Embracing Intensity 227. Into the Dork Web with Jen Sujin Yoon
Today’s conversation is with a creative who has overcome obstacles to find her place in the world where she isn’t afraid to be seen and heard. She helps others connect and engage, no matter how they have been “othered” by society, and she has learned how to effectively use her superpowers. Join us to learn more about making the world a brighter place for us all.
Jen Sujin Yoon is a creative consultant, storyteller, people-connector, and future-builder. We met on TikTok and immediately vibed with each other’s content. Jen is starting a new adventure as she launches The Dork Web Production Company. She lives in the Bushwick community of Brooklyn and loves this “cool hood” filled with passionate artists.
Show Highlights:
- Why Jen is intensely passionate about connecting people and using The Dork Web as “a light corner of the web where people meet and are inspired to make the world a brighter place.”
- How Jen’s personal brand of intensity involved her awareness of how “it all comes together” in her characteristics of being highly sensitive, neurodivergent, and 2E
- How Jen’s intensity was always shut down as she grew up as a Korean-American having to live according to metrics and expectations; she turned to art, comics, fiction, and pop culture as forms of escapism
- In Jen’s school experience, she was bookish and in the gifted program, but she never felt like she fit in or was good enough at school or at home
- Why toning down and tuning out was just how Jen learned to live, and she’s only recently learned to own her space and put her voice and face out there to be heard and seen
- How Jen learned to make herself small to try to fit in and be a people-pleaser--these were her survival skills
- How Jen felt “othered” in many ways but wants people to feel like they belong
- How Jen’s intensity becomes out of control in her moments of “Hulk-smash” crazy anger
- How Jen compares her ADHD to superpowers that make her loud and proud
- Why Jen views her past traumas as what has developed her into who she is today
- Why Jen wants to normalize ALL emotions
- How Jen uses her fire for good as she uses her interdisciplinary experience and embracing leadership to help promote others and their work that aligns with her values
- How Jen harnesses the power of her intensity as she watches her younger sister (whom she mothered) grow up and have awareness of the world’s realities
- Why Jen explains her childhood narcissistic trauma as “death by a thousand paper-cuts”
- Jen’s advice: “Even if you're a problem-solver and leader, you still have to take care of yourself and not be a martyr. No one is coming to save you---you have to save yourself.”
Resources:
Find The Dork Web on TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram. Website coming soon at The Dork Web