My name is Lauren, known to my nearest and dearest as Lol, and I was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at birth. Like many parents, mine were told that I may not live past my teens. Little did they know I’d be annoying them for a lot longer than they originally imagined.
Like many young people, especially those with long term medical conditions, life has been up and down throughout. However there would have been nowhere near as many ups if it hadn’t been for my mother being so strict with diet and my treatments which I cannot thank her enough for. I managed to get to the start of 2018 without being submitted into hospital for treatment which for me is a massive achievement. Not spending so much time in hospital has meant I have had a lot of time and opportunity to do different things in my life. Whether this be sports, jobs, holidays, you name it, I’ve said yes to it!
My true loves are travelling, photography, music events, food and the 50s. The most important thing on my bucket list is to live abroad later on in life, probably Spain as I have family there and have spent a lot of my childhood experiencing the European lifestyle and oh my I love it. It is definitely meant for me. I 100% see myself as a bit of a grandma inside a young person’s body. My love for the 50s grew from my childhood crush of Elvis Presley and the obsession continued into dancing, style choices and music inspiration. Not only is 1950s dancing an excuse to be glam and girly, listen to great music and socialise, it is the best form of exercise ever, which is of course great for keeping me as healthy as can be. I also love anything which is out of the ordinary, I really do not aspire to be ordinary… that would be painfully boring.
Last year my mum told me of the Helen Barrett award which offers young people the chance to win some money for a business idea of their own if they pitch it. I threw myself in there thinking nothing of it and forgetting about it eventually… until they rang me saying I’d won! I felt like I’d never won anything in my life up until then and it was a great feeling. I didn’t want to start a business which was going to be my main source of income, but just something on the side where I could earn a bit of money here and there for doing the work that I love; which is digital design. I set up LIH Design and Photography at the end of last year, offering photography, and business designs such as business cards, promo videos and website material etc.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely not earning millions, but the odd job is always good just to get my name out there locally and keep my creativity flowing. Winning the award money meant I could invest in a new laptop and some digital editing software which is all I needed to be able to offer work to clients. Strangely enough I didn’t factor in the thought that I may not always feel up to working due to feeling ill sometimes or fatigued, never mind the fact that I also have another job to pay the bills.
Having the opportunity to try out a little business has been great and has taught me how important it is to ensure that your passion is part of your life in someway. My main love is showcasing my work on my website, Instagram, Scoff food page and Youtube channel as I feel every different platform holds new ways for me to show what I love to others. Check them out here:
Instagram – @lih.design
Facebook – @lihdesignandphotography
YouTube – @laurenhull
https://laurenisabelle9.wixsite.com/lihdesign
I remember part of my business idea pitch mentioned how the people around me are thriving and how I saw no reason why having CF should stop me doing the same. And that for me is super important, I never want to have to say no to anything because life is far too short. Moral of the story, ‘say yes’.