Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joy Chen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Joy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

At the start of high school, I had an eating disorder. I was a year into it until I finally decided to start recovery. At that time, I had to take pictures of my meals and send them to my mom, so she can make sure that I was eating enough. One day I just impulsively decided to start an Instagram account because I really wanted an outlet for me to write down the struggles that I was facing and the progress that I made each day; I was in a very impotent and vulnerable state since ED is really a mental illness that leads to physical deprivation so to speak. Initially, I had no intention of even “growing” my account, it was just simply a place for me to document stuff but after a few days, a girl messaged me and told me that my account was helping her a lot because what I was struggling with “justified” what she was also struggling with in her recovery. And that was one of the best feelings; someone telling you that you’re helping them when you’re still facing your own struggles. So I would say that that’s when I decided to invest more time in growing my account, “researching” about how the algorithm works and whatnot.

Joy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My account is based on encouraging a balanced lifestyle and helping others to find what is “healthy” to them. And what I mean by “healthy” is not solely about “eating healthy.” It is about having a healthy mindset in all aspects of life so that it is sustainable to stay content. I have shared my day-to-day life on my account from the beginning, whether it is the vulnerable or the happy side because I love connecting with the community and also sharing different recipes. I mostly work with brands that resonate with my message. Brands that put in efforts towards using wholesome ingredients and sustainability. I love creating healthy but indulgent recipes for everyone to try, and it really is the best when people recreate your recipe and tell you how much they loved it.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Honestly, I wished I knew that the “Instagram algorithm” or all these “tricks” of that people talk about are really not a huge deal. The biggest thing I learned is definitely being consistent and really let your brand, your personality shine through. It’s perfectly fine to take inspirations from other content creators, but at the end of the day, it is YOUR unique story that’s going to allow you to reach your audience. And even if you think you’re growing a bit slower in the beginning, so what? Everyone’s journey on social media is going to be different: some grow faster, some grow slower. But you have to remind yourself to persist in your passion and learn to not let the numbers get to you too much.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Getting positive feedbacks from my followers and connecting with the people in the community I’m involved with are what inspire me everyday to keep creating content. It’s a great outlet that’s “detached” from the rest of my life, and it’s great to be able to get creative and share those creations through this outlet. I love making new recipes and have always had a passion for cooking, baking, making meals for my family, etc., so sharing them with the rest of the world is such an amazing feeling as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Joy-to-Recovery.joyyyc21.repl.co
• Instagram: joyc.foods
• Other: email: [email protected]