How does one deal with loneliness? There are different ways on how people seek solace from distracting themselves in longing for the presence of a loved one. For 75-year-old man named Changjae Lee, or more popularly known as Grandpa Chan on social media, he copes with his sadness through illustrations. This was a former pastime that turned out to be therapeutic for him in dealing with separation anxiety from his three grandchildren who are based in Korea and New York.
According to Grandpa Chan’s website, he is currently living in Brazil, and “learned Instagram to connect with them (grandchildren) everyday”. In his Instagram, he uploads his illustrations while the short captions tell some tales behind those- and these are written by his wife to which he regards as “grandma”. Translated in three languages; Korean, Portuguese and English, his follower base grew receiving love and support from fans of his drawings and the stories they told.
We chose the top heart-warming ones- someone stop peeling them onions, please!
These certain drawings above illustrate his fondest moments with two of his grandchildren. I’d have to agree that social media makes you feel like “you are far away” when “we can talk looking at each other” with loved ones who aren’t with us.
Grandpa Chan also likes to reminisce fond memories he had growing up. He does like to recall his own childhood and tries to mirror this to what he sees today in these illustrations.
This particular illustration shows children perhaps in school. Grandpa Chan was also once a teacher. The photo below the illustration, which is also one of his most recent Instagram uploads, captions how he “was going to be a teacher again after 36 years”.
This particular one is my favorite. The myriad of bright and happy colors symbolized hope and optimism. It’s bittersweet, but nothing beats a “feel-good slash I-miss-you” message through an illustration other than capping it off with a “see you soon” caption.
Don’t you think these drawings are the cutest? Most of these are also up for sale on Grandpa Chan’s website! These proceeds go “to support Barefoot Artists, a non-profit organization with the mission of building community through art across the Globe, and to [my] three grandchildren’s college funds”, according to Grandpa Chan’s website. You can check them out here.
What do you think of this story? Let us know in the comments down below! 🙂
Disclaimer: WheninManila.com does not own these photos. Photo credits go to Mr Chan Jae Lee’s Instagram account.
