Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Legend.
Hi Jay, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a Content Creator and Freelance Model and I am excited to share my story with you on the Voyage ATL Magazine.
“Everyone has a story, a survivor story, at least I do. Growing up as a child, moving into my teenage years and then finally transitioning into my adulthood caused realization to be a huge concept in my life. Going through bullying and self-harm, YES! I do compare myself to a butterfly, I grew every vein to be strong enough to have not only one wing but two. If I were to define a moment that changed my life for the better in shaping the person who I am today, it would be impossible and unfair to only say one moment, when every misfortune of events made me who I am today. A caterpillar goes through a very ugly stage consisting of weird transitions, exceeding room for growth and trusting the process to pursue what it dreams to perfect, a butterfly. I often relate myself to a butterfly. However, aren’t we all? We might have had two completely different lifestyles growing up. Was there not a time where you were at your lowest? Not knowing what to do? Being eaten up by the fear that came within? Compared to now where your wings are brighter and stronger than ever, flying through the wind like a burst of excitement for life and it’s amazing gifts it has to offer. If you were to ask me, I’d say every human to ever exist on planet earth is simply a butterfly.” – Jay Legend
I was born and raised in the Bronx, NY area. Both of my parents are actually immigrants. My mom is from the country, Guyana and my dad is from the Caribbean island Trinidad and Tobago. My parents had both of my sisters when they were in Trinidad. It was a huge decision my mom and dad had to make coming to the United States. However, to this day if you were to ask them, they would say it was the best decision they had ever made for my siblings and me. My upbringing and the hood I grew up in did instill a lot of morals that made me the person I am today. It did teach me to be humble in many circumstances. I remember quite frankly, growing up I lived in a two-bedroom apartment in the Bronx with my grandma on my mom’s side who was also from Guyana. This is something personal I always have the blessing and testimony to tell other people. It was rough living in New York. Sadly enough, the minority rate and residual income for many was hard to obtain a decent life. My family was in that category. No matter how hard it would get, from my sisters to my parents to my grandma, we created most of the special memories that still live on to this day in my life. Learning to make use of the little we had was so important. By the grace of God we certainly lived a decent, intimate, and family-orientated lifestyle. Growing up in school I always knew I was unique however, being so young I would not know how to deal with many situations I did come across in school. To be more specific, these situations consisted of bullying and self-harm. I can truly say I am a SURVIVOR. I survived the battle and fought the urge of not wanting to live anymore because of what I was being bullied for. At such a young age I never knew how to cope with bullying from the beginning of elementary school to the end of middle school. It was a war going to school knowing I would be picked on or looked at differently. Things began to get extremely severe when one day I couldn’t handle it mentally and physically. This led to me self-harming at a very young age. Suicide was always in my mind during this time period of my life. Sad to say it became normalized within my young mindset. The feelings I had were pain, anger, and self-doubt. I oftentimes remembered reflecting those feelings on myself instead of confronting the bully or blaming them for the issues.
Once again, this all happened at a very young age. However, with the help of my best friend at the time (and present-day still here 9 years later), it was almost like a God-sent type angle. No matter the issue, I could always remember certain people sticking up for me. In my own personal opinion, this was God helping me fight my battle not alone but with the soldiers he prepared. Moving out of the Bronx was a huge thing not only for my family but for my 13-year-old self. I was nervous about high school like any other kid, not knowing anyone. I pondered on the idea of how my family and I would adjust to the area? Was it the right decision, and to be honest I literally had to just let go and live. Soon after, going through a series of events within my high school career such as sexual assault, being drugged, brutal lies and rumors, and the biggest of them all, self-confidence. These were all forms of bullying in their own way. Finding the spark of my match within myself was a huge aspect of my blooming into a beautiful and amazing butterfly. Learning that everyone and everything is not perfect. No one or thing in this world is perfect. Perfection in my opinion is a lie created by the worst of them all, internal hate, insecurities and sadness. Just like anything else in this world we live in, things will happen, good or bad. Butterflies are fragile, their wings are made from extremely small hairs and protein which causes them to flourish once touched. Intriguing if you asked me! Overall, mistakes are real and common within the human species, and just like butterflies we do fall down and flourish. However, getting back up and knowing that everyone is different and is made in a unique way creates the meaning of diversity. Just like I stated, no one or nothing is ever to be perfect!