Skinny Dipping
The Art of Curiosity with Kitty Lever
All things Kitty!! https://keychain.club/kittylever?domain=outshine.media
All things Kela Rose https://hoo.be/sundazedkk
Podcast Camp https://stan.store/soulinprogress/p/come-play-at-podcast-camp-e623d
Sponsor: Dipsea 30 day free trial at Dipseastories.com/skinnydipping
- Duration:
- 1h 4m
- Broadcast on:
- 12 Dec 2024
- Audio Format:
- other
What is up guys and welcome back to Skinny Dipping the Podcast where we stripped down and we dive in on the mind, the body, and the soul in order to create actionable change in our lives. And today I'm so excited because I love talking with artists because that's just my background as well. I feel like content creators get pushed into this category of being influencers or content creators but it's like no we're just artists trying to make a living off of what we love to do and the internet is this beautiful space to do this. So whenever I get to have an artist on my podcast I am so incredibly excited to talk with a like minded creative mind. And this guest is no different, you may know her, you may not, but I promise by the end of this episode you will fucking love her. Her energy is magnetic and just honestly captivating. We just met today but instantaneously I'm like okay like can we be besties like you're so fun and cool. And something that really has inspired me is how she's you know moved to New York from a small town, followed her dreams and had so much success in her wheelhouse of being a creative person and you know having a lot of different creative endeavors which I feel like you guys can all relate to which is just loving so many different things and how do you really embody that in your life. So without further ado skinny dipping listeners let's strip down and dive in welcome on Kitty Lever. Oh my god that intro was amazing I was like jumping up and dawking my feet that was so good I wanted to listen to you talk like the whole podcast I'm like yeah perfect well I'll be here all day you know you're actually my last one today but I'm so excited how would you like describe yourself oh my god how would I describe myself I would describe myself as bubbly, bouncy, whimsical, creative, creative, which is exciting I actually grew up playing sports my entire life okay yeah literally before I actually started doing a lot of creative stuff I was an athlete, a division 1 athlete so I didn't really know I had a creative bone in my body until maybe the like the beginning of my 20s so it's been a very exciting journey yes. That's like so fun because I feel like for me like I was always into music and dance and photography like since I was like literally since I could speak or move or walk but that's so interesting that you like discovered your love for creativity and also being an artist later on in life it just kind of like stumbled upon you or what happened. I think the thing is I'm a very curious person and I love to learn so because I didn't really grow up thinking that there was like a career or a life in fashion or creativity I don't think I ever nurtured that but because I have such a dedication to my curiosity now and as I've evolved as an adult yeah I've kind of just like committed to the curiosity thing I always say curiosity is my religion and I cultivate it every day wow and I just kind of like wait pause for a second that's so fucking good that is juicy I'm like wait say it again that's so good this episode is for all my creatives out there even if you don't you know constitute yourself as an artist but you just love self-expression like this episode is for you I promise you will leave more inspired if you know love this episode 2 just copy the link send it to your best friend send it to your parent whatever send it to your partner send it to your friend at work whatever it is it really does help out the show when you share it and of course hit the follow button hit the subscribe button and if you really feel called to share where you are listening to the show it always lights up my entire world I'm not kidding like when I see you guys sharing where you're listening to the episode or your feedback on the episode and you tag me at Sunday's KK or at skinny dipping diaries and you can also tag our guests at kitty lever and it's all going to be linked below but okay let's get into this episode because it is so special we are recording at Spotify studios let's get into it you are an artist because you are the creator of your life let's strip down and dive in this is skinny dipping I'm Kayla Rose I'm so excited let's get into it thank you this is like a like affirmation like mantra that you have that you say to yourself yeah I live by yes like I feel like that is my religion I think if you look at creativity in its core it is curiosity it's wondering about something and wanting to produce something I totally agree so what is the full sentence again curiosity is my religion and I cultivate it every day I literally love that because I completely agree that the base of creativity and creating art comes from curiosity and what I love about curiosity is that it relates to kind of like childlike wonder you know it's like tapping back into that younger version of ourselves that didn't know anything and wanted to know so much and wanted to see the world and I think that people can get really like stuck in their ways sometimes and think like oh I know everything like you know got it all figured out or not even necessarily that but just thinking that their box that they live in is the only box that exists versus being a creative person and a curious person and being like oh but how do I do this how do I do this how would doing this like impact my life and so what happened is like you didn't really do that many creative things and then you took on a bunch of creative things like what are all your different avenues oh my god