Today we’d like to introduce you to Joy Sewing.
Joy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It’s crazy to me that I’ve been covering fashion and beauty for the Houston Chronicle for more than 15 years and working as a journalist for more than 20 years. Time flies, and I’ve loved every minute.
I’ve wanted to be a journalist and a writer since I was 4, so I never had a plan B.
I also grew up figure skating in Houston, which many people find strange because it’s not something you associate here. I was the first African American ice skating coach in Houston while attending college at University of Houston.
I got my first job out of college at the Kansas City Star in Kansas City, Mo., and ended up getting my master’s degree in business management while living there. I also worked at the New York Post and freelanced for People, Town & Country and a bunch of other magazines and had a few corporate communications jobs, too.
I used to keep a list of all of the famous people I’ve interviewed over the years, but I’ve lost count. My favorites are definitely Oscar de la Renta, Iman, Rita Moreno and Harry Belafonte. Last year, I covered Oprah’s girlfriends’ getaway cruise and got to sing “Happy Birthday” to Oprah up close. And the photo I took with her might be my Facebook profile photo forever.
My life really took a big turn when I started Year of Joy, which is now a 501c3 nonprofit organization, in late 2015 after reading Shonda Rhimes’ best-selling book, “Year of Yes.” I decided I would have a “Year of Joy” and do things that brought me joy. I took a birthday trip to San Francisco to visit a girlfriend because I never celebrated my birthday. I took a tap dancing class for the first time. I started a radio/podcast show, “The Joyful Life,” with my good friend and fashion stylist Todd Ramos that lasted two years.
I teamed up with my friend and Project Runway winner Chloe Dao to produce, “Designer Platform Houston,” a free New York-styled fashion show featuring 16 student designers. We had 400 guests and put it all together in three weeks.
I returned to ice skating and hosted the first Year of Joy Holiday Ice Skating party for 30 girls and boys from underserved communities at the ICE at Discovery Green. In December 2019, I organized the 4th annual skating party with a record 200 children, 60 volunteers and Houston’s Mayor Sylvester Turner. It was simply magical.
I also wrote a children’s book, “Ava and the Prince: the Adventures of Two Rescue Pups,” which came out in 2018 and is about my own rescue boxers. I’ve been honored to have it be a part of the Barbara Bush Literacy Foundation Houston’s home library program and have had so many children share with me how much they love it. That makes me happy.
But the biggest life change since declaring my Year of Joy is that I became foster-to-adoptive mom to a beautiful 4-year-old girl and her biological younger brother in 2019.
Even though Year of Joy started selfishly, it has expanded beyond me and has become a way to bring joy to others, especially children.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Is anything worth anything ever smooth? As much as my career has been filled with many magical moments, there have been times it wasn’t. About 10 years ago, for example, I became unexpectedly ill and nearly died after terrible infection. I was in and out of the hospital for three or four months. I’ve never been that close to death, but the experience made me really examine what I wanted for my life.
I realized I wanted to live every day with joy, not fear, not worry, not stress. That meant letting go of what I thought my life should look like and enjoy the daily moments that unfolded. Another part was letting go of what I thought people wanted my life to look like.
My advice to young women is to be very focused and realistic about the life you want, be clear with your goals. Find people who help celebrate your joy and distance yourself from those who don’t. Take care of yourself, mind, body and spirit. Finally, protect your joy like your life depends on it, because it does.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I recently held my first birthday Facebook fund-raiser and raised more than $1,500 for the inaugural Year of Joy Figure Skating Scholar program, which will allow 5-10 African American or Latino children to take ice skating lessons for free this summer. And I’ll continue Year of Joy events and programs to empower young girls.
Exposing children to different experiences helps to expand their world and encourages them to be brave and bold. They need that.
So much of the media coverage is focused on the challenges facing women today, but what about the opportunities? Do you feel there are any opportunities that women are particularly well positioned for?
I believe whatever you want to realistically achieve, it is possible. It takes hard work, making good choices for yourself, having a strong village (it can be one person, but you need a champion) and being thankful for every blessing that comes your way.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.joysewing.com
- Email: joy@joysewing.com
- Instagram: @joysewing
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
joysewingjournalist - Twitter: https://twitter.com/joysewing
- Other: www.yearofjoy.com
Image Credit:
Le Zu Photography
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