The Coolest Girls In School
It is the year 2021, the beginning of an era that has ushered in all-around inclusivity, open conversations and a general allegiance amongst human kind.
Words by Dio Anthony
Television is finally reflecting what we see around us, and the cultures and stories we were once deprived from are now being spotlighted front and center. This is the case in Peacock’s Saved By The Bell, a reimagining of the iconic 90s comedy that set in stone many of today’s trends and reference points. It may sound strange linking a high school comedy to such grand societal milestones, but if you’ve watched an episode or two, you know this to be fact. Last year, during the fall of 2020, The Tracey Wigfield produced series premiered to the world, garnering instant praise and making an instant fan out of me. An immigrant, who grew up watching the original series, long before I could even understand the words, let alone the language they were speaking. It’s new cast members, Josie Totah, Haskiri Velazquez and Alycia Pascual-Peña headline the show as I’d like to call them, the coolest girls in school, all the while making their marks as pillars of their communities. To quote Viola Davis, they are smart, they are kind and they are important. Haskiri Velazquez, 26, Josie Totah, 20, and Alycia Pascual-Peña, 22 sit down for a conversation with me that I honestly did not want to end. They speak eloquently about growing up on opposite sides of the country, their first experiences with personal representation and what they feel their current life chapters would be titled. These ladies, contrary to popular belief, prove that yes––you should totally meet your heroes. If your heroes are Haskiri, Josie or Alycia.
DIO ANTONY: For starters, I want y'all to know that my family and I are obsessed with the show. [laughs] From me, being 31 to my 10 year old niece. I’d play it over and over again. During season one,I played it in the background during our thanksgiving get together. I’m pretty sure it was on in the background during New Years Eve too. I’d always play it when we were home, just hanging out.
HASKIRI VELAZQUEZ: I love that. That's amazing. Thank you.
ANTHONY: The theme song is so catchy. I was obsessed. People were like, Dio, you have to stop posting about Saved By The Bell.
ALYCIA PASCUAL-PEÑA: We really appreciate that. Thank you so much. I love that.
JOSIE TOTAH: I'm glad you love the theme song too. We were a little hesitant at first, but I feel like it's one of those songs that at first doesn't resonate with you and then after you hear it, you're like, oh yeah, it is pretty good. I'm glad to hear that you like it.
ANTHONY: Definitely. I’d start the episode sometimes just to hear the theme song.
VELAZQUEZ: That's amazing.
ANTHONY: I also love each one of y'all's characters. They're all so different. I was wondering what you all were like in high school, respectively?
VELAZQUEZ: [Laughs] You know, in high school I was super focused on my career and my future, which was acting. I went to school, I did what I had to, but I wasn't the type A student like Daisy was. I think that's the only difference between her and I. But yeah, I mean, I was focused. I got by, I dabbled in a little bit of everything. It’s funny because I did wrestling in my senior year of high school, which is so funny because Alycia's character Aisha ends up becoming a wrestler. I feel like sometimes I could resonate with Alycia's character just as much as I could relate to Daisy's character.
ANTHONY: Wow! Wrestling? That’s amazing.
TOTAH: I thought I was the baddest bitch in high school..but, I wasn't. No one thought I was cool. I went to a Catholic high school. I was the president on my mock trial team. I literally would strut the LA Superior Court in Louboutins with my two fellow mock trial companions with me. I would have to attend mass in the morning and teachers would get mad at me because I called them all by their first names and would shorten them too.
ANTHONY: [Laughs].
TOTAH: So, shout-out to Rebecca. I love you, boo. But yeah, honestly I had a wild ride. I also was also on a full on television show in high school–– it was on a show called Champions. So I was going every single morning to my first period and then filming. Sometimes I’d be able to come back after filming scenes. So, I didn't really have a normal high school experience.
ANTHONY: Definitely not! How about you Alycia?
