Two weeks ago, I attended a Q&A with actress Kat Graham, best known for her role in the well-known TV series, The Vampire Diaries. This event came at the perfect time, as my roommates and I had just commenced our rewatch of the entire series, and they were very excited to know that I was on a Zoom call with Bonnie Bennett herself just in the next room.
However, the focus of the panel was unrelated to teenage vampire romance; Graham instead discussed reproductive health and her partnership with Lo Loestrin Fe, a low-dose estrogen birth control. Graham was joined by Dr. Lakeisha Richardson, a board-certified OB/GYN, and the two discussed everything from birth control to self-care.
Graham began by offering some information about Lo Loestrin, explaining that her partnership with the brand was the result of a desire to help young women learn more about birth control and gain the knowledge they needed to care for themselves. “Knowledge is power,” Graham stated, emphasizing her desire to end the taboo around birth control and allow women to reclaim their bodies.
As an actress with a busy schedule, Graham also shared her strategy for remembering to take her birth control- a phone alarm set at the same time each morning. Many of the women on our call nodded along in understanding. The series of phone alarms incessantly reminds you to take your pill seems to be a relatable experience. However, rather than seeing this as an interruption or an annoyance, Graham describes that she has turned the simple act of taking her birth control pill into a daily ritual, a reminder to all of us to slow down and hold onto even small moments of reflection.
Lively and expressive, Graham exuded confidence throughout the call. And, clearly, it’s important to her to help all young women reach that level of self-assurance. A big proponent of self-love, Graham reminded us to strive to be “so in love with yourself that you want the best for yourself in every way.” Adopting this perspective, so many simple things one does become acts of self-love, whether it’s eating well, spending time in nature, or finding a birth control that works for you.
Graham also shared the importance of self-care in her own life, imparting some wisdom as to how to incorporate this into our everyday lives. She emphasized the significance of putting yourself first and giving yourself permission to care for yourself. Her way of doing this is typically spending time in nature, something we should all strive to incorporate into our lives in some way.