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Yara Shahidi On How She Finds Balance & The Last Great Thing She Read
Yara Shahidi

Yara Shahidi On How She Finds Balance & The Last Great Thing She Read

Yara Shahidi is a force to be reckoned with! The Grown-ish star continues to act in the college sitcom as she attends college in real life at Havard and she is also expanding her activism in a big way.


The actress just signed on for a multi-year deal with Dell XPS to help the next generation use their voice through technology, she is working with former first lady Michelle Obama to live-stream a discussion with college students nationwide and she founded Eighteen x 18, which focused on getting first-time voters to the polls in 2018.

And while Yara has captured our attention with the use of her voice, she has also wowed us with her elegance and style. Her Instagram page is filled with many enviable style moments, but her red carpet looks are to die for. A recent example is her look for the 2021 Met Gala.

Channeling the legendary Josephine Baker, Yara blew us away with her crystal beaded gown and matching long, fitted gloves while she rocked diamonds on her neck, ears, and headpiece. But according to an interview the Black-ish star did with Glamour, that's not even the best thing she has in her closet. The 21-year-old dished on her style, her favorite snacks (which are healthy, go figure!), and the last thing she read.

On Her Personal Style Journey

"My personal style is ever-evolving in that I feel like I have very distinctive eras. There used to be a time where I did not, could not stand jeans, but I loved high-tops. So as a little kid, I was in skirts and high-top tennis shoes. In my all-girls Catholic-school phase, I took the assignment seriously. I had knee-high socks, the plaid skirts, both in and out of school. And now a lot of this phase has been about finding pieces that help further my self-expression, which means I have a much wider dress code."
"I love a good tracksuit. One year of school all I wore were different monochrome tracksuits for every day. But now, whether you've seen me on the red carpet—let's say in that beautiful green dress that my Dior family made for me—or you've seen me in my regular street style, I love just the loud colors of my clothes. It makes me feel seen, especially as a young girl traversing so many new spaces. Often have my clothes helped give me confidence before I get to that space of being confident."

On Routines & Finding Balance

"It starts with the simple things. I love my morning time routine, and not just because I love the way it makes me look. It's the first moment in the day in which I'm starting by taking time for myself... No matter how busy it's been, I'm spending time with myself winding down."
"I'm trying to figure out how I want my schedule to look, and I think this is something for so many young adults. It's more common now than ever to be juggling many things. One thing that I've been doing recently that has been really helpful is taking time to think about what dream of dreams would look like for me? And then seeing ways in which I could make it happen.
"That moment of affirming and setting time aside to not be reactionary to what's happening around me, but to be proactive, has been really helpful."

On The Last Thing She’s Read

"I've been reading lots of essays. A good one is by Herbert Cole called 'I Won't Learn From You'! It's talking about the experience of an educator who has a student who's intentionally choosing not to learn from this teacher. But all in all, long story short, it's a really interesting conversation on the way in which race plays into our education and what it's like to be a part of a system that is not seeing you or recognizing you. It's really well written."

On How She Spends Her Day Off

"My favorite way to spend a day off is with family. We really do love each other and probably enjoy each other too much. We love to travel as a family, whether it be a trip where all we're doing is sitting and being next to each other, or it's a trip where we learn history and go on little mini adventures. Smaller things, when we don't get to just get on a plane and get away, would be listening to podcasts. I recommend Heavyweight—there's a new season!—Being Seen, Dead Eyes, and Everytown."

Featured image by Leon Bennett/Getty Images

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