Today we’d like to introduce you to Malia Joy.
Hi Malia, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and lived there up until I was 3 years old. From there on out, I’ve never really had a permanent home. My dad was in the military for a good amount of time which meant we moved a lot. So I had been all over the United States quite a bit up until I was 12 years old. At this point, my dad was no longer serving in the military and my family had decided to move to Florida.
We were in Orlando for a good 7 years. I still was never consistently at the same school, which was something that bothered me but eventually, I just accepted that. One thing that I was always consistent with wherever I went though, was finding some type of performance arts activity to get into. I was in Chorus from elementary to high school, in band during middle school, and even got into fine arts at my local church. Performing was where I was the happiest and most confident version of myself.
When I wasn’t performing, I was considered one of the quiet girls in school, with a small circle. I loved it that way myself because I value connection and quality over quantity when it comes to people. Fast forward to the graduation year of 2020, I graduated with a 5.2 GPA and was able to get a scholarship to Southeastern University, a private Christian college. A relationship with God has always been a priority for me in my life, so I was excited to be in an environment where I could focus on that in every aspect. Unfortunately, this was also the time my first relationship failed, and I struggled to focus mentally because of my heartbreak.
My mother always told me to never let a man get in the way of my future… but that’s exactly what I did. I don’t regret it at all though because it’s part of my story of course. I was going for travel nursing, and when I left school not only due to the heartbreak but other drama as well within the school, I realized I didn’t want to go for what I was going for anyway. I didn’t want a career in the hospital because the hospital was considered my second home in my mind since I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease at age 8.
It’s not an obvious condition… until it is… Although I was used to living with it for so long the rough times of it took a toll on my mental health. Yet, I always tried to make sure I never let it limit me in life. Anyways, now that I had left the school, I had more time to go out and socialize. I happened to work in a mall where I met other influencers and from there on is when my social media career began.
I kept connecting and meeting with other people, traveling, doing whatever it took to create, make content, and ultimately do what I love. Perform and entertain. I fell in love with it because there are no limitations for creativity or expression of yourself when it comes to social media and it genuinely made me happy to be able to receive support as well as support others and encourage them to step into their passions as well.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As much as there are positives to the social media industry, it can also be toxic. I’m a heavy believer in spiritual transactions of energy. As people, we all carry some sort of energy. Meeting and interacting with so many people can be a lot of energy being exchanged, and it doesn’t always end up well. There’s a lot of unnecessary drama, misunderstandings, and confusion, and at the end of the day, we’re all human. But those sorts of negative interactions or even traumatic experiences for some need to be processed.
It can be hard to process so many things and emotions all at once. Which was what happened to me. Like I said, growing up I always kept to myself and a small circle. So entering the social media industry so fast, I’d say I had a platform within a year of taking it seriously, it was a complete change for me. I didn’t necessarily have any reliable guidance during the process which means I wasn’t super careful with who I interacted with. I was just excited to be doing something outside of my comfort zone. But stepping into the industry, came with mistakes, and misunderstandings between others, and I ended up placing the burden upon myself. As well as interactions with people outside of social media, which was different for me too.
Ultimately, the main issue was, was that I was a people pleaser, I didn’t want anyone to feel bad or wrong even if they were. I put others before myself when it came to everything because sadly that’s the mindset I was taught to have since I was a child that started with my parents. It was unintentional by them but it’s my reality. Anyways, I continued to push myself and never processed what was happening to me. I never processed any of my emotions, and when trying to work things out with others, it was a one-sided effort. So I brushed it off and kept moving. Another big factor that affected my mental state was my parents and the rest of my family had moved out of state by the middle of 2021. So I didn’t have a stable home.
I had a friend who briefly let me stay with her and then I moved in with an ex of mine in September of 2021. We went homeless by the end of October and no one knew but those close to us. Crohn’s disease has a lot of triggers and one major one is stress. So due to the stress, my body sensed from having no stable home, from that point on my health with downhill, along with my mental health, and my relationship. This was when I slowly hit rock bottom and started to lose myself without even realizing it. I didn’t recognize myself and the love for myself slowly deteriorated as well. I lost focus on the blessings I had in my life.
It took a full year for me to recover my physical health. Sadly throughout all of this that was happening to me, as much as I loved God and knew He existed. He was not a single thought in my mind. And if He was, I wasn’t confident enough to act out on it, because I was too focused on the suffering I felt I had placed on myself. The darkness that was clouding my mind had consumed me entirely. My only regret is not going to Him sooner. Because through Him, I was able to change and renew my entire life and mindset. Nearly a year later, I can say that I know myself, love myself, and value myself like never before.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I used to consider myself as only a social media influencer. Others may too, because I’m known for dancing for the most part, with a little bit of everything on the side lol. Now I consider myself to be an entrepreneur. I’m in the process of transitioning my content from entertainment purposes to motivational and personal-growth-related content and businesses.
I haven’t announced any of my plans yet, because I like to introduce things with action, not words. But I have a lot of different things planned that I’m hoping with help inspire others to prioritize their self-value and relationship with themselves more than they do with the world. I was silenced at one point because I let the pressures of the world consume me and it was hard for me to get out of. If I can prevent that from happening to even one person or encourage them to get out of that place, my mission is complete. Something I’m most proud of is finding my identity in Christ. Joy.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my last name is Joy. Before I let the world takeover who I was. Joy was one of the words everyone used to describe when being around me. I finally feel like I have that “Joy” back again. I plan on using my platform to spread joy and love to the world in whatever way I can, all while staying true to myself. That is how I am set apart from others, I don’t live to please the media. I live in my purpose.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
When it comes to social media, the industry is changing constantly, daily even. Over the next 5-10 years, I see myself as a successful entrepreneur continuing to be true to myself and inspiring others to do the same by stepping into who God has called them to be.
No matter how much social media changes, or how many new trends come about. I feel that’s something that will be grounded in my career because of how important of a role it is in our lives. It’s a feeling of freedom and love that I want the entire world to experience for themselves.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/nowitsmalia?igshid=MmIzYWVlNDQ5Yg==
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@NowItsMalia
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@nowitsmalia?_t=8ePLzaQUTaF&_r=1
