Stranger 14/100 – Joy

Stranger-14–JoySome strangers grab your attention from a mile away…

Meet Joy.

Joy has lived in Charlotte for ten years and works on a creative team for a local bank. She’s also single mother with two young kids. Since she had to get back to work soon, I walked with her while we talked.

What advice would you give to your younger self? “Don’t marry the people that you married. {laughs} I’m on the cusp of my second divorce, so that would be just don’t ever do that.” I asked if her advice was to just never get married and she replied, “Just don’t.” She also added that she would tell herself “and that everything will be ok. {laughs}”

What is your biggest challenge? “Single moming is hard. Getting through the divorce stuff is hard. The ex is a little uncooperative. But other than that, life is pretty sweet.”

I thanked her for time and she said, “Good luck with your project!”

Our encounter only lasted about two minutes, but in that short time I got a strong impression of Joy as being grounded, confident, strong and comfortable in her own skin. She seems to have such a positive outlook on life despite experiencing her share of difficulties.

Technical Notes: We ducked under a covered building entrance right next to the street. Given the direction of the light, I had to stand in the street to get the right angle. It was worth it.

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