Meet Lauryn Chajon

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lauryn Chajon. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lauryn below.

Hi Lauryn, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

The resilience I nurtured came from an era in my life when I realized that strength blooms when you decide to grow.

In my parents divorce through my whole childhood-
I came from generations of people who are afraid to make a change, I knew I had to be one who broke unhealthy cycles of self and relationship sabotage in order to evolve inwardly (this included verbal/physical abuse, gaslighting, manipulation, and a chain of infidelity).

This reliance comes from removing myself from a broken family and finding a community that encouraged and welcomed strong foundations. These foundations are secure boundaries, mutual respect, and empathy. Knowing this, we humans find healing in these communities when they invite vulnerability and see that both gentleness and core strength can coexist peacefully.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am currently a senior at Columbia College Chicago and about to graduate with my BA in graphic design, along with a minor in illustration this spring. Since my first semester at school, I self-published my first anthological book called “in my room” on Blurb. One of the most significant parts of my identity as an artist is sharing real raw experiences of my life with others. I find so much love in the connection I make with others through different mediums of art such as poetry, illustration, design, and mixed media.

My book “in my room” is a childhood memoir and anthology about growing up with trauma and how that affected my development, mental health, and relationships into adulthood. Everything in this book is made by me, from the illustrations to the writing. It contains more than 100 pages of work that took half a year to make while being a full-time student/part-time worker, and the rest of the year to put together and self-publish.

I hope that in making more art past graduation I get to someday grow a community of support and advocacy for the people who too went through battles behind closed doors. They deserve to feel safe and lifted up and I want my art to carry that meaning through it always.

You can find more of my work on Instagram @thewalkingsprout !!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Empathy, cultivation, and reflection are three main qualities/skills that helped me walk through versatile chapters of my life.

Empathy, because this quality fostered the love in friendships that I needed and never quite had when I pushed myself away from growth. By having empathy, you give yourself and others to understand the most vulnerable humanistic core internally.

Cultivation, because knowledge gives you open-mindedness. By expanding and making space for healthy absorption of education, more opportunities become more available to you and open many more doors. This can go for relationships, career paths, and even enlightenment through topics you’re passionate about. YouTube and book reading is a great place to start.

Reflection, because taking the time to sit in your feelings is just as important as working hard to achieve your goals. When we take the time to stop and reflect intentionally, we give ourselves time to process information. heal, and rest. This is what helps you move forward less painfully.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

Rupi Kaur’s “The Sun and Her Flowers” is a book that has healed me over and over again without failure. A poem of hers that never dulls reads-

“what is stronger
than the human heart
which shatters over and over
and still lives.”

Any of her work is all that I look back at fondly, vulnerably, and wholeheartedly for many different experiences of my life. Both in heartbreak and in fulfillment, her words melt me over every time. It’s in her poetry like this one where I am reminded of what resilience I have even in my weakest moments and how I move on through times when I thought I couldn’t. I had the opportunity to meet her in person this October, and I can tell you that making that connection with one of the artists I look up to means so so much to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.behance.net/laurchajon
• Instagram: thewalkingsprout
• Other: Blurb: Lauryn Chajon, in my room

Image Credits

All images are by Lauryn Chajon.