Walking through the packed hallways of my middle and high school, I stood in the crossfire of slurs tossed between friends—words like “sped” and “autistic” used as synonyms for stupid. In my community, neurodiversity is still taboo. But interning with and befriending kids with autism, Down syndrome, and dyslexia showed me how wrong and harmful those assumptions are. That’s how love&lotus began. There’s so much potential in our generation, only if we learn to truly accept and appreciate one another.