Lydia Joyner
"My Sky Is Falling, Little Wild Thang"
New York, NY USA
"You're a human being living your life, and you're going to make a million mistakes, and a million things are going to happen to you...and it's not over."
Career Roadmap
Lydia's work combines: Film, Writing, and Helping People
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Happiness is one out of a gazillion emotions, but for some reason we rank it high on the charts to obtain. Some of the most incredible, life-changing moments in my life came from sadness and confusion. Don't hold your life by the expectations you see in magazines. If you are truly seeking happiness, the closest you can get to it comes from taking unpaved paths to your truth. I would rather be free every day, than happy, just sometimes.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Arts, Entertainment,and Media Management, General
Miami Ad School-Miami Beach
Life & Career Milestones
I've taken a lot of twists and turns
1.
Her mother was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, had a drug problem and worked as a prostitute.
2.
When Lydia was 10 years old, her mother committed suicide.
3.
Everyone in her biological family declined to take her in, so she was placed into foster care.
4.
She went through four different adoptions, but she never felt like she was anyone's child, and the families always said she was a "miserable brat."
5.
By the time she got to high school, she felt so beaten down that she ran away; no one reported her, so she was left without a home.
6.
Says her life didn't turn around until she was 34; she started keeping a journal and writing down all the things she forgave herself for.
7.
Eventually, she realized that she had to turn the tables around and instead forgive all of the people who'd hurt her.
8.
Says the key to happiness is to find your inner voice-who you are before anybody else judges you-and listen to that voice.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Family:
You are going to end up just like your mother.
How I responded:
Everyone in my biological family declined taking me in after my mothers suicide because they said that I was just like my mom and that I wouldn't amount to anything. I ended up in foster care and struggled through multiple bad adoptions. I realized as an adult that I had to turn the tables around and instead forgive all of the people who'd hurt me. Journaling and writing my book helped me cope with everything.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
By the time I got to high school I was so beaten down. I went through a major identity crisis and ran away. I remained homeless for months in and out of high school.
My mom was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and she had a chronic drug problem. She committed suicide when I was 10.
I went through four different adoptions, but never felt like I was anyone's child, and the families always said I was a "miserable brat." I ran away in high school and no one reported me missing so I was essentially homeless.
My mom would never really take me to school, so I ended up failing kindergarten. I was behind educationally for the rest of my life.