.”

Through all R friends, Lauren has also had opportunities to connect with other people and explore her community. She especially enjoys meeting people with different experiences and levels of independence. Through a community inclusion program, she has been able to participate in activities she might not otherwise have had the opportunity to do, including visiting King’s Island for the first time.

“I really like getting to connect with other people,” Lauren said.

Lauren’s connection with the Delaware County Board of Developmental Disabilities has played an important role in helping her access those opportunities. Her family shared that the Board helped connect Lauren with all R friends, which became an important part of her life.

Lauren has explored employment as well. She worked at We Rock the Spectrum for several years, where she connected with children on the autism spectrum. She also earned a human services certification through Columbus State and completed an internship at a nursing home, where she helped with activities and was well liked by the people she worked with.

Today, Lauren has a full schedule filled with the things she enjoys. Between all R friends, music lessons, exercise, acting, and community activities, she has plenty to keep her busy.

And she isn’t finished learning.

Whether she is picking up a violin, practicing piano, drawing inspiration from a favorite story, developing characters with Brianna, stepping onto an archery range or trying something completely new, Lauren continues to follow her interests wherever they lead.

Her advice is simple: try.

“You know what? I went to the Ren Fair again last year. I took another shot at that archery station, and again, I totally did better.”

For Lauren, progress comes from being willing to take that first shot.