11/22/2025
Yall! Kelly talked about how wonderful our kids are! We already know that but oh my goodness what an honor!
Huge thanks to Kelly for the eye-tearing laughs and energy! Can’t wait to see her speak again ASAP!
Y’all… I just had the absolute honor of speaking for the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Vocational Services program — a room full of blind youth ages 14 to 22.
And listen… before I ever rolled my suitcase in the building, I had already written one million stories in my head:
“Kelly, this is gonna be hard.”
“They’re teenagers… they won’t laugh.”
“What on earth do you have to say that a 14-year-old boy cares about?”
“Should I just open with a TikTok dance?! Because that’s about all I’ve got left in the tank.”
But here’s the thing about stories — especially the ones we tell ourselves:
Most of them are flat-out wrong.
Because the second I stepped on that stage, those kids proved that humor and story don’t have an age limit, an eyesight requirement, or a barrier of any kind.
Story shows up, taps you on the shoulder, and says, “Scoot over, honey — connection’s sitting here.”
And these kids?
Smart. Funny. Insightful.
They see the world in a way most of us completely miss — which, if you ask me, is one heck of a superpower. Meanwhile I can’t even find my glasses and they’re already on top of my head.
I think I may have walked out with a brand-new fan club.
(And I’m absolutely down for a logo, matching jackets, and a secret handshake. Just tell me where to stand.)
Bonus joy? Some of my dearest speaker friends were there too, which was just icing on the storyteller cake… and trust me, I do not turn down icing.
What a day. What an audience. What a reminder that the stories we write BEFORE the story even begins are usually the ones holding us back.
