Who is Yasmine Parrish?

I’m just a person that’s just on a quest for happiness. If you would have asked me this question a few years back, I would have told you, “Oh I’m Publicist, oh I’m a full-time fly girl.” But as you get older you realize that the things that you do don’t necessarily define who you are, so I’m just gonna say that I am just a person that on a quest supreme happiness and contentment.

What do you do for a living?

I bring awareness to brands; I do PR and Marketing for a beauty start-up called We Are Onyx. And I also own a candle company with my best friend Cha Cha; it’s called No. 9 Candle Company. I write as well for a few sites, and I just live life. That’s what I do.

What do you do for fulfillment?

That’s a really interesting question. I don’t know how to answer that really; I used to journal a lot. I just think about things, and evaluate how my life is going. And generally I come to the conclusion that I’m very blessed and I just try to put the right energy into the universe, and I think that what you put out there is what you get back. That’s a tough question.

What is the ideology that drives what you do?

What  really drives me is that I think that the universe listens to you heart and what you speak and what you put your brainwaves towards. What drives me is putting things that I want to see happen into the universe whether I write it, whether I say it, or whether I meditate on it. That’s really what guides my life, and I really believe in speaking things to existence. Another things that guides me is (this is going to sound so silly), but my mother’s praise and her approval drives me. For so long I never felt like she was really rooting for me or on my team, and now we’ve gotten into a place where she sees my vision and she’s on board with it. When she gives me signs of approval and support it feels genuine and I feel like I must be doing something right. At 17 your mom is like your archnemesis and at 27 she’s like your best friend; that’s definitely something that drives me.

How did you arrive at that ideology or purpose?

Just how my life has played out. There are things, some small and to really large things that make me believe in the power of words and the power of thoughts whether positive or negative. For instance, I am the type of the purpose that if I have a goal or a dream, I’m going to put a deadline on it. When I came to LA, it wasn’t the mecca for young black talent the way it is now. All of our friends are moving here and everyone is coming ot LA, but when I came here I only had about 3 friends. I remember being in Atlanta after doing a stint in New York right after graduation, and I told myself that for my 23rd birthday [September ‘09] I’m gonna be in LA by any means necessary. Then I made it on my 23rd birthday. When I got here, I went through all the crazy bullsh*t: lost my Dad, got in a car accident, had a crazy landlord, just everything. Then I told myself, “By the 1st of next year, I’m gonna have a job in the [fashion] industry. I’m going to be somebody’s assitant.” On December 10th of ‘09, I got a job offer to be an Assistant Account Executive at a PR firm. So I really think that the power of words have rung true in my life; even negatively or even in a disguised blessed way.  Anyone that knows me knows that I’m always talking about the univserse because the universe is just all-knowing and frickin’ so powerful, and what you put out into that space is what’s going to come back whether negative or positive. You have to watch your words, watch your thoughts, watch your heart.

What advice can you offer someone who is searching for their own ideology or purpose?

Don’t be afraid to be alone. I think that a lot of times we are overstimulated with social media, the pressure to be out and about, pressure from friends that are always going out to do something or whatever. You find the greatest lessons in life when you are alone and your really give yourself the space and the time and the energy to just think, to read, to search and figure out what YOU believe in. A few months back I had to scale back on how much social interaction I had; I was just like, “yo I’m giving all of myself away to other people and I’m just going with the flow.” If you go with the flow you’ll just slowly give all of yourself away and not have anything left for yourself. It’s important to preserve some of you for you, and I think by doing that you’ll really end up finding what you really believe in, what you really think because you have the time to do so. If you float through life and you never give yourself any thought, you wouldn’t give yourself any time or energy, you’ll just be randomly flowing in the wind.

That’s so real. That’s so funny you say that because I came to that realization in Miami of all places. In 2008 when I was working out there for the summer and I was living on Miami Beach. You’re smack in the middle of Miami beach, but I didn’t know anyone out there. I didn’t have any homies from Howard out there. And being at Howard you end up relying on what you’re talking about; giving all of yourself to this network and the scene. Being in Miami by myself made me understand how invaluable it is to have that space for yourself so you can have perspective and have vision. If you’re around people all the time your vision becomes other people’s vision, and other people’s visions become yours. It’s really powerful.