ENTERTAINMENT
JOY OF MAKE-BELIEVE
Life adventures influence artist’s
desire to create happy experiences
Joy runs like a shining thread through Joah May
Freeman’s life. From martial arts to arranging flowers;
reenacting the life of a pirate in full regalia to bridal
makeovers, it’s all about making people happy and
bringing joy to their lives.
“I was a nerd, an overweight underdog for most of my
childhood into early adulthood,” she explained. “I got picked
on for being chunky and smart. Now, I root for people not
handed a silver spoon. When people are having a hard day, if
I can bring joy by whatever I do, if I can make them happy,
that means everything to me. The world is too dark to not
make a small difference.”
In her 37 years she has probably done more than most
people 20 years her senior. A gifted child in school, she got
into martial arts, doing so well that she and a friend became
assistant instructors. “We wanted something physical but
that was also useful, like being able to defend ourselves,” she
said. “Many women do not know how to throw a punch or
use an elbow effectively.”
So there it was, right in the beginning, the impulse to help
other people — in that case, teaching self defense.
She moved on to Southern Missouri State University in
Joplin as an international studies student where she learned
mandarin and jumped at a chance to do a semester abroad.
Traveling through Beijing, Guangzhou and Xi’an, China for
six months, she hopped aboard a cable car to ride to the top
of the ancient Great Wall of China. “I’ll never forget it,” she
said. As she rode in awe high above the trees, the ancient >>
22 Port St. Lucie Magazine
PETER JEFFER
Joah May Freeman, dressed as a geisha at the Florida Renaissance Festival, enjoys life most when she is making people happy.
BY SUSAN BURGESS