Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Diondria “Dria” Thornton of Houston

Diondria “Dria” Thornton shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Diondria “Dria”, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I take my son to school, I walk about 3-5 miles, do yoga and meditate. Then I start my task list or whatever is in the calendar. My day usually starts about 6am

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Diondria, known as Dria Thornton for my artistry. I am a music artist, composer, business woman and mom. I believe that if a door is closed to go around it or open your own door. I am heavy into building my independent artist career from the ground so I can mentor and bring up the next generation of independent artists, especially women. I am heavily involved in the music and creative community in Houston and I serve as treasurer for the City of Houston Music Advisory Board and I curate productions and projects throughout the city to provide a platform for female R&B artists to shine and make money.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
I think the biggest thing that breaks the bond between people is growth. Sometimes personal growth of two individuals can cause them to blend and grow together even more. But sometimes it can cause you to grow apart due to the different paths and mindsets. I think restoring the bond takes the effort of both people who really want it. It has to be a dual effort. Sometimes once the bond is broken it may be really hard to mend it back together. And that’s ok

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
I had the biggest fear of the ocean. Because metaphorically I was scared of the unknown, the deepness, the fear of what was under me that I couldn’t see. That same thing showed up in my life and in how I looked at my music career. Fearing the unknown makes you afraid to follow the path laid out for you in your life journey. I never knew what my music career was going to look like. I always wanted success but never knew what it looked like, I wanted to be the best mom ever but didn’t know what that looked like for me.

One day I was in the Bahamas and I fell off of a jet ski in the middle of the ocean. I was scared to death. I started panicking and crying. My biggest fear was right before my eyes. My partner walked me through calmness and got me back on the jet ski. We rode a little further out and I jumped into the ocean willingly. I figured I already took the bandaid off so I might as well get comfortable.

After that day I have always held with me that I conquered my biggest fear and that no other fear going forward would compare and it was useless to be fearful again. So everything I do to this day is moving in a non fearful state of being.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
The public version will always be the real me! I believe in order to impact others you have to know and be comfortable with your own self. My journey is for others to be inspired. So everything I say and do is used as a form of inspiration for myself and for others. I want people to know the rawness, the passion, the person behind everything I do. Ironically, I’m not a public person I am actually very private and don’t like people in my business so the balance of social media and expressing myself is the exercise I do to share more when I don’t want to.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
I would stop holding myself back in any capacity. And if I had 10 years left it’s not about what I stop doing it’s about what I pick up to do! I’m always on that type of time anyway. Life is not promised, it’s a privilege. And everyday I have I make the most because tomorrow isn’t even guaranteed.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Alonzo Ramirez
Bennie The Photographer

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