PASCUAL-PEÑA: In high school, I definitely was not as much fun as Aisha is, [laughs]. So it's amazing to live my little high school fantasy with Aisha's character. I was a lot less interesting. I was all about my grades. I showed up to school looking like a hot mess. My phenomenal Latina mother would lock me in the car and be like, can you please do your hair? I was just a nerd, like a complete nerd. I was way too involved. I cared way too much about school. I was not having any of that high school fun. But you know, I wouldn't change it cuz that's who I just naturally am. I was the girl in student government and also did musical theater. I was also competitive cheerleader, while being involved with Habitat For Humanity. I was in a college program called International Baccalaureate Degree. I was very blessed to have a great education. Haskiri and I talk about this all the time. I definitely resonate more with Daisy than Aisha and she resonates a lot with Aisha. But it's really amazing that all three of us have found parts of ourselves in our characters. I relate to Aisha in a lot of ways, you know, because she's bold and unapologetic and very vocal. I think I definitely am a lot more like that now, but, in high school I was not as cool.
ANTHONY: Okay, wow! So you three were are all next level in high school. Amazing!
Haskiri: Frances Valentine Sweater Vest, Alycia: KKCO Vest, Josie: KKCO top, Jenny Bird ear cuffs
TOTAH: Thank you!
ANTHONY: Josie, was it a cool thing that you were on a TV show when you were in high school or were people kind of annoyed by it?
TOTAH: It was cool to me, but not to anyone else. No one gave a shit. They literally didn’t care. I could have worked at Kids R Us and they would've cared just as much as me being on a television show. I think I was cooler for dancing with our Spanish teacher in the quad to salsa music at lunch once a month, than I was for being on a literal network television show, which I will say humbled me and raised me well. I think I'd be a different person if people actually cared about who I was.
ANTHONY: That's so interesting. I always wonder what that dynamic is like when there's child actors that are in school and everyone knows they're on TV or in movies. It's something you only get in California, you know?
TOTAH: We're in Los Angeles, so everyone's dad was like John Stamos or something. They were used to it.
ANTHONY: How has the relationship outside the show between you three affected the storylines?
VELAZQUEZ: I feel like Josie could talk a little more on that, but I think from day one, from the first table read, we all just kind of connected so well. We literally went to Aroma Cafe and we sat down and spoke for hours. So I think from day one we kind of already had that friendship, we got to know each other. So it made it more realistic and more authentic on screen.
ANTHONY: THAT’S so cool.
PASCUAL-PEÑA: Yeah! I'm really grateful that literally from day one it felt like a family, which is a rarity and it's something that I'm always very grateful for. You know, Josie and I, we came into this with a huge privilege of already coming off of a project. So, working with a best friend is just literally a blessing from the Lord. Then in addition to that, I'm always laughing at the fact that the day that Haskiri and I met, we literally spent eight hours straight together like psychopaths [laughs]. I think that's just a testament to how much we all care about this show, but even more importantly care about the people that we make it with. I love my cast and I love my crew and I think that we can speak for all three of us. I think the way that it affected the show is that it's tangible, you know? The chemistry that we have on screen has been enjoyed by viewers. I think that's because it's real in real life. We care about each other and we all want to see each other succeed, and it just makes the show more special for us and more meaningful. Particularly for Daisy and Aisha, because we were both cast as Latinas for these roles, it changed a certain camaraderie that we have with each other. I think that's special as well. So we're grateful. All of us.
ANTHONY: You ladies are killing it.
PASCUAL-PEÑA: Thank you. I Appreciate that.
ANTHONY: A lot of the show touches on representation and, you know, brings the real world topics in these amazing comedic ways. I honestly feel like the reason my niece loved it so much was because she saw herself in the characters. We're Dominican. I remember the scene where it's Daisy and Aisha and they're talking about an old teacher of theirs and she says something about the teacher’s ugly shirt while riding the school bus back home from Bayside. She and I started laughing because it’s not something she was used to–– seeing characters break in and out of Spanish on screen. She was obsessed, and I think that's what really got her. I was wondering, when was the first time you ladies felt like you were represented on screen? Was it a character you saw or was it an actor that kinda made you feel that way? Because I feel like all three of you are doing that for a generation right now.
