How Julie J Finds Inner Peace and Feels At Ease During A Busy Pride Month

For Pride Month this year, we’re spotlighting members of our extended community, including folks we’ve collaborated with and deeply admire. Our goal is to offer a softer take on Pride and capture quiet moments of joy, rest, and reflection. For Julie J (she/her), that’s consuming cannabis to find inner peace and achieve a state of ease. 

Follow Julie J. on Instagram and find our collab with them on The Travel Agency’s Instagram.

TTA: Pride can be loud, but it can also be quiet. What does a softer, slower Pride look like for you this year?

JULIE J: A softer Pride for me this year looks like being more intentional about where I’m putting my energy. In this age of visibility, we may feel like we need to be as physically present as possible. This is especially true when you’re a drag artist: so many things about drag are about the visual, the presence, and being in front of people.

The past year… I came to realize that I was spending so much time in front of people. As a community organizer and activist working to make as much noise as possible, I knew I needed to work smarter, not harder. What’s on the other side of my achievements? It made me realize that rest and peace of mind are so important, and peace of mind can’t come unless there’s rest.

I’ve had many Prides in my lifetime, so I feel like I’m finally at a point where I can be intentional about maintaining my peace. I don’t have to be everywhere. I can’t fulfill the needs of others if my own needs aren’t fulfilled. That’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned.

TTA: How do you care for yourself — mind, body, spirit — during a season that asks you to be visible?

JULIE J: Music is very helpful for me. Listening to music, I feel like anybody [who] would come into my personal space would be like, “Wow, it’s so tranquil here.” Even if it’s me playing around with a bit of makeup or doing these things after I’ve taken an edible — which is my most common way of consuming [cannabis] — just to center myself a little bit and calm the noise, whether that noise is coming from an external or internal place, [I’m] just creating an environment of peace as best as I can.

TTA: What is your relationship to The Travel Agency? What about the brand connects to you?

JULIE J: The Travel Agency makes cannabis something [that] feels very accessible. It feels cool, it feels vibrant, it feels fresh. It feels like I’m not having to put anything on when I enter. I don’t have to be anyone but myself.

TTA: When you think about your wellness practice, where does cannabis fit in, and how does it support you?

JULIE J: Cannabis is a part of my practice of centering myself, of finding a little bit of peace. Growing up as a person of color, a queer person, and a trans person, for a while, there was a bit of fear associated with cannabis. But over the past couple of years, I’ve become more of a cannabis consumer.

Cannabis [isn’t] something to be afraid of. It can be very helpful, especially for mental health, chronic pain, sleep, or appetite. I came to see that using [cannabis] was not a crutch. It was something that could help [me find] peace of mind when I felt like I needed it.

The first time I consumed cannabis was in 2018. It was my last week of college. [I was] freshly 21. Until that point, I was very nervous, and I was with a group of friends that I really trusted, and I was in a very safe space. I felt well taken care of. I’m not doing this misinformed, and I’m doing it with people who have done it before as well. That little bit of safety helped me a lot. … It opened up a world of self-care for me.

TTA: Has cannabis ever shown you something about your identity, your joy, or your limits that has surprised you?

JULIE J: I would say yes, it has. Especially when talking about joy, especially as a Black person, as a trans person, it’s sometimes very hard to live in a world where it feels like so many things are against you, when joy feels like it comes in spurts.

I feel like so many of us are trying to connect to an internal joy because, sometimes, the external joy feels so far away. In my moments of self-care, I try to prioritize things like…I talk about joy and ease a lot. I think most of us need ease because it helps us be in a better place to move through life. When we’re in states of chaos, especially if the call is coming from inside the house, it’s like, “Okay, well, how are we taking care of that? How are we honoring ourselves in taking that call?” Cannabis, especially in my moments of self-care, allows me to prioritize my joy too. … It turns down the volume a bit momentarily and allows a period of escape.

I’m someone who feels anxious sometimes. I don’t want to be that way all the time. Being able to talk to people [who] you’re close to about [cannabis], and approaching it from a place of, “This is something that has helped me in the past, and it might help you too” — there shouldn’t be any shame in that.

TTA: Describe a time when cannabis helped you come back to yourself. What did that look like?

JULIE J: I was talking to a friend recently and said, “Sometimes, doing something for yourself feels like a crime.” I feel like that is rooted in the systems we live under, how we were raised, what self-care looked like for so many of us. Being in a place where [I’m] learning that it’s not a crime… I’ve been able to change my mindset about that because of my occasional cannabis consumption.

TTA: What does your ideal cannabis ritual look like, from setting to sensation?

JULIE J: I’m more of an end-of-day girl. It allows me to say the day has happened, I’ve done the day — now, I can check in with me. What are the things I need, and how can I support myself the next day?

I very recently got into cannabis drinks, which I have found to be quite amazing. Prior to that, I was a gummy person. If I’ve had a day where I’ve had several shows, and I get home and unpack everything and unwind, before I get into the shower, before I begin the process of bringing myself down to earth, I’ll drink a bit of a cannabis drink or take a little bit of an edible just to begin the process of coming back to myself. It allows a gradual transition [into] the next phase of the day. I’m definitely more of a nighttime high person.

I put [my cannabis beverage] in a glass…like I’m pouring myself a drink. I’m making myself a drink as I take my makeup off, the same way that people will make a drink when they’re putting their makeup on.

TTA: If your smoke sesh had a mood, a vibe, or a soundtrack, what would it be?

JULIE J: I always put on Kelela, or Spotify makes a playlist for you. I like a floaty playlist. I also love making playlists. Sometimes, I’ll add certain songs that I think would be really nice to listen to while unwinding.

TTA: Do you lean more toward indica, sativa, or something else? How does that choice support your state of being?

JULIE J: I’m definitely more of an indica girl. Sativas make me a little bit anxious. I just find that I enjoy my high a little bit more [with an] indica or indica-leaning hybrid.

Find peace and ease at The Travel Agency

If, like Julie J, you’re seeking a one-way ticket to peace, ease, joy, and other related mindstates, make your way to The Travel Agency. We offer a variety of options for reaching zen on your own terms, from gummies to beverages and all kinds of vapes, flower, and other cannabis products. At The Travel Agency, when there’s a will to come back to yourself, there’s a way.