Erica Williams
Maintaining spiritual perspective in politics is no easy task, but when you’re a preacher’s daughter you learn a thing or two about keeping the faith. Erica Williams uses her extraordinary voice—we hear it’s one of the hottest in One Church LA’s superstar choir!—to ground people in their respective truths. Through her public speaking, her writings for TIME magazine, her role as Creative Director of Upworthy.com, and as host of the buzzy new alternative media show My Peoples TV, Erica is a changemaker for the Millennial generation. We recently caught up with Erica to pick her brain about how she manages to stay sane with all the hubbub happening around her. Here’s what she had to say:1 | FaceTime--I don't know how I would live without it. Texting is great, but sometimes you just need some face-to-face love. Seeing my sister every single day is the only way I survive being 3,000 miles away from home. 2 | YouTube--Few things give me more pleasure than getting lost watching hours of old performances and interviews with my favorite legendary artists and thinkers. Who needs TV? 3 | Yin Yoga--After years of searching for a style that works for me, I finally found it. This slow, static yoga opens my unbelievably tight hips, calms my mind, helps me with prayer and meditation, and, oddly enough, leaves me feeling incredibly energized. I do it every single day now. I'm finally a yogi! 4 | Lessons in Truth by H. Emilie Cady--I saw an old Maya Angelou interview (on YouTube of course) where she talks about reading this book aloud to her spiritual mentor. When she gets to a passage that says "God loves you", she breaks down in tears, right there in the interview and connects that great love to her ability to do absolutely anything. After watching the clip 1,000 times (and crying every single time), I decided I should also probably read the book. 5 | Kopari Coconut Sheer Oil--My skincare routine is pretty simple. I only use natural oils for moisturizers and this one blends my two favorite: coconut and shea butter. It has a really lovely light fragrance, is heavy enough to feel effective but light enough to not be greasy. A few drops makes me so happy. 6 | Milk Jar Cookies--OMG where have they been all my life? This cute little bakery on Wilshire makes the best cookies I've ever had. Ever. They are dense and gooey, crisp around the edges, thick and soft in the middle. I beeline there as soon as I get off of a flight as my post-travel treat. 7 | Pomodoro Timer--Writing is hard. Very hard. Having a simple digital timer that follows a specific process for spurts of productivity (look up the Pomodoro system) has been super helpful.