TOTAH: Wait, I love that you're Dominican, Dio.
ANTHONY: I was actually born there.
PASCUAL-PEÑA: Oh my God, where?
ANTHONY: My Family’s from San Francisco De Macoris. I had to learn English. I came here and the only thing I knew how to say was like, what's your name? So I’m looking at the show from a different lens.
PASCUAL-PEÑA: Dio, thank you so much for sharing that. I think I can speak for Haskiri and I–– she is our beautiful Puerto Rican and Dominican, and I'm Dominican and in a lot of ways we want our characters to be love letters to our communities, especially because, to answer your question, I don't think I saw myself frankly enough on screen, especially as an Afro- Latina.
But just as the Latino community in general, I think that we have such dimensional dynamic stories that deserve to be told that haven't historically been told. So to be on a show where we get to be ourselves and just authentically and genuinely go into Spanglish or you know, talk about a teacher being Eurocentric and not respecting us as Latinas, I think is really special. We want this show in a way to––yes, make people laugh.. But also have serious conversations within our community and be a love letter to the Caribbean, to our Latino people. We don't see each other enough. It's a huge honor for us to play these characters that we think are multidimensional and sincere representations of Latina women. I think one of the first times I felt like I saw myself was watching Gina Torres. She very candidly discusses not being respected as a Latina.
ANTHONY: Such good and deep stuff here. Thank you all for really going into this with me. It’s really nice.
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PASCUAL-PEÑA: Thank you! Coming from a fellow Dominican, it's even more special. We really appreciate you, man.
ANTHONY: I love that!
VELAZQUEZ: I mean the first time I felt like I saw myself represented in any way was when I watched Selena with Jennifer Lopez. She was from the Bronx. I'm from Washington Heights. She would take the train literally every single day for things like rehearsals or dance or whatever it was, and that was my life. Like, I literally had to take the train or walk everywhere. We never had a car, so I just resonated a lot with her as a person It’s such an honor to actually play a character on TV that can give that kind of representation to these young Latinas that are watching to have someone that they can look up to and say, oh my gosh, I feel seen or, oh my gosh, Daisy is my character or Aisha is so relatable. I think it's truly important because we're setting that foundation for the next generation, and it's truly an honor.
ANTHONY: I love that. I feel like I always bring up my niece in interviews and it's because she and I have such a link when it comes to TV shows and stuff like that. After having watched the show, it became a reference point for us. I’d say things like, you're so Daisy right now. She's very much a perfectionist and loves to do her homework and stuff like that. The other day she was wearing her hair curly, and I said to her––you know, you're usually giving Daisy, but you're giving Aisha today, and she loved that. For example, when we were watching the show, she was shipping Aisha and Jamie hard. I was like, no, no––team Lexi and Jamie all the way. And she's like, no, no, no Aisha and Jamie. I think the reason why is because she sees herself in Aisha, you know?
“We want this show in a way to––yes, make people laugh.. But also have serious conversations within our community and be a love letter to the Caribbean, to our Latino people.”
PASCUAL-PEÑA: Well, that just made me giddy. Like, the fact that you guys could look at one show and name two different Latinas and have these two Latinas that share a culture, but are so different, I think that’s so special. For so long we've had that one archetype or have only been given very minimal perceptions of who we are as Latina women. The fact that you both can sit here and be like––oh you're more this, you're more that, that’s really beautiful. Please send our love to your niece. I want to meet her!
Frances Valentine sweater vest, Shoes Thom Browne
ANTHONY: Yes, we're obsessed [laughs]. Between you two and then Josie,who she grew up watching, all over Disney, the bond is a whole experience. We’ll be chatting and I’ll be like, this is Josie's best role ever? And she’ll jump in with a tid bit about a role or part I haven’t seen.
TOTAH: She should've co-hosted this with you, and asked us questions.
