24-YEAR-OLD Katelynn has a rare condition called Treacher Collins syndrome, which affects facial development. For Katelynn, that meant she was born without a jaw, which in turn resulted in her tongue blocking her airway - so doctors acted quickly and fitted a tracheostomy to enable her to breathe. She was also born without ears and wears a hearing aid - but Katelynn has always dealt with her symptoms and remained fiercely independent. However, the judgement she received from other children growing up was a real challenge for her - she was "stared at, laughed at, pointed at" and peers called her "names like frog or alien." At its head, Katelynn no longer wanted to go to school. At the age of 10, though, Katelynn discovered a passion for dancing, which became an outlet for her and still is to this day: "Dancing is my way of letting things go and letting things out of my system instead of screaming or punching walls." 14 years on, Katelynn has taken her captivating routines to TikTok, where she went viral overnight - something she accredits to her boyfriend of two years, Montre, who initially suggested sharing her talent with the world. Katelynn also acknowledges how significant his support has been, as she has faced nasty comments remarking on her facial difference in response to her videos. Montre told Love Don't Judge: "I feel like they've got too much time on their hands. We kind of just look at it like 'OK, you want to be negative. Is there anything better you can do with your life?'" Through many years of finding dating to be daunting, Katelynn had "never met a guy" like Montre and with him now by her side, she has the confidence to defy anyone who seeks to bring her down: "The relationship that I have now, it makes me feel good. I don't feel like I have a condition, I don't feel like I'm any different, I don't feel any less of a human. I'm in my own place, I'm living life, doing what I've got to do. If you're worried about what I do, keep watching!"
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00:00People assume that he's with me for my money or he's only with me because he feels bad for me
00:05I don't have a job and I can't blocks my airway from their mouth
00:09At first negative comments got in really really hard. I remember at first you
00:14You would you would be very emotional. What filter is this? How did this happen to a person?
00:22This right here
00:24It's my airway, I don't have a job and I can't blocks my airway from their mouth
00:29So having a tray helps it support me breathing a lot more better. I need to be careful how I clean it
00:35I usually clean it like once a week. True to color syndrome is a genetic condition that I was born with
00:41It's a bone feature where I was born without no jaw
00:45No ears. I had a hearing aid because I don't have ears
00:48Obviously, it's hard for me to chew and breathe on my own
00:52There's certain things I can't do like swim in water or chew proper food
00:57I have to be careful what I eat or else I'll choke
01:02Hey babe
01:04Want some coffee? Yes, please. My dating life
01:08I never dated anybody like an actual relationship. I remember being so so scared
01:16We met in August
01:18Back in 2022
01:21At first I was very scared of dating because I never knew what to expect
01:26I've never dated anybody with this condition which made me more interested about what the condition is because I never knew what it was
01:33But uh, I wasn't nervous about it only because how you look doesn't really bother me at all
01:39You know, I've always told you this
01:41You never judge a book by its cover until you actually read the book
01:48I love you. I love you too
01:50The relationship that I have now
01:52It makes me feel good. I don't feel like I have a condition. I don't feel like I'm any different
01:57I don't feel any less of a human. I don't feel any just I just feel good around him and I never met a guy like that
02:06You know, I'm a cameraman I got to get her recording every time she dancing because she's so good with it
02:11You know what I'm saying?
02:13When did you first discover you had a talent for dancing?
02:15I
02:19Was Ken and my dad and notice I was like moving my body around he's like, yeah, what are you doing?
02:27I said, oh I like the music, you know, my dad was smiling
02:30You know how to dance. I'm like, okay
02:35Dancing makes me feel
02:37stressed relieved
02:38It helps me get my mind off the things
02:41Dancing is my way of letting things go and letting things out of my system instead of, you know screaming
02:49Put your lungs when I see Kayla dancing how I feel about that. I feel like she's living her best life
02:58I started posting on TikTok on August of 2023. My boyfriend actually is the one that told me to like
03:05Post like hey, you should show off your talent like imagine how many people you would
03:09Live with your condition or like disability in general and it's not they're like, hmm
03:15You know, like I was kind of scared because of the heat. There's a lot of hate comments in the world right now
03:21Okay, you know it screw it. I'll do it. Why not? I never thought my videos were gonna be viral
03:26It was unexpected and it's just crazy this dance that it was going viral for a while
03:32So I did the dance it went viral overnight. It was it hit 11.5 million views. Oh, yeah
03:39Overnight everybody was commenting like girl you could dance like I think there were more more shots that people with condition like me
03:47can
03:49Do something like that and I saw all the nice comments. I saw all the negative comments
03:54I was like, okay at first negative comments got in really really hard. I remember at first you would
03:59You would you would be very emotional and that's understandable who's not emotional everybody she would ask me that
04:06Why are they talking to me like this? What filter is this?
04:11They're assuming that
04:13My disability or my face is a filter which I'm like, okay, you're trying to X. Oh, I don't know
04:18How did this happen to a person?
04:22And I'm like
04:25Some of y'all ain't smart or you're just trying to be funny and it's not funny. It's
04:31Stupid the next one. It's a frog emoji
04:37Or that it's literally the same comments every single day or every time I post so it's nothing that bothers me
04:44Anymore, at least I feel like they got too much time on their hand where they feel probably miserable themselves
04:50Again really hurt and if they do they need help. We kind of just kind of like
04:55Shrug it shrug it look at it like, okay, you want to be negative? Okay. Is there anything better you can do with your life?
05:02Besides being negative. I
05:04Sometimes look at it as a boost to play. Okay, since you want to be that negative
05:09I'm gonna keep doing what I'm doing
05:10You're boosting me as to be a better person if you can make a negative to a positive
05:14Then what can break you it's kind of like hate me some more you making me happier than ever
05:20Basically
05:22Basically, yeah people assume that he's with me for my money or he's only with me because he feels bad for me
05:29Not understanding that a lot of the times is not about looks when people say or he's just doing it for the money
05:36You don't know that you don't it's not true. And it's not true. I make my money. She makes her money
05:42We we stick together as long as you can be truthful and stick by my side and be yourself
05:49That's all I need and I'm with her because I feel safe with him I
05:54Feel safe. I feel myself. I don't have to pretend to be somebody. They're not as well
06:00Looking back my confidence was a girl now. It's more like I would say like an eight
06:05I'm not gonna say 10 because I'm having a sickness that I'm perfect. I'm not I'm a human being I had emotions
06:11I have feelings I have bad days, which is normal. Everyone has bad days. I feel so bad, but people not feeling
06:17Confident about themselves, you know people always say like hey you're confident. How do you feel so confident?
06:23I wish I had that I wish I had that and I always tell them you need to build it
06:27But I hope what people learn from this story is never give up on yourself
06:32Never give up on your passion your dreams your goals your life goals
06:36My visions and my goals for the future are just keep going push hard
06:41I will never stop doing what I love to do and it's just me being me me being myself
06:47surrounded by love
06:48Positivity you can't change the past
06:51But you can't change the future. What's gonna come after what's gonna come up with your neck?
06:55I have a message for the people that trying to bring me down
07:00You can keep trying I'm in my own place I'm in my
07:04Doing what I gotta do. You're not you're worried about what I do. You're worried about what I do
07:08Keep watching
07:17You