Valencia Harris.

Affectionately known as @peach_teaaa, on Instagram, Valencia Harris is a force to be reckoned with. She used to be bilingual (French) but unfortunately, hasn’t kept up with the language so she is not as fluent as she used to be. Hopefully she remembers a little bit so can she travel with me to Paris and help me order food.  Her vibe is a presence that is immediately noticed when she walks into a room, and her mentality is one beyond her years. I had the privilege to conversate with Valencia and got to know more about her and her amazing journey throughout life.

Valencia attends Morgan State University and  majoring in multi platform production.

“I originally came in as a Multi Media Journalism Major but then I realized that I would be multifaceted if I switch my major to multi platform production being that my current major deals with Journalism as well as being equipped with the necessary skill sets needed for the entertainment industry. For example with my major now I will be able to work soundboards, learn how to edit, be in front of the camera behind the camera learn how to produce, direct and things of that nature. “

Valencia says one of her main strengths is that she has a combination of talent, intelligence, and also persistence. “I feel as though a person cannot simply rely on talent”, she says.  “They must be smart enough to know if you also need to be persistent to get where they want to be in life, specifically myself. “I’m constantly trying to balance the three however I feel I wouldn’t be as successful if I didn’t keep in mind that those three are fundamental to success.”

I also got to understand the progress and the shifting of Valencia’s mentality throughout the years. Now I can see why this young woman is so mature and wise :)

“I feel a lot differently about myself from when I was younger. I often struggled with self confidence so sometimes that made it really hard to see my potential and where I could possibly be one day I’ve learned that self-love is the best love, and with having that mindset, I now know I love myself enough to never put down any ideas I have or second-guess every decision I make I trust in myself 100%. One thing that has stayed the same about me my whole entire life would number 1 be my compassion for others and two my ability to speak well I consider myself to be very articulate and not only that I’m very talkative lol. Something that has changed is my frame of thinking, how I look at the world and how I look at other people including myself is very different (in the best way possible).”

One thing that Valencia said really touched me:

“Ultimately my gift has always been speaking- particularly to a large demographic of people so being that I’m well aware of this I feel I can impact people‘s lives with my positive affirmations whether it be posting on Instagram having my own talk show one day or simply Having a conversation with someone.  whatever it may be I know I will play an active part in many people's lives so it is important for me to put my best foot forward and being example of what is truly important in my eyes.”

Ms. Harris’s advice “to all my beautiful black people would be to not allow any other race to project their own views of who we are onto us. Our potential is limitless I feel that we don’t hear that enough. We are  able to do whatever we put our mind to and we have to realize A great deal of the time we are in the way of ourselves. It’s mind over matter the majority of the time.”

Also please support and read Valencia’s blog, Tea Time With V! It is an amazing read and it is absolutely worth it! Also follow her on Instagram @peach_teaaa