ANTHONY: I definitely should have grabbed her from school for this. She’ll be pissed once I tell her the interview was today. Okay, so ,because you three have been these little pillars on TV, have you ladies received anything on Instagram, for example, that sticks out to you..of people reaching out to you about being role models to them?
TOTAH: I receive stuff all the time from people on Instagram. Alycia and I were just talking about all the little Tik Toks that I see. It makes me so happy because people are feeling represented and seen for the first time and we've gotten so much support and I get so excited, not even just for myself, but when I see people post stuff about Alycia or Haskiri too. I saw something the other day of someone posting all of Alycia's different hairstyle looks.
ANTHONY: Wow.
Frances Valentine Sweater Vest, Jenny Bird hoops
TOTAH: I’m so proud and happy to get to see the hundreds of looks that we got to do with her during season one. All that stuff makes me so excited. People are really getting to feel loved and included and as they should for so long.
ANTHONY: Is there any quality from your respective characters that you’d keep if given the chance?
VELAZQUEZ: Hmm. That's a good question.
PASCUAL-PEÑA: That’s a great question.
TOTAH: Right?
PASCUAL-PEÑA: I think for me, I am inspired by Aisha's resilience and apologeticness that comes with it. I think in my own life, something that's really big to me is a spirit of excellence. I think when I was younger, I wanted to be a perfectionist, but now I always talk about the spirit of excellence. But if I'm being frank, I think at times I want to engage in respectability politics. So I love that Aisha really has no filter. She's like I'm gonna go after what I want, and I don't care how it sounds to you, and I'm going to live in my truth. That is a characteristic that I admire most about her, that I pray that I have as I'm evolving and growing as a young woman.
ANTHONY: That's such a wonderful perspective. Thank you. What's the last thing each of you Googled?
PASCUAL-PEÑA: Oh my gosh.
ANTHONY: [Laughs]
VELAZQUEZ: My Google right now is not looking so fun. We're renting a house and the owners just told us that they're planning on selling it and we have a month to find a new place. So my search history is just “houses for rent near me”. I’m just scrambling, trying to find a place before the holidays. That's what my google looks like.
Haskiri: Frances Valentine Sweater Vest, DVF skirt Jenny Bird hoops Alycia: KKCO Vest Prada skirt Josie: KKCO top Jenny Bird ear cuffs
TOTAH: Ours are very across the board strange. We kinda give you a little bit of everything. Alycia, do you want to read yours first?
PASCUAL-PEÑA: No, I don't [laughs]. It needs context! Okay. We were talking about how much we love JoJo Siwa and Iman Shumpert.. Shout out to the first NBA player or X NBA player to win Dancing With The Stars. We love both of them and Jojo––she has a reality TV show now. Okay, this is embarrassing. I'm just going to say it. My last Google search was Jojo Siwa saying Bitch. Cuz she’s standing up for her mom in the video…
ANTHONY: I saw that video. Amazing.
PASCUAL-PEÑA: It's a cute video! She's standing up for her mom on a reality TV show. Okay––say yours, Josie. You better say your truth.
TOTAH: This is my truth. My last Google search is European Wax Center, Ventura Boulevard because..
PASCUAL-PEÑA: [Laughs]
TOTAH: I mean, that should just explain itself.
ANTHONY: That's amazing, [laughs]. Also, as someone who lived in LA right off of Ventura, that just feels like home to me. I’m glad you were truthful about your last Google search!
TOTAH: What's your address?
ANTHONY: [Laughs], I live in New York now, but I lived right off of that nice little newsstand with all the magazines off of Laurel Canyon area.
PASCUAL-PEÑA: Oh, we know exactly where that is.
VELAZQUEZ: Oh yeah, yeah!
ANTHONY: AN Iconic little area… So Josie, you grew up in Sacramento, California, which I've read is sometimes called the Midwest of California. Why do you think people call it that? Or what's your version of why people call it tha?
TOTAH: That is so unfortunate and embarrassing that people call it that because that's so gross.
