Lia Miller.

Edited by Bee Tomlinson

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Being fully in love with myself, my lifestyle, my environment, and my interactions with others. For me, love is happiness. 

What is your motto?
It changes every year. For 2018, it’s probably going to be “Love Yourself” and “Please Take Care”. I’m starting to notice how a lot of people ignore their mental and emotional health. 2017 was a hard year for a lot of folks, including me. So this year is about falling back in love with my life, and finding some form of inspiration or lesson from every situation I’m in, good or bad. I think if we all took the time to really confront ourselves and find peace, there would be a lot less chaos in this world. 

What is your current state of mind?
I’m always thinking about things, so my mind tends to be very exhausted. It’s not really as quiet as I would like. Sometimes that brings anxiety. But I’m trying to focus on action, what can I do to get closer to where I need to be? What can I doto feel the satisfaction that I crave? 

How would you like to die?
Like Luke did in Star Wars the Last Jedi (spoiler!) but a lot older than that. But then again, true heroes never die! 

What is it that you love most about what you do?
I love being a creative. It’s spiritual, god-like. Making something from nothing, and using innovation to do so is the ultimate satisfaction. I call myself a “content creator.” I work in media, I make stories, though often-times the process of doing so is not fun or pretty. But the ideation is always a delight! I love coming up with new ideas. 

If you could have a conversation with anybody (alive or dead), who would it be?
My grandmother. She passed away my first year of college. I see her in my dreams a lot, but I would like the chance to speak to her again to catch up. I miss her a lot. She raised me and is my biggest inspiration. She was a badass woman full of spunk and love. 

When did you realize that you wanted to be a creative?
Ever since I was little! I always try to see the world in a different way than others. I remember being younger, sitting on my bed with the sunlight streaming through my large window. I saw little fairies fly around my room. I told my mother that there were fairies in the house and she told me they were actually just pieces of dust floating around. In my mind, they were the world’s tiniest ethereal creatures. I grew up seeing magic in everything. I’m always questioning our reality. I believe that there are no limitations in this world. So I grew up wanting to find some way to create the world that I saw in my head and have others experience it too. In high school I fell in love with creative writing, and that is why I decided to go to school for film. I love books, but for me, there is something truly magical about digesting a really good movie or tv show. Even when I read a good book, I can’t help wanting to see it being made into a film. Now I’m focusing on creating content in different mediums, like comic book writing. But I’ve always loved seeing and telling a good story. 

What motivates you?
My feelings. I’m very emotionally sensitive. So if I discover something that brings me joy, I’m going after it! 

What do you love about being a woman?
There is so much magic in femininity. Womanhood is bound in nature. That’s why we always inspire art. If you look at nature--blooming flowers, curving trees or ripples in water--you see the female body. The earth is feminine, an enormous round belly that bears life. I also love the idea of women defining their own womanhood. Being a woman is surprising, because we are all so different! The same goes for men, but I think society has allowed them more freedom to express their differences rather than conform to a gender archetype. Modern human kind has constantly disgraced and belittled women. Especially black women. So we have had to constantly fight to define our own narrative. Everybody has a mother (or a someone who birthed you), so you would think the world would be kinder to life-bearing creatures. But then you look up and see our government threatening to take away access to female healthcare. It’s twisted really. You see, I believe everyone, no matter what gender you identify with, should cherish their divine feminine energy. We all have it.

What is your experience of being a woman, while also being a creative?
Women always experience some form of misogyny in any field. As a creative, it always hurts when your ideas aren’t taken seriously. But as a female creative, I feel like there is a lot more fighting to prove that your ideas are valid and marketable. In the media industry, white men are still on top. But now we are finding out that their perspectives aren’t as fresh as they think, and you see a lot of white men, still being on top but trying to hop on the “diversity train” for profit. But then you notice the few women (again, especially black women) who are dominating the industry with authenticity and creative genius. Even with their busy schedules they are always finding time to make space for other disenfranchised folks to tell their stories as well. There are so many creative women who I look up to and I am so grateful for their art! Especially if I can see myself within it. It’s the ultimate feeling of satisfaction or “Hey, I exist too, and you see that.” It means a lot. A lot of my creativity comes from my womanhood and my blackness. It comes from growing up and being forced to make something when you have nothing. 

“Women always experience some form of misogyny in any field. As a creative, it always hurts when your ideas aren’t taken seriously.”