Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Julia “Joy” Clayton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Julia “Joy”, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
Besides being given the nickname “Joy”, I’ve come to realize in life that we always have two options. We can choose to feed the negative, hurtful, painful things in our lives, or we can CHOOSE JOY. Joy is so easy to find if you consciously look for it. And the funny thing is, once you start to see nuggets of it, you can’t unsee it, it’s everywhere. I’m a firm believer in the seed you water is the one that grows. You’ll eventually find yourself seeing the beauty and positivity in everything and every situation and every person as a default with this mindset.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a creative being by nature. I jokingly say that I collect hobbies. But the truth is, I just love to create things, all things, to see beauty come from absolutely nothing. I especially have a passion for architecture and have illustrated many structures and love to design layouts and spaces. Over the past several years, I dove into digital design and rendering. My deepest passion lies with the transgender community, particularly our trans youth. When I learned the staggering statistics for suicide and homelessness amongst this precious population, I was gutted. My dream would be to start a foundation that not only designs and provides affordable and sustainable homes and offers access to emotional support and love for our trans youth, but also serves as a platform to educate the general population about transgender individuals. So much misinformation and miseducation has been spread as of recent and has created this massive divide among so many people and it truly breaks my heart to see our YOUTH suffering so much for it. As a mother myself, I could not dream of loving my child any less or denying them basic shelter simply based on their identity. No child should ever have to experience this or be made to feel less than. Ever.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Growing up as a woman of color in a predominantly white town with undiagnosed ADHD means I had to basically excel in perseverance. I had to work twice as hard to achieve what came much easier to others. And my optimism allowed me to do so without holding a grudge or feeling angry at that reality. My mixed culture background gave me the ability to show grace and understanding and acceptance to everyone. As a hardcore empath, I take the time to really understand where people are coming from in their walk of life. We all have struggles, challenges, joys and experiences that we can learn from. We just have to be open and listen. This beauty feeds my creativity as it allows me to stay outside the box without limitations.
Tell us something people may not know about you.
Many people do not know this about me, but following a very traumatic event, I am “technically” homeless. Fortunately, I have a dear friend who has been kind enough to let me and my daughter (when she isn’t with her dad) stay at his place indefinitely until I get back on my feet. To lose your home and that basic sense of security is absolutely devastating to a person’s core existence. It pushed me into a very deep depression and sadness that I wasn’t sure I could escape. When your very foundation is ripped from beneath you, you can’t stop long enough to even catch your breath. Thankfully I’ve had the most amazing support from friends, family and loved ones that allowed me to survive and overcome this darkness. I never let it stop me from pushing forward though. I knew I had a choice: either sit and let the guilt and pain of my choices and how they affected me and my daughter consume me forever, or show myself grace and forgiveness, learn and grow from my mistakes and GET UP and GET GOING. I’m happy to say I’m working again and saving money, my daughter and I both are thriving and happy and I’ve learned that I’m worthy of the love I have been fortunate enough to receive. As much as I’ve wanted to be just give up, I couldn’t. And I never will. I’m a fighter. Always will be. And I’ll always fight for those I love.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.juliaclaytondesigns.com
- Instagram: @thatjoyfullife @eleveneleven_designs