Josie: Love Shack Fancy suit top PH5, Miu Miu hair clips, Jenny Bird ear cuff Haskiri: Headband by Ganni Earrings by Lisa Says Gah Top and Skirt PH5 Blaze by Isabel Marant. Alycia: Rouje Blazer, KKCO orange set, Lisa Says Gah ring
ANTHONY: [Laughs]
TOTAH: Even though it's in California, it's not a progressive place, or at least it wasn't 10 years ago. I think it's still on its way. I mean, no tea, no shade to Davis, which is the town that I grew up in, but it definitely was not nearly as evolved as I know that it is now. I think in any suburb, even in the ones that are near Los Angeles, you find people with conservative values who are less open-minded, and I think that's a misconception when it comes to California. Even the coastal cities have some strange folk.
ANTHONY: That was so surprising to me, when I initially read that somewhere. I think the first time I ever really saw Sacrament depicted on screen was in Lady Bird.
TOTAH: I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say, “I just went to Sacramento this weekend. I had so much fun.” There’s nobody that’s ever said that. Or like, “let's go to Sacramento from my bachelorette party.” That would be crazy. You'd be insane.
ANTHONY: Alycia & Haskiri–– you two grew up in New York. What part of being a New Yorker do you think you carry with yourself everyday?
VELAZQUEZ: I think I carry just the realness of the city. I feel like sometimes I can speak what's on my mind without thinking about it first. I think that's just the nature of New York. It's such a fast paced environment and you just gotta get through doors, you gotta get on the train, you gotta hustle and bustle. I'm go-go all the time. That drive and that passion. That grittiness.
PASCUAL-PEÑA: You know, being from the Boogie-down, I definitely agree with Haskiri. I always talk about this. I think that you can definitely tell an east coast and west coast actress by how they walk into a room. Just because there is this grit and this hustle that has to be embedded into who you are in New York. You know that saying––If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere.. We do the trains. We need to be able to focus anywhere. I know what it is, you know, to learn a script...
TOTAH: …In transit.
PASCUAL-PEÑA: Exactly, in transit, in between train rides and stuff like that. But I think the biggest thing that I take from being from New York is not only my resilience but also my cultural awareness. You know what I mean? I think something really beautiful about New York is the diversity and how close all of these beautiful different communities are with each other. I think that it makes you a more perceptive person. But yeah, that hustle and the resilience, that’s embedded in you.
ANTHONY: Okay. I have one question that I feel like could be for the three of you, but it might be a little different for Josie since she was working so young. My question was all three of you having been from very particular places. When was the first time you moved to LA that you were like, okay––we're not in Kansas anymore. I moved from the east coast. I grew up in Philly, but my aunts were in the Bronx. My mom got her haircut in Washington Heights. She wouldn't go anywhere else..
VELAZQUEZ: Oh wow. Like, around 188th?
ANTHONY: Right by there. My aunt lived walking distance to the Yankee stadium in The Bronx. That's what I grew up seeing all the time. I didn't even know New York was different until I remember, I think I watched Gossip Girl and I was like–– wait, what? [laughs]. That just wasn’t the New York I grew up seeing. Then when I moved to LA, I was like, this is so different than anything I could have ever imagined. Do you remember that moment where you felt that?
VELAZQUEZ: Well, I'd never been to LA prior to booking the show. So I think even when I came for the screen-test–– that was just a whole awakening for me. I didn't know how far or how big LA was. They put me up in the Sheraton and it was literally walking distance to the studio and I literally took an Uber. That's how uneducated I was of LA. Then I think moving here for the show and living across the street, I don't feel like I got to experience LA as much. So a lot of it was very much a work environment. All the studios and the actors and that kind of stuff. I think it was in going to certain shopping centers is when I realized how different LA was from New York. Especially since you know, Washington Heights is now called Little Dominican Republic. I really felt like there was a part of me missing every time I went somewhere in LA. So I think that's why it's so important to have a little community that you can rely on because LA can really, really put you on your head if you're not grounded before you get here. Or super focused. I think the difference is more within the people than in the area.
