On our not so recent trip to San Francisco, we met up with the effortlessly stylish and wise beyond her years, YouTuber slash English major slash all round nice chick, Alicia de Mello. Alicia originates from wonderful wine country, Napa, but now resides in Los Angeles where she studies and creates beautiful content for the rest of us to drool over. She's also a fellow lover of sustainable and ethical fashion having been an avid thrifter and even worked to curate a vintage store. We chatted over coffee at San Francisco's Century 21 cafe, and discussed everything from career ambitions to our current must reads!

 

What do you consider your biggest achievement so far in your life?
I’m about graduate college so I think that might be my biggest achievement so far. But I’m also really proud of the fact that I’ve been able to really juggle everything. Also, I feel like I really found my voice. It's always been important for me to maintain a very strong voice in everything I do. 

 Have you ever failed at anything and what did it teach you? 
I fail a lot, but I think it's important to. Failure is a really amazing tool and really powerful because once you fail you learn what not to do. Some people don’t figure that out for a while. 

 Is there any social issue you wish was more talked about and would change?So many issues! Climate change is a really big deal of course. Also, anything that has to do with racial relations I think is really important. I think we don’t talk enough about it or give a platform to people of color to really established themselves and tell their stories. 

How do you treat yourself after a rough day?
I read a book! I read a lot of books at school, so it's hard for me to make time to read for pleasure. But when I find the time, it makes me feel so much better.   

What are you reading at the moment?
It’s called Red Clocks. I don’t remember the author but its kinda dystopian novel which is really weird for me I don’t really read dystopian novels but this one really good and it's all about women.

 
And what would you like to see a change in the world in the next 5 years?
A better president! Most importantly I'd like to see history not repeat itself. To learn from our mistakes and say never again and mean it.

Who has been the biggest influence in your life?
My mom has been the biggest influence on my entire life. She has given me everything I could possibly need. She is just an amazing mom and really let me experience life how I want. She is so open and generous and never critical about what I’m doing and never puts pressure on me. She just really wants me to be happy and that’s probably the biggest influence I ever had on my life. I hope that I’m the same way to someone in my life as well. 

Where is home and what makes it home?
Home is where ever my family is so it's not like a physical place but it's the people I surround myself with. That can be friends too, it doesn't just have to be a family! I know sometimes people don’t have families, so they create their own families. Whoever and wherever you feel safe and you loved.