Loryn
“Being a part of the group of people that creates the entire population of the planet is pretty damn extraordinary.”
Loryn is no stranger to trauma. She has endured the unimaginable but has fought hard to rediscover the beauty in this world, and in herself. She is an artist and an explorer. She is brave, resilient and powerful. Meet Loryn. This is her story.
P: Please introduce yourself!
L: I’m Loryn, a jazz singer-songwriter, travel blogger and teaching student from Montreal, Canada.
P: Describe or define yourself in your own words.
L: I’m both very gregarious and live with very present social anxiety. It’s such a strange combo to have and to be aware of. I believe in miraculous things. I work very hard and believe it will always pay off. I’m ambitious and obsessively curious. I have a dark and crass sense of humour that is reserved for only a small number of people. I’m too independent for my own good sometimes.
P: What is your favourite thing about yourself
L: My moxie and independence. I heal from hardship well, and I rely on myself. I have a good gut instinct that has saved me in the past. I am so grateful that I can trust myself.
P: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that has defined you or made you stronger?
L: There was a time I lived in New Zealand that I started getting really into adventure sporting like caving, climbing, cliff jumping and rafting. I went white water rafting for my birthday one year. The rafting guide was a friend of mine and saved me a spot on his boat.
The day was beautiful, blue skies, fresh snow on the southern alps and the canyon echoed with the crashing of the river bend. I was naïve to how delicate life could be before then, thinking that I was invincible.
We came around a bend in the canyon and a random gust of wind pushed our boat off course. We were thrown over a whirl pool backwards and all I can remember is how piercing cold the water was and that I was wailing my arms around trying to find the surface. My friend didn’t make it. The last thing I can recall that day is climbing up the cliff face, inconsolable, to get into the rescue helicopter to take us back to the base. I remember seeing my friends lifeless body on the shore.
I went through therapy for a while and spoke about death a lot and finally realized I had to leave New Zealand because the air was different. The realization that I was stronger came years later after extensive therapy and a PTSD diagnosis. I was scared of my own steps. Leaving the house became a challenge, I was terrified of losing anyone I loved. I was scared of getting on planes or trains or anything that could have the potential to hurt me.
I fell into depression and a harsher anxiety and developed an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. It took me a long time to admit that I really needed help, before I started looking into getting psychologically tested. I started healing from the trauma and I could feel my mental health starting to come back.
My strength comes from my self care and my self awareness. I stick up for myself more, I’m much more picky about the relationships I have in my life, whether or not they inspire me. I treat my body better and am much more positive as a person in general. I started a career as a teacher overseas before eventually applying to start university. Although it may not seem so, my growth has purely stemmed from that day.
P: What is one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
L: Realize the power that you have. Stand up for yourself when you feel cornered, unheard or misunderstood. Also, no crappy job has power over you and no one has the right to treat you small. Walk out if you have to.
P: What does being a woman mean to you?
L: Being a part of the group of people that creates the entire population of the planet is pretty damn extraordinary. Women populate the planet, nurture it, give it life and yet have work 10 times harder in the face of adversity and still come out on top. Any person who identifies as a woman of any sort is an extraordinary being.
P: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say to her if she were here now?
L: Amanda Knox. I would ask her how she healed her heart, so she doesn’t live on in resentment. Not even that, but how she went on to become a powerhouse of an advocate.
