Meet Tamika Melvin

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tamika Melvin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tamika below.

Tamika, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

My story of resilience starts with trusting God with the process and loving myself. Going to therapy to heal from my past trauma helped me to delve deep inside myself and know my triggers. I had to cut ties with people and things that I loved because they were holding me hostage of my past. I learned that it’s okay to start over no matter how old you are. I thought I was racing against time, but I was my own biggest enemy. Once I felt the joy of being free from others’ opinions and expectations of me, I began to evolve internally and externally. I was in a state of depression a long time because I couldn’t understand why the people I loved looked at me with envy and as a threat. All I ever wanted was to break generational curses and start a different legacy for everyone around me. However, it became draining and stressful trying to please others.
When I lost my mother and Nana in 2019, I decided then that I will live for me and not for other people anymore. I was ignorant of the fact that I was in such a dark place from 2019 to 2023. After almost suffering from a nervous breakdown, it finally clicked that I had to choose myself and what peace looked like to me. After doing so, I felt a sense of relief because I overcame grief, depression, and losing myself in the process. I didn’t want my legacy to my sons and granddaughters to be tarnished by the negative things, but how I overcame so much because I did the work to heal. If I could talk to the younger me, I would tell her to be vocal about her feelings and never accept mistreatment from anyone. So, my resilience comes from loving me and recognizing that I needed help to move past my trauma.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m Tamika Melvin currently residing in Raleigh NC, a New York Times bestselling author. I self-published four books, a magazine and a cookbook in remembrance of my late mother Angela Melvin-Freeman. I currently embarked on my journey in Filmmaking because I love the art of storytelling and seeing my work come to life. I started my production company Famm 1st Film Production in 2022 and my filmmaking studio Mek StoryTaler Media this year January 2024.

As a young girl, I grew up captivated by television shows and movies so much that I would write out whole episodes on movies by the actor’s part. People I have admired are Alice Walker, Terry McMillan, VC Andrews, Spike Lee, Tyler Perry, Issa Rae, Lena Waithe, Mara Brock Akil, Tressa Azarel and many more.

I have over 15 years of direct work experience with writing and filmmaking. This is what has led me to launch two feature films, and three short films set for release in 2025. I am also the assistant director for two faith-based films with another filmmaking company here in the area.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

If I had to pinpoint my qualities and skills, they would be confidence, being a people person and having the art of Storytelling. Those three things have helped me along the way of being able to write and tell relevant stories that grab an audience interest. I always loved good themes and plots, whether it was a book or a movie. I love character development and bringing them to life on paper and on screen. Seeing a character start at one arc and evolve to another arc is so intriguing for me. I love to see a story I created come to life because I know I put my all in all my writing.

My advice to others would be to follow their dreams, connect with like-minded individuals, always be confident in your work, and be willing to be a student and learn new things. That means sometimes we must unlearn what we thought was right.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

My biggest area of growth or improvement is depending on God and stepping out my comfort zone to be more honest with my feelings. I was so used to comfortability that I didn’t want to embrace change. Losing my mother and grandmother 5 months apart in 2019 hit me like a ton of bricks. I had become depressed and stagnant in my life but was hiding it because I never wanted to seem weak. I felt like addressing my issues was a sign of weakness. I held everything in and kept a smile on my face but deep down I was broken.

I stepped out of that mindset and began working on my healing journey. I took my therapy more seriously and got me a life coach to help me navigate the things I was feeling far as grief, depression, and acceptance. Reading the bible, praying and my daily devotions have grown my spiritual journey so much. I have a healthier relationship with God than I have had in the past.

I no longer crave to be liked by people any more no matter who it is. I no longer look for validation from others because God is my judge. I had to learn to sit by myself, love on myself and depend on myself. Sometimes the most amazing things happen when you are in the realm of discomfort. It may get lonely, but it builds strength, character, and most of all patience.
What advice do you have for folks who are early on their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Contact Info:

Image Credits

John Brown – Photographer
Uneak Boutique – Dress
Shoes – Rainbow Shops
Make Up – Vondra “Ms Vee”
Hair – Fa2 Hair Braiding

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