ANTHONY: I totally know what you mean. Josie, you're also enrolled in school now, and I'm wondering, is your experience different than what it was in high school of you being a working actress, but still being in class? That to me is interesting because you're in higher education, where people are trying to make their dreams happen there. It’s a place to network and make things happen. Whereas maybe when you were younger, the mindset was different, which caused the students around you to be more lax about it all. Also, how do you balance it?
TOTAH: School definitely gets more difficult. I mean, right now I'm filming another show and I'm in like 18 units. So it's extremely time consuming and I have to work on my time management which I'm not always the best at. When it comes to the kids in my classes, I'm just amazed at them as they probably are of me. I've been so blessed to meet so many talented, young women and people of color and writers who I've embraced so much. I've pitched ideas to them and I've literally told them, we're going to make stuff together when we get out of here, and I feel very strongly about that. I think that's the best part about being in a film school, is meeting people that you wouldn't otherwise meet at such a young age, and you get to watch each other grow and step into yourselves. I'm so proud of so many of my classmates and they've worked just as hard as I have on their craft. I'm so excited to see where the world takes all of us when we graduate. They've been so helpful because teachers do not like a girl who can't come to class cuz she's working. So my classmates have stood up for me time and time again. They've fought the fight and I'm beyond grateful for them.
ANTHONY: So humble! I love it.. Do you guys have a current favorite account on Instagram?
TOTAH: An account on Instagram called Deuxmoi is my current favorite, which actually Alycia did not know about Deuxmoi, which really disappointed me because I thought better of her. But our friend, Kayla, who's also mutually obsessed with this account, we talk about it on a weekly basis and it is just the most incredible thing to ever exist and I will invest in it. Should it go public?
ANTHONY: Deuxmoi is amazing. I feel like a lot of people don't know about it, but once they do, the love for it is unstoppable.
TOTAH: I mean, culturally, it’s just an impactful monument in our world and our society. It's important.
ANTHONY: It's the new Tabloid for sure. Although I feel like a lot of the stuff they post mainly happens in New York. I have a friend that's in LA, who just feels like she needs to be here just because a lot of their sightings are in New York. She’s literally considering moving to New York now.
TOTAH: I know! I just wanna go to Saddelle’s. I wanna go to Balthazar. I wanna go to all the places that these people are going. I just wanna see them. And then report them.
ANTHONY: How about you two? Haskiri and Alycia, do you both have any accounts you're obsessed with right now? Or is it also Deuxmoi?
VELAZQUEZ: I've never heard of that one, that Josie mentioned. I watch a lot of baking stuff on Instagram. My explore page is a bunch of people baking pies and cakes, and I save it in hopes that I'm going to make it one day. It’s insane. I never get in the kitchen to bake any of these things. I live vicariously through these bakers and see all of the holiday stuff they put on. Buzzfeed has a lot of tasting stuff that is really amazing. I don’t have a specific one. Just whoever’s making something on instagram, just know that I’m probably watching.
PASCUAL-PEÑA: I’m actually trying to sit here and rack my brain. A lot of my favorite Instagrams, I would say have to do with mental health, mindfulness. Ones that share affirmations and stuff like that. But I also love a lot of activism based ones too. Like, ACLU, the Innocence Project.. It’s obviously not the only way people should stay informed, but it’s a great way to help people learn about these things. But the one that randomly comes to mind right now is Stay Macro. Which is a production company and it's always posting amazing, beautiful black content. So I would say Stay Macro has to be one of my favorite Instagrams at the moment.
ANTHONY: So awesome. I have two last questions for you ladies. The first one is–– what comes to mind when you hear the word iconic?
VELAZQUEZ: Joanne The Scammer.
ANTHONY: [Laughs]
VELAZQUEZ: [Laughs], I’m just kidding.
TOTAH: I think about the things that have shaped our social stratosphere. Whether it's Paris Hilton or Princess Diana or Cher, or the Queens from Ru Paul's Drag Race. I mean, I think of Kim Petras..
