Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cassandra “cassie” Karch. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Cassandra “Cassie”, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

One big risk that I took was publishing a part of my life story, when I wrote my first book Identity Cry-Sis. Being vulnerable and transparent with who I was while growing up, who I am today and who I am becoming. It was a scary thing to tell my story but there are times when you must do things afraid, especially when you are walking in your purpose. When God gave me the assignment to start writing, I didn’t understand it then, but now I see it’s because I help so many people through that gift. One thing I learned is that if you have children, and you plan on publishing a book about yourself, make sure to sit them down and tell them first. They shouldn’t have to read about it along with everyone else.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I like to call myself an encourager. I am a self published author, a writer, a social media personality and a mentor. I am a mom and a dog mom who enjoys both fully. I enjoy reading, writing and performing poetry and spoken word all over Washington. I have always loved to read and I think that was the first step of me walking into this industry as a creative. This could be a self help book, biography, autobiography or even history book. I feel like reading helps me improve who I am as a person and allows me to learn overall history about others. After many years of reading books about others, God told me to start writing down my own story not knowing how many people it would help one day. On top of doing poetry and publishing books, I also write a weekly blog and share my authentic, goofy personality on social media. I wouldn’t say there is a specific problem I help people solve, but I would say I help people see themselves. Everything I do comes from a place of authenticity and learning how to live in that space of being true to myself and that is what I want anyone listening, following or investing in my brand to get out of it. Your story is what helped shape who you have become, it doesn’t have to define who you are becoming. I also believe this level of vulnerability is what sets me apart from people who may or may not be in the creative space. I don’t adhere to any rules set forth by people who are not myself or my inner circle. I do whatever makes me happy and allows me to share that happiness, even if it had to come from a not so happy place, with others. I don’t turn people away when they want to talk about things they assimilate with, after reading my book or listening to a piece I performed. I have taken these things and turned them into a helpful attribute as I am also a youth girls mentor, and it has become one of my greatest joys. It allows me to be the person I needed and it is important for me to give back to my community in that way. The main thing I want people to know is that your story is important, whether you believe so or not. It may not be the whole thing, and to some people it may not even need to be a traumatic event. Someone somewhere in the world can benefit from it and even if that just means sharing it on a small scale like to someone at work, or sharing it on a big scale like me and publishing a book, it can and will be helpful to someone as long as you are being true to yourself.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

What I find to be the most rewarding part about what I do, is the responses I get from people especially when I am being my goofy authentic self. Whether it’s from someone who read my blog, listened to me perform, bought a copy of my book or watched a video I posted on social media, hearing peoples feedback brings me life. I have been told countless times that my art makes people feel seen. I have been told that people feel inspired by me to do something or try something new. Performing my art brings me a sense of peace and each time I am able to share a part of my story, I feel like a layer of my onion is being peeled back and I become freer through each piece. When I get these comments and feedback, it reassures me that I am walking in my purpose. I am doing the things I am supposed to be doing with my journey.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The lesson that I am unlearning is that “I don’t belong”. For a long time I was told that I didn’t belong, and I wasn’t good enough. From the beginning, people doubted that I would make it and I was constantly counted out. I was born a preemie, and my parents were told I might not make it. Those doubts didn’t just stop after I surpassed the doctors expectations, they followed me through a lot of my life. I was bullied a lot, told I wasn’t pretty enough, that I wouldn’t amount to anything in this life because of where I came from and the color of my skin. I believed all these things because the negative was always louder than the positive. For a long time, that’s all I knew. I became my biggest barrier because I constantly recited what other people told me. As I now walk into this chapter of my life, where being a creative is fueling who I am as a person, I have to constantly shut down the imposter syndrome thoughts and negative self-talk. I have to tell myself that I do belong in these spaces and that I am qualified to be here regardless of what I used to be told. I am learning to talk to myself and be gentle with her, because navigating these new spaces and trying to unlearn this lesson at the same time is hard, but not impossible. I am learning to become my biggest fan. I am learning to not get in the way of my own happiness and what I am supposed to be doing in this life. I am learning that the opinions of people who don’t matter, also don’t matter. I am learning, I do belong.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.Cassiekarch.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cassiekarch/
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/cassandrakarch
• Twitter: https://x.com/cassiekarch
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/cassiekarch
• Other: https://fanbase.com/cassiekarch