Blogger Interview With Jordyn C

My name is Jordyn and I am 21 years old. I have always struggled with anxiety and fell ill with multiple chronic illnesses at 14. For many years I hated myself. Hated the limitations that I faced. As I grew older and sicker, I began to realize that life is not about your own personal health. It is about love and what you do with it. So I decided to take that love and use it to help others dealing with similar issues as I. I submitted my story many places online and started a blog at the beginning of this year.

I named the blog the Chronically Unimaginable. As someone who has dealt with chronic illness for around eight years now, I know what it is like to go through the struggles. I wanted to create a place not only to share my experiences, but to inspire, and to encourage people dealing with chronic and mental illnesses. It is hard to come to a place where you accept your limitations and love yourself for who you are. I strive to help others through my writing to understand that chronic illnesses may be hard, but you as a person are worth it.

Ironically, like I stated above, my purpose for this blog was to help others like me. However, I have seen that many people who are not chronically ill are reading it. With that in mind, I aim to help everyone. I want to be an example for others, so they can learn from me and not have to do it themselves. If I can spread awareness, love, kindness, and compassion for every person, then I have done my job. I hope that my blog can change at least one person’s life. I may not be able to take away their pain, but I can show them how to love themselves.

If your readers could read just one of my blog posts, it should be “Evie’s Law Continues the Fight for Discrimination-Free Organ Transplants“. I would recommend this blog post because it highlights the discrimination that people with disabilities are facing regarding organ transplant eligibility. In 80% of the country, it is legal for someone to deny a transplant for someone with down syndrome for example. In my research for this post, it shocked me, and I have chronic illness!

The one word that best describes me is empathic because I have first-hand experience with physical and mental pain. I empathize with the struggles people are going through and want so badly to help.

I take a daily walk. Obviously, I have health issues, but my walks are very important in keeping me healthy and in less pain.

I do not follow a specific diet. I just eat a smaller amount of things. (Partly chronic illness and partly everything is good in moderation)

The best advice I have received is the phrase, “You are a human being, not a human doing.” (in reference to my anxiety)

My blog is a big motivator. Basically, the opportunity to be helping others helps me. It takes my mind off my own troubles and makes me feel so happy to be helping, whatever the cause.

My biggest challenge is anxiety. I deal with having Generalized Anxiety Disorder, which means that I worry about anything and everything. Having anxiety with chronic illnesses is a tough challenge, but it is one that also serves to reach me constantly.

The tools that are invaluable to me every day are the internet, my friends (online or in person), books, the social media accounts I follow about chronic illness, and the Facebook groups I am in.

My mom has inspired me the most to live like I do now. She is a single mother, who not only raised my brother and I alone, but also suffered through the loss of my brother as well. She has been my rock and someone I look up to for a representation of the kind of strength I need to get through life.

My goal for next year is to have grown my blog and it’s subsequent social media accounts. I want to continue to be able to reach more people and share with them the encouragement that I have.

The best part of my day is late afternoon.

For fun I like to read, watch YouTube, play with my service dog, talk to friends, and watch crime/mystery shows.

I want to add that my favorite color is turquoise, dogs are my absolute favorite animal, and I am an introvert. I also want to say that I am a person just like you. We all have things in life that we deal with that make or break us. Mine is chronic illness. What is yours?

Summer: I wrote a bit about my medical problems in “Recovery After Hysterectomy” but I need to sit down and write about my anxiety sometime.