VELAZQUEZ: I'm screaming.
TOTAH: That’s what I think of when I think of iconic. Normani…
PASCUAL-PEÑA: Period.
VELAZQUEZ: Yeah. I agree with Josie. Those are really good ones. I think when I hear the word iconic I think of people who’ve inspired others and who continue to pay it forward. Those who open up the doors to give more opportunities for the next generation. That's what I think of when I hear iconic.
ANTHONY: Okay! Killin’ it!!
PASCUAL-PEÑA: Yeah. I was going to say, I don't think of a person specifically. Obviously there are icons in my life who I'm inspired by, but I think of how it's just become natural vernacular. I kind of laugh at it cuz I probably say it all the time. Like, oh, that's iconic, she's iconic, that’s iconic. I associate it in the moment with a feeling, which I think is really funny.
ANTHONY: That’s actually hilarious. The last question is–– If you three had to name this period of your life as an era, what would it be? It also has become a trend to say you’re entering your ____ era.
PASCUAL-PEÑA: I guess maybe “Grown”. For the first time in my life I feel grown. Even though I've always felt like an old lady, my mom has said, she gave birth to a 50 year old. She always said I had an old soul. Now's the first time in my life that I feel ‘grown', just because of being independent. So I'm gonna say, like Beyonce, Miss independent. I don’t know. My internet at my house is Impeach, Bitch, exclamation point––so maybe I’ll do that. Wow. Thanks for the therapy session. I’ve never thought of that.
TOTAH: You just gave away your internet, [laughs].
PASCUAL-PEÑA: I did? Didn’t I? [laughs].
TOTAH: I'd say the era right now for me is the era of reprioritization.
ALYCIA: Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's great! I was gonna say rebirth, but I thought that was mad cliche.
TOTAH: I feel like mine sort of speaks for itself, but, I think that I've gotten to the point where I physically cannot do everything, not just mentally, cuz I've already been through the ringer mentally. But then it got to the point where my physical body couldn't. So, it's just reprioritizing and also recognizing what's important to me. What's actually benefiting me in the long run? Who are the people that I want to spend that energy with? What are the jobs that I wanna give my energy to? What type of life do I want to lead for myself. And just putting my health and my sanity at the very forefront, which I think is really difficult for anyone to do.Let alone a 20 year-old in college.
VELAZQUEZ: Mm. Those are really good ones. It's funny cuz, this is not something you think about, you know, on your day to day. Mine, I would say, is owning. Owning where I'm at. Owning who I am a lot more, owning my upbringing, my childhood, and being able to speak on that a lot more. I feel like there's a lot of parts of me that people don't know about. Things that I'm not comfortable yet speaking about. Things with family or whatever it is. I think just owning a lot more of myself and not allowing distractions.
ANTHONY: Thank you all for being so vulnerable and honest with me today. Alycia, it's so funny that you said thank you for the therapy session. My interviews always come off that way. My mother's a therapist. I feel like I always leave people scratching their heads with my questions.
PASCUAL-PEÑA: I'm so here for these types of conversations. I love conversations with depth and substance.
TOTAH: Therapy’s expensive, so thank you.
PASCUAL-PEÑA: Yeah, therapy’s expensive! Also, I think these are the conversations I care about. Human connectivity. I love to learn things about people. Thanks for sharing your mom's therapist and learning about your niece. I think it's so special.
ANTHONY: You’re so welcome. This interview has been so fun. You ladies are so smart. So eloquent, and so humble and obviously so talented. I’m so excited for this new season. My niece and I will be on it STAT.
TOTAH: Oh My God Dio, I loved, loved this. Thank you!
ANTHONY: Y'all are the best. I'm so excited.
PASCUAL-PEÑA: It was such a pleasure meeting you. Hopefully we can meet in person one day.
VELAZQUEZ: Bye Dio!
Written by Dio Anthony
Photographed by JJ Geiger
Styling by Jensen Leigh