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Joy
Belonging is a place I can stay for a long term.
Their Story
Joy defines belonging as being able to stay somewhere long term, and feels anxious when housing and work make the near future uncertain. She seeks environments that feel local and grounded, resisting "copy-paste" scenes and spaces that feel overly elite or dropped in from elsewhere. Her social life is built mostly through in-person hobbies and local routines, but she isn't very proactive about maintaining long-distance ties.
In Their Words
"Unstable. Very unstable. I'm currently subletting… I know for sure I'll have to move out by the end of June."
"Right now, for me, work is probably the most important thing. Other things come after that."
"Every day when I walk out of my tiny pre-war apartment, I see luxury buildings across the street that I can't afford. It constantly makes me feel like I'm not good enough."
"Since coming back from China, I've been placing more and more importance on being in a Chinese cultural environment. I feel like I need to be somewhere that has Chinese people, or at least some Chinese culture around me."
"I don't think I'm the type of person who chooses a place because people are there. When I arrive somewhere, I'm not necessarily proactive about reaching out, often it just happens by coincidence."
"I really value local, in-person, offline connections."
"My mom passed away three years ago, and she bought me a monitor. I spent over $100 just to pack it, and I literally drove from California to Maryland just to bring it with me."
"For Gen Z, the most unique thing is probably short-form video and dating apps. People my age aren't very proactive in person, but we also have internet communities—online communities. I think it's a good thing."
"My ideal home is more like the small houses you find in California. I really love that kind of home… After taking an architecture class, I really started to love that older Californian architectural style."
Ideal Home
Soft
Joy's ideal home drawing presents a Southern California Craftsman style house with mountains and palm trees outside, and a calm interior centered on a cozy bedroom, colorful Chinese cotton bedding, a cat, indoor fish, and a generous kitchen that supports everyday comfort.
