Joy D.

Originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, Joy is a 20-year-old junior student at Belmont Abbey College pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in Great Books and Pre-law. She currently works as a hostess at the White Water Center and participates on the Cheerleading team at BAC. When she isn’t studying or working, she enjoys taking up hobbies such as painting, playing guitar, thrifting, and taking care of her three cats. Joy is on track to take the LSAT exam in August with hopes of enrolling in Law school after she completes her undergraduate program. 

After briefly attending private school as a child, Joy and her family decided it would be best for her to become homeschooled as she was having difficulties maintaining her focus in the classroom. Because of the challenges she was experiencing, Joy’s family sought help from a doctor who would eventually diagnose her with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, more commonly known as ADHD. Her fondest memories come from dancing ballet for twelve years of her life and growing up with three older brothers. Although she is grateful for coming from a family where she was raised with both parents and multiple siblings living under the same roof, she remembered feeling unappreciated by the misogynistic attitudes presented to her by her three older brothers. As a result, Joy started to gain a new sense of discipline as she held herself accountable to be the best version of herself to “prove her brothers wrong.” 

As she was finishing her high school degree and looking forward to attending college, Joy was offered a scholarship to become a part of the Honors College that was offered at Belmont Abbey College. After careful consideration, she decided that enrolling in the Honors College would open new opportunities for her to plan a future toward high-level accomplishments and career success. Because Joy felt compelled to overachieve and become involved with any extracurricular that she could, Joy struggled to find a balance between allowing herself to live in the moment as a young adult and planning for a bright future ahead.

 As a short-term goal, Joy would like to start reading more books instead of partaking in endless scrolling. She includes that she has found herself spending too much of her time browsing social media sites or surfing the web. Scrolling on her phone was a habit she formed before going to sleep every night which was causing her to lose sleep and decrease her quality of rest. She also hopes to form better routines for herself as she expressed that the state of one’s mental health is oftentimes led by the healthy habits that are cultivated by forming everyday routines. Whether it's by exercising, practicing spiritual beliefs, or spending sufficient time with friends, Joy hopes to be able to motivate herself through simple daily practices. In terms of having long-term goals, Joy is currently studying to score well on the LSAT exam which is the first step of being accepted into Law school. Throughout the years, Joy has realized she has a passion for working with people who have suffered at the hands of domestic abuse. She feels inspired to one day serve in Family Law to work with women who don’t necessarily have the legal representation they deserve. If her plans as a lawyer follow through and she gains the experience she needs, Joy sees herself becoming a judge in her later career. 

Joy sees the value in loving everyone for who they are and appreciating them for their originality. She credits her Christian faith for allowing her to know God’s love which allows her to radiate his spiritual message of love and forgiveness. “I believe in the redemptive qualities of Christ’s love in a soulful way… I think that’s what’s also kept me going is knowing that He is holding me in some way,” Joy beamed when talking about her relationship with the Lord. Maintaining a balance of love, and forgiveness, and setting personal boundaries have played a role in forming interpersonal connections to others. She acknowledges the value of forgiving someone as she states, “In my experience, not forgiving is just allowing that person to have power over you.” 

When asked about what or who inspires her the most, Joy illustrated her mother and father as having a huge impact on the strong-willed person she has become in the present day. She portrayed her mother as being incredibly independent and motivated by her career goals to earn her Master’s degree in Art and follow through with her career as an artist and teacher. “I have always been inspired by her creativity,” Joy stated when speaking about her mother’s achievements. She also noted her gratitude towards her father’s work ethic as he was raised by Polish immigrants who settled in a poverty-stricken neighborhood, located in Detroit, Michigan. Coming from little financial accessibility, Joy’s father joined the Marines, which provided him with the opportunity to attend college, free of any charge. “I look up to his drive to keep going and build a better life despite the brokenness he came from,” Joy expressed regarding her father. 

Joy perceives mental health as a concept that is still undergoing the removal of stigmatizations and preconceived notions. She believes that society should work to help people feel comfortable in seeking assistance to address personal issues as well as having more open conversations surrounding unfortunate or difficult situations. Although she views mental health standards as being important for people to have fulfilling, functional lives; she has also seen the effects of social media allowing people to obtain a “victim mentality.” Far too many people label themselves as having mental health issues when they aren’t diagnosed with any disorders. This causes people to have misconceptions regarding the true experience behind having mental health challenges. She believes that it has become easy for some people to demonstrate their illnesses as being their entire personalities. Although mental health can alter a person’s behavior, people should strive for their ailments not to be who they present themselves as all the time. She calls for aspects of mental health to be redefined to prevent people from using disorders solely as an excuse for their actions. 

Finding coping mechanisms that are tailored to the individual experiencing mental health issues is the best route a person can take in using techniques to help themselves through challenges. Joy insists that completing activities that detach one’s mind from mental discrepancies, helps a person push forward with their goals. Doing simple activities such as taking a walk, taking a shower, or even eating something can hinder someone from overanalyzing the difficult situations in their life. Completing diligent actions to clear one’s mind from troubling thoughts is an important first step in feeling cognitive improvement. “I think sometimes in our society of media, where we’re all on technology, it's so easy to be so hyper-fixated on our brains. If you just go do something, it will completely broaden your world back up to what is real, and then those things you’re feeling tend to dissipate,” Joy stated as she described the positive impact of straying away from social media to focus on oneself. 

When addressing advocacy for mental health, Joy suggested that there aren’t enough resources for people who are truly struggling. After becoming an intern for a social organization that works with children in underprivileged school zones, Joy realized just how at-risk youth are at developing mental health issues. She argued that working in the educational environment made her realize how few resources are offered to children and their families in less fortunate areas. She calls for a shift in the responsibilities of communities to work together in helping children strive for successful destinies. 

“We also need to have classes or at least resources more readily available to prepare ourselves on how to handle ourselves,” Joy stated. She explained that life doesn’t come with guidelines to help lead people to make the right decisions. Creating networks that educate people on discipline, proper mental health strategies, and life advice can help them create paths for themselves that align with their core values. 

Through her wise words, Joy expresses that the main purpose of her story is to never give up. Self-respect is an incredibly important attribute to have and be aware of. “It’s so important to never forget that you are worthy of receiving help and having the opportunity to get better,” she advised. Persistence and dedication to accepting the identity of one’s self-image can form a high level of self-respect and commitment toward the betterment of the soul and mind.