By Ms Jheri Worldwide
Staff Writer
For some, the path in life is a straight line. For others, it is a winding, uncertain, and often challenging road. It is on that meandering path, however, that a journey of true self-discovery often unfolds. This is the story of Tyrone Hall, a Clinton, North Carolina native whose journey began with a life-altering diagnosis and led him through cartography, medical illustration, and corporate advertising before finding his purpose in technology and a renewed mission to give back to the community that raised him.
His journey, he explains, took its pivotal turn at the age of four. “I was an incredibly energetic child, but my mother noticed a sudden and worrying drop in my energy levels,” he shared. “This led to a diagnosis requiring surgery for coarctation of the aorta, a heart valve condition. This experience profoundly altered the trajectory of my early life.”
Suddenly unable to participate in team sports or even play in the marching band, he found a new outlet, one encouraged by his mother to keep his spirits high: art. “It became my refuge and a powerful outlet for my imagination,” he recalled. “This early connection to art... has been the guiding force throughout my life. It instilled in me the resilience to continue chasing my dreams, even when the path has been challenging.”
That path led him far from his Sampson County home. In his early twenties, he lived and worked in Denver, Cary, Washington D.C., and even Germany, taking on roles from a cartographer for the U.S. Geological Survey to a medical illustrator. “At the time, some thought I was just ‘chasing the sun,’ and honestly, they weren't entirely wrong,” he admits. “But what I did have was an unwavering belief that my dreams were attainable if I just kept going.”
It was this willingness to explore that he believes had an unexpected impact back home. As friends and community members saw him step outside his comfort zone, he hopes it encouraged them to “think beyond what was immediately offered and to explore more possibilities for themselves.”
This journey of uncertainty taught him one of his most valuable lessons: how to have faith when you don’t have all the answers. “You have to trust the process,” he advises. “This means understanding your own identity and aspirations, and most importantly, avoiding the trap of comparing yourself to others... The key is to remain consistent in your efforts, stay disciplined, and cultivate unwavering belief in yourself.”
His path eventually led him to New York City, where his passion for connecting with people drew him first into the advertising world with giants like Macy’s and Tiffany & Co., and then, unexpectedly, into tech. After connecting with people at after-work gatherings, his curiosity was piqued. “I started tinkering with websites and mobile apps, eventually partnering with a software engineer to build my own. This pivotal moment led me directly into the tech space, where I now work as a product manager.”
Now, he is channeling all of these varied experiences into a new creative venture, Musssee.com. Through this new platform, he hopes to bring his journey full circle. “I envision myself moving full speed into this creative realm, where I can directly contribute to communities, particularly in my home state of North Carolina,” he says. “My hope is to offer mentorship and guidance to individuals in small towns across the state, helping them transform their creative dreams into tangible realities.”
For him, it’s about giving back to the community that gave him his start—a community he defines as a place of belonging, support, and trust. When asked what single piece of advice he would offer, his answer was simple yet profound.
“Be relentlessly true to yourself,” he urged. “Pay close attention when things feel out of balance or unaligned in your life, because those feelings are often your most authentic self trying to guide you. Resist the urge to compare your journey to anyone else's... extend them grace and understanding. And just as importantly, offer yourself that very same grace.”
