Meet Jorah Saint James

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jorah Saint James a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jorah, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

Growing up and into my early adulthood I had very low self-esteem. I was so concerned about what other people thought of me, I was less of a coherent person with a realized sense of self, and more so the flimsy amalgam of qualities and aesthetics precariously purloined from just about every person I’ve ever met. My self-loathing was so profound, I truly never thought that I’d ever love myself. I resigned myself to misery, to moving through the world as the moribund husk of a human. Fortunately, coming out as transgender (and subsequently transitioning) rewired my brain entirely. For the first time in my life I felt like I was making informed decisions to benefit my health, happiness, and longevity. Transitioning taught me how to love myself. And every day that I live as the most authentic version of me, my confidence grows. I have developed my self-esteem by every day making choices which affirm my humanity as a trans person.

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

I wear many professional hats. I am a chef and baker, a model, and a writer. At the moment I am particularly focused on getting my catering business off the ground, finishing writing my memoir, and booking modeling gigs. It brings me great joy to create, and all of these pursuits enable me to wield my creativity and bring beautiful things to life.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Learn to radically accept what you cannot change, and fight like hell to change what you cannot accept. The world we live in is not always so kind, and there will always be people who want to bring you down. Learning to take their criticisms in stride is a very useful skill that will take you far. And for every door that closes, a window opens. Learn to say “yes” when faced with uncertainty. Sometimes it takes a great leap of faith to unbind you from the shackles of stagnancy. And if I can get really deep for a moment, I’d like to pass on some great advice that was once given to me. You’ve survived 100% of the days you thought you wouldn’t. You are far more powerful than you realize. Not every day has to be the best and most creatively prolific day of your life. It’s alright if all you do in a day is just survive. Inspiration will find you if you keep your heart open and receptive to change.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I would like to collaborate with more photographers who recognize and want to celebrate the queer/trans experience. If this sounds like you, please feel free to DM me on Instagram. My @ is delusionsofgender.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/delusionsofgender

Image Credits

Marilyn Karina
Lee Stovicek
Marilyn Karina
The Green Pansy
The Green Pansy
The Green Pansy