How My Life Would Be Different Without LPA

• I would have stayed in fewer hotels.
• I would have missed the free advice from medical experts in dwarfism.
• I would not have received an LPA education scholarship.
• I would not have posed for so many group photos.
• The opportunity to encourage parents to raise their child with dwarfism with the same expectations and boundaries as their other children would have been lost.
• I would not have learned the lessons that come from being in the majority.
• River rafting in the afternoon and modeling my wedding dress in the evening would never have happened.
• I would not have met so many celebrities or little people from all over the world.
• Local little people communities would not have welcomed me when I moved from New Zealand to Virginia to Maryland to Ohio to New York to Florida.
• I would get fewer emails.
• I would not have enjoyed so much hospitality from LPA members opening their homes for meetings.
• I would not have been a guest in so many modified LP kitchens and seen how to make my home more accessible.
• I would not have needed a Media Resume.
• I would have missed learning how the media censors the facts in order to promote a point of view.
• Conservative Rush Limbaugh and Liberal Howard Stern would not have criticized me in a radio broadcast on the same day for suggesting that little people have a “cause.”
• I would not have had to explain to so many people why the word “midget” is derogatory.
• I would never have read so many great books written by people with dwarfism.
• I would never have used a scooter to extend my endurance and long term joint maintenance.
• I would not have been on the advocacy teams that defeated dwarf tossing in Chicago, Florida, and New York.
• ATMs and credit card readers on gas pumps at my local gas station would still be out of reach.
• My T-shirt wardrobe would be deficient.
• I would have missed meeting other Little People with my diagnosis.
• I would have got a lot more sleep.
• I would have fewer friends.
• I would not have laughed and cried so much.
• My photo albums would not feature little people.
• Free time would be a reality not a concept.
• I would have missed being in the dwarfism melting pot of diagnoses, gender, ethnicity, nationality, economic and faith backgrounds.

[In recognition of National Nonprofit Day on August 17, 2023, this post updates “How My Life Would Be Different Without LPA,” Angela Muir Van Etten blog post (September 28, 2020).]

A reading list for digging deeper:

• Angela Muir Van Etten. “Always an Advocate: Champions of Change for People with Dwarfism and Disabilities.” 2021. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/always-an-advocate/
• Angela Muir Van Etten. “PASS ME YOUR SHOES: A Couple with Dwarfism Navigates Life’s Detours with Love and Faith.” 2020. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/pass-me-your-shoes/
• “Successful Spokane Trip.” Angela Muir Van Etten blog. July 11, 2022. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/successful-spokane-trip/
• “LPA Conference Destinations.” Angela Muir Van Etten blog. July 4, 2022. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/lpa-conference-destinations/
• “President Angela: Last Leg of Relay.” Angela Muir Van Etten blog. November 15, 2021. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/president-angela-last-leg-of-relay/
• Colleen Gioffreda, guest post. “Little People of America and Adoption.” Angela Muir Van Etten blog. November 22, 2021. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/little-people-of-america-and-adoption/

• “LPA Milestones.” Angela Muir Van Etten blog. October 25, 2021. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/lpa-milestones/