Tracee Ellis Ross On Self-Care Through Solo Travel & Choosing Wholeness Over Wellness
Nobody makes the soft life look as good as Tracee Ellis Ross. From her poolside selfies to her globetrotting adventures, it’s clear that R & R is in her DNA, in every sense of the word.
The November cover star of Travel + Leisure opened up to the publication about how traveling from a young age with her mother, Diana Ross, has influenced her outlook on self-care and prioritizing solo travel.
“It’s very important to me,” Tracee tells the publication. “Solo travel, in particular, is how I’ve come to know and honor myself.”
She adds, “I feel like I’m a child of the world. Growing up this way allowed me to understand that, even though people may not speak the same language, we are all the same. And that allowed me to feel safe anywhere. The things that make us different are what make life so robust and textured.”
Being the daughter of a global superstar taught the Black-ish actress that home is a part of her no matter where she is, leading to her tendency to overpack with “compassion.”
“Because of the magnitude of my mother’s life and the way she mothered, I know that home lives inside me,” she says.
“I can find and create a home wherever I am. It’s part of the reason that I have a lot of compassion for my overpacking — because home just comes with you.”
Because the 50-year-old haircare CEO found herself in many foreign places at an early age, she shares her struggles with trusting new people early on but realized it's a natural result of her upbringing and has learned to extend herself grace around it.
“Another result is that I’m not great with new people. I used to have so much shame about that,” Ross reflects. “But I realized, if you think back to my childhood, it would be weird if I trusted people immediately."
"The more I get to know myself, the more compassion I have for myself. The other funny thing that is a result of my upbringing is that I don’t have a sense of adventure.”
While it may come as a surprise to many people, due to her colorful personality and eccentric style, Tracee confesses that she identified most with being an introvert who enjoys her alone time. “I play an extrovert, but I’m an introvert. I love my own company and my world is very quiet,” she says.
For Tracee, wholeness is the goal for her overall well-being. She avoids the concept of “wellness” as it implies the potential for being unwell. However, she appreciates the concept of wellness for its emphasis on self-care and self-honor.
“I don’t adhere to the idea of wellness, because to me it means you could be unwell,” she explains.
“For me, it is about wholeness, which makes space for the well and the unwell, the happy and the unhappy, the scared and the courageous — all of it. But what I love about the idea of wellness is that it conjures how you take care of yourself.”
She continues, “It’s about how you honor yourself. One of the questions I’ve been asking myself since I turned 50 and am coming out of one chapter and moving into another is: How have I honored myself today? As opposed to: What did I accomplish today? How do I want to honor myself through mind, body, and spirit? Focusing on how you honor yourself is a big part of staying well.”
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Adrian Marcel On Purpose, Sacrifice, And The 'Signs Of Life'
In this week's episode of xoMAN, host Kiara Walker talked with R&B artist Adrian Marcel, who opened up, full of heart and authenticity, about his personal evolution. He discussed his days transitioning from a young Bay Area singer on the come-up to becoming a grounded husband and father of four.
With honesty and introspection, Marcel reflected on how life, love, and loss have shaped the man he is today.
On ‘Life’s Subtle Signals’
Much of the conversation centered around purpose, sacrifice, and listening to life’s subtle signals. “I think that you really have to pay attention to the signs of life,” Marcel said. “Because as much as we need to make money, we are not necessarily on this Earth for that sole purpose, you know what I mean?” While he acknowledged his ambitions, adding, “that is not me saying at all I’m not trying to ball out,” he emphasized that fulfillment goes deeper.
“We are here to be happy. We are here [to] fulfill a purpose that we are put on here for.”
On Passion vs. Survival
Adrian spoke candidly about the tension between passion and survival, describing how hardship can sometimes point us away from misaligned paths. “If you find it’s constantly hurting you… that’s telling you something. That’s telling you that you’re going outside of your purpose.”
Marcel’s path hasn’t been without detours. A promising athlete in his youth, he recalled, “Early on in my career, I was still doing sports… I was good… I had a scholarship.” An injury changed everything. “My femur broke. Hence why I always say, you know, I’m gonna keep you hip like a femur.” After the injury, he pivoted to explore other careers, including teaching and corporate jobs.
“It just did not get me—even with any success that happened in anything—those times, back then, I was so unhappy. And you know, to a different degree. Like not just like, ‘I really want to be a singer so that’s why I’m unhappy.’ Nah, it was like, it was not fulfilling me in any form or fashion.”
On Connection Between Pursuing Music & Fatherhood
He recalled performing old-school songs at age 12 to impress girls, then his father challenged him: “You can lie to these girls all you want, but you're really just lying to yourself. You ain't growing.” That push led him to the piano—and eventually, to his truth. “Music is my love,” Marcel affirmed. “I wouldn’t be a happy husband if I was here trying to do anything else just to appease her [his wife].”
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Colman Domingo’s Career Advice Is A Reminder That Our Words Shape Our Reality
When it comes to life, we are always here for a good reminder to shift our mindsets, and Colman Domingo just gave us one we didn't know we needed.
In a resurfaced clip from an appearance at NewFest shared as a repost via Micheaux Film Festival, the Emmy award winner dropped a gem on how he has navigated his decades-spanning career in Hollywood. The gem in question? Well, Colman has never identified with "struggle" in his career. Let that sit.
Colman Domingo On Not Claiming Struggle
"I’ve never said that this career was tough. I’ve never said it was difficult. I’ve never said it was hard," Colman said. "Other people would say that—‘oh, you're in a very difficult industry. It's very hard to get work and book work.’ I’m like, I’ve never believed that."
Instead of allowing himself to be defined by other people's projections about their perceptions of what the industry is or was, Colman dared to believe differently even if his reality was playing catch up with his dreams:
"Like Maya Angelou said words are things. And if you believe that, then that's actually what it is. Actually I've just never believed it. Someone told me some years ago, they said, 'I remember you were, you're a struggling actor.' I'm like, 'I don't.'"
"I wasn't attached to a struggle. I was attached to living..."
He continued:
"Even when I was bartending and hustling and not having opportunities or anything, I never believed that I was struggling because I wasn't attached to a struggle. I was attached to living and creating and being curious."
Colman’s philosophy of attaching to living instead of struggle has blossomed into an enduring career. He first made his mark on stage in acclaimed Broadway productions before transitioning to the screen, where his star began to rise in the 2010s following his role as Victor Strand in Fear The Walking Dead. From there, his presence only grew, landing memorable supporting roles in If Beale Street Could Talk, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and the hit series Euphoria.
In more recent years, Colman has stepped fully into the spotlight with standout leading performances in Rustin and Sing Sing, both of which earned him widespread critical acclaim and Academy Award nominations for Best Actor.
With all that said, Colman's advice is no doubt powerful, especially for those who are chasing their dreams, building something from the ground up, or have question marks about what's next in their careers. Words shape our realities, and how we speak about our journeys even in passing matters.
Words Create Our Reality & Colman Is Living Proof
"I tell young people that. To remember the words that you say about yourself and your career are true. So, I choose to make it full of light and love and it's interesting and every day I'm going to learn something new even if it looks like I don't have what I want but it's important to be in the moment... you really build on the moments moment to moment.
"And you're looking back at your career as I've been in it for what 33 years and you're like, 'Wow, that's what I've been doing.' And I've stayed strong to that so I think that is truly my advice."
Let this be your sign to give your path a reframe. When the path you're on feels uncertain, the journey is still unfolding. Like Colman said: "I wasn't attached to a struggle. I was attached to living."
That's a Black king right there.
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