Julissa Calderón's rise to fame was always written in the stars.
Deep down, the Gentefied actress knew she was destined to be in the spotlight, and after years of writing it down in her journal, it's become a reality.
In an interview with E! News, Julissa, 33, opened up about the power of journaling, how it allows her to see the dreams she's manifested and the many ways it acts as a form of therapy.
"The first half of this year was very slow for me and I was wondering why things were not moving," she explained. "These past three and a half weeks, I've been ripping and running. And I have the energy for it because the first half of the year I was able to relax. I was able to look at all of the beautiful things that I've done and, most importantly, I was able to self-help."
"Now," Julissa affirmed, "I'm ready to go."
Describing her journaling process, she said, "Writing it down, you're able to see all you've accomplished. Yes, it's about manifesting, but it's also about self-care."
The With Love star revealed how having this ritual has positively transformed her mindset.
"When I journal, especially on those mornings that I am not feeling well, my day changes," Julissa pointed out. "That's where I found the wellness in it—the fact that I can breathe. When you see a therapist, you leave it all in that room. You give it all out, and you feel lighter after. You don't feel you have a ton of weight on your shoulders."
She put it simply, "That's what my journaling has done for me."
The 33-year-old admitted that she can get wrapped up in the day-to-day and feel she's "not doing enough."
However, when Julissa takes a moment to look at the bigger picture and re-read everything she's written down, she said, "Seeing the things that I've done, it's a mindf--k."
"It's very interesting to see the person that I am now and how I evolved," she shared. "But one thing that stayed the same is that the dream never went away."
In fact, Julissa revealed that her path didn't always lead her to the entertainment industry. But despite the road blocks and detours, she still managed to find her way towards Hollywood's searchlights.
"I went to college as a pre-med major," she recalled. "But I have a middle school project from eighth grade where I said, 'I'm going to have my name in lights and everyone's going to know the amazing actress that I am.'"
She continued, "When we come from these brown and Black households, it's hard to say that you want to be an actress or a singer, because we know that our parents weren't fortunate enough to have that privilege. And I went into pre-med thinking I'm going to have a great career but I saw journal entries of not being happy."
The "shift," she explained, happened when she switched her major to theater and "knowing this is what I was meant to do."
Although Julissa's Hollywood dreams have come to fruition, she told E! News that she believes in journaling so much that she decided to create the Dream and Manifest Journal, a 280-page journal aptly titled "Manifest That S--t."
After all, she revealed it's a practice she's done for 14 years, adding, "I didn't want to bring out anything that I wouldn't use, and the journal was my thing. And it's so beautiful for me to be writing in my own."
Whether it's sharing the impact of journaling or staying grounded in Hollywood, she wants to inspire others.
"I know that my purpose was to help women and girls grow, to take care of themselves and to know their full capacity," she said. "It took me a while to understand it even though it was always inside of me. But know I want to help people understand it sooner."