Jalen Traylor wears many hats, but he’s probably more known for a football helmet than any kind of thinking cap.
He’s hardly ever seated in a classroom. You’ll most likely find him in the Comm Center or the athletic wing, nowhere near the art department. Yet, all he brought to his interview was his phone and a sketchbook full of comic book characters.
“I’ve always loved superheroes,” Traylor said. “It gives you hope when you watch these superhero movies.”
Traylor has been surrounded by art his whole life. His mother is a poet and artist, and his brother makes his own music. As for Traylor, he’s read comic books since the day he could pick one up. He took a single art class freshman year, but failed. You couldn’t tell by looking at his sketchbook.
“I grew older and realized how beautiful the art of superheroes are,” Traylor said. “It lets you put yourself in the perspective of someone who always does the right thing or always tries.”
That’s the thing with Traylor. Everything he does is retrospective, in a way. He manages to always look back while moving forward. Everything has a meaning to Traylor eventually. That being said, he doesn’t have it all figured out yet, as this year he’s been pivoting more to his more creative side with Eagle News, music, and drawing.
This can be (partially) attributed to this year’s disappointing football season, in which the team went 2-8. He used the downtime once taken up by football to do something he always does: taking two steps back in order to take three steps forward.
“You don’t have to get what you thought you wanted. You get what you needed. What I needed was to become a leader,” said Traylor. “I didn’t have the season I wanted to have. I became the person I wanted to be, and I didn’t even realize that’s what I wanted.”
Traylor wanted to be himself. In order for him to become that, he had to look into who he already is, including coming to terms with autism. Traylor was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at 6-years-old.
“When they think of autism, they think one thing, they don’t think of the spectrum,” said Traylor. “It’s not something I was comfortable talking about until this year. Most people are shocked when I say that. They have no idea.”
These assumptions apply to all aspects of Traylor’s life. The kid who’s taking his shirt off on Eagle News isn’t usually the kid who carries his sketchbook instead of a Chromebook. He works out and makes superhero edits. He’s both the “green hat boy” and “Batman”. He makes pop-punk music along with rap.
But Traylor does all of those things, and he’s proud of it. However, he refuses to be cool.
“Being cool is doing nothing, so why is that being cool?” Traylor said. “I’d rather be the lamest person ever if being cool is doing nothing with my life.”
If Traylor thinks something is worth doing, he’ll go all in. When he’s making emo pop-punk music with TikTok Jersey drill rappers, he commits to the bit. When he’s on Eagle News, he takes his shirt off all the way. He does it for himself. He’s authentic that way.
Traylor isn’t complicated; he’s complex, and he revels in these complexities. To Traylor, it’s not that everything has a purpose, but that it’s our responsibility to find a purpose.
“At the end of the day it’s all about a lesson. Everything you should do should give you a lesson,” said Traylor. “I’m happy to be who I am.”
