An Introduction

Hooray for the first blog post! Not sure how often I'll be able to update this, but I'm hoping I'll be able to often. I've been thinking about starting some sort of blog for a while, mainly because I use my Instagram @josketches to speak about certain topics under the hashtag #realtalkwithjoely. But Instagram can only handle so many words in their captions when you share a photo. Plus, I mostly use Instagram as a platform for my artwork, so I think having this place as a writing outlet will benefit me. So here we are!

I'm thinking I'll post the talks I've done so far on Instagram here, as well as continuously writing about stuff that comes to my mind and that I think needs more... uh... speaking about?

If you're new to me entirely, hey, how are ya? My name is Joely, pronounced Jo-Lee or Joel-ee. Mhm, there you go, you got it.

I'm a twenty year old art student who's currently in college hoping to eventually work for an animation studio as a character designer or storyboard artist. In the meantime, I'm taking classes at a community college close to home. Within the next year I'll hopefully be transferring to a University in Los Angeles. I'm an artist, writer, photographer, video editor, video-gamer, pizza-eater, major nerd, among other things. I have a son, and by son I mean cat, named Augustus. He's very fluffy and about the size of a bobcat. I've got the raddest family, the most fun friends, and I'm a huge introvert.

So thats quite a bit about me! But what I mostly use my online platforms to talk about is mental health. I've dealt with generalized anxiety disorder nearly my whole life. It mostly began in middle school and was at its worst in high school. Though, we were able to identify it early and I began therapy when I was about thirteen, which helped me more than I can ever put into words. I take medication and have learned and grown a lot through my struggles with anxiety. I still have bad days or weeks or months, but hey, everyone does, and that's normal. I often like to give others advice and reassurance in order to help them with similar issues, because I feel like the topic of mental health can never be discussed enough. I'm an activist in all areas including feminism/gender equality, providing clean and sustainable water everywhere on Earth, giving the right of education to all ages and genders, and am involved in several organizations including HeforShe and The Global Goals.

Overall, my blog will be a wildly random mix of talks about the things I'm most passionate about. I hope you find some reassurance and inspiration while reading them, and possibly can relate to me. Feel free to interact, and always stay kind and open minded. I always strive for my platforms to be safe spaces for everyone who comes by them.

Much love,
Joely x