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Everything in life has its way of working. No matter how it ends up to be. Truth be told, the reality of life is that everything’s meant to be for a reason whether you like it or not. There were many rocky roads I had to go through that led me to where I currently am today. Personally, when I was younger being bullied and looked at differently made me have a concept of not doing what I wanted for myself. I always looked toward other people and their irrelevant opinions rather than seeking my own. Not gonna lie, this took me a good amount of time to break out of. To really discover myself internally and externally. Whether that meant for me to discover what type of clothes I liked to see on myself, what type of activities I enjoyed doing, places I’d like going to enjoy myself and overall, the idea of just doing what I wanted, not for others but for ME. Romanticizing my life and the person I am didn’t come to play until I turned 18, and not towards the idea of being an adult, however, not being in high school. It made my wings expand and get ready to fly. My limit was the sky, and matter of fact my limit still is the sky and will always be as high as I want it to be. What people don’t understand is you make your life the way you want it to be. To a certain extent you are the reason, your life is the way it is. The brutal truth and honesty that goes into this is to take control in life for what you have in the current moment and what you will have in the future. Nothing in life is guaranteed. Do you really wanna leave this earth remembering all the things you could have been doing? Regretting things that could have been accomplished? It’s so much work that goes into one being and their life. Overall, do what’s best for you, what benefits you, what will benefit you in years to come and what will benefit you in the present time.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an Aspiring Freelance Model that promotes many fashion clothing brands. I do perceive my body as a work of art in many circumstances. It has always been a dream of mine. The diversity in the model industry is so inspiring and motivational. I also am a Content Creator on the Youtube platform. I create many different types of Lifestyle content such as vlogs, mukbangs, story-times, natural hair videos and tutorials. I do have a couple of videos surpassing 1,000 views and even 10,000 on one. However, recently as in, two weeks ago, I started to produce ASMR content. This holds a huge spot in my heart due to my longevity of ASMR content I consumed as an individual. For those who are not as educated about ASMR, it is basically, a therapeutic sensational feeling also known as a “tingling” feeling that starts from the scalp and works its way down the neck and the body. It promotes relaxation and a calm atmosphere. It is used highly for anxiety and mental health alternatives. Towards the end of my high school career, I could truly say ASMR helped me graduate not only as a regular student but with honors! It was the only method that would keep me calm and relaxed. Present-day, I can remark on the idea of being proud that my videos can gain people relaxation and help their day get better. As a survivor of self-harm and bullying, I still go through mental health, it is an everyday struggle.
However, being an advocate for many others, especially in trying times as such, it is my duty to not only make one person’s day but as many people as I can. One thing I consider about myself would have to be my realization of everyone being equal. No matter where you come from, who you are as a person, what race you are. We are all equal. No one should ever be put in a stance of feeling less of a human or person because they don’t match another individual’s preference. Learning to love yourself takes time, but it is most definitely worth it for the beautiful outcome of life that is left to live! So whoever may be reading this please know you are loved! You are unique and different in your own way. Do not make anything define the human being you are. You are chosen to be here on planet earth, in this world for your purpose. Do what makes you happy, live life to the fullest, always remember that time is an extremely precious thing and wasting it on people who do not value it is 1 million percent not worth it! Put yourself first. When you wake up in the morning, look in your mirror and say everything you are grateful for. You have one life to live. Do not waste it! YOU HAVE A PURPOSE !! If no one has ever told you this yet let me be the first…. You are worthy of being loved, living in a world with so many opportunities and your own personal limit of what you wanna do in life is the sky, so reach high and let those wings spread and FLY !!
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I am highly open to collabs throughout all of my platforms. To contact me concerning a collab of any sort, please feel free to reach out to me via
Email: BusinessJayLegend@gmail.com
Youtube: Jay Legend
Instagram: @JayLegend
Twitter: @JaayLegend
Snap: @JayLegendyt
From there we can discuss further details. As a Content Creator, and Aspiring Freelance Model, I feel as if it’s a necessity to collaborate with many other individuals for the purpose and sake of networking. Socializing is a huge must in my book. It is always good to step out of your comfort zone and do what makes you feel proud of yourself at the end of the day!
Contact Info:
- Email: BusinessJayLegend@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZoQlCxu55PrMUsofmi5Yhw/videos
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaylegendd/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaaylegend
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZoQlCxu55PrMUsofmi5Yhw/videos
