Last Friday, I went to the August Wilson Center downtown to hear Karamo Brown (from Queer Eye on Netflix) talk as part of the “TruthSayers” programming they run. I didn’t really know what I had signed up for, but I do love Queer Eye and thought that if nothing else, it would be an interesting talk.

It ended up being so much better than I could have guessed. Karamo shared so much – about his life and his experiences, what he learned, and even some fun behind-the-scenes stories of his time filming Queer Eye. A lot of his talk focused on the importance of being yourself, and loving and accepting every part of yourself. It meant a lot to hear him talk about his life, and what it took for him to get to where he is today – it was exactly what I needed to hear, without even realizing it. Launching Accessible YOUniverse is something I’m really excited and passionate about, but it’s also overwhelming and scary. So hearing him talk about going after what you want in life and trying to live your dreams really touched a deep nerve.

I was also impressed by how generous and down-to-earth he was! There was an open Q-and-A at the end of his talk, and he kept answering questions until everyone in the line got to answer theirs – well past the scheduled end time. And he went deep with his answers – he spent time considering and answering each one! I felt so lucky to be in the audience.

I felt even luckier, though, when we were invited to the private meet-and-greet after the talk! I had the chance to thank him for always captioning his Instagram videos, so that they’re accessible to people who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, and he complimented me on my jacket! (It’s this one, from Shopbop, and currently part of their sale with the code GOBIG19.)

I’m so glad I had the chance to hear him talk, and I can’t wait to listen to the podcast he mentioned he was starting. I have tickets to see Jonathan Van Ness later this year when his tour stops here, so maybe I should put meeting all the Fab Five onto my bucket list?