Lauren Scruggs-Kennedy
As a survivor of a tragic plane accident that robbed her left arm and eye, Lauren shares her reevaluated take on beauty and positivity.
It’s a beautiful Friday morning and tucked in the hills of Los Angeles, we pull up at the home of Lauren Scruggs-Kennedy. The front door opens and we are then greeted with the warmest smile and genuine hug. Immediately we felt at home and saw the embodiment of a beautiful soul from the inside out.
Candles were lit and the perfect spring breeze was flowing inside, we sit down on her living room couch where Lauren begins sharing her story of survival.
Six years ago, Lauren stepped off a single-engine plane and in seconds, the plane propellor left Lauren without her hand and eye which changed her life forever. In the months after the accident, Lauren found herself questioning the definition of beauty.
“The definition of beautiful changed so much for me after my accident because I realized how much focus and value I put in physical appearance. I went through something where I couldn’t go back to the way I looked before.”
“I had all these ideas that people were going to view me so differently, they aren’t going to take me seriously, a man won’t think I am attractive.”
But she prevailed, stronger on the other side, and reevaluated what real beauty is.
“There were so many different fears that I associated with beauty and I truly came to realize beauty is so internal and it reflects your character... and I think a lot of it comes from how you love people, how you help people, not being so focused on yourself.”
As a survivor, Lauren has been an activist throughout her road to recovery. In 2015, she founded the Lauren Scruggs-Kennedy Foundation which seeks to provide funding for women to receive cosmetic silicone coverings for their prostheses, with the hope that they will experience both physical and spiritual restoration and healing.
"The best advice I can give is to take twelve hours at a time and not look too far into the future because that is when I feel fear comes up, worry comes up, and you are focusing your emotional energy on negatively almost rather than just one step at a time. So many positive things happen in a day even though you kind of feel you’re in the middle of something that is never going to end or something that is really difficult.”
Her advice hits home and lends itself to anyone going through a difficult time to remember what is important and that through it all, to find inner strength.
“There is always hope in the end and always beautiful things that come from pain which can sound so cliche but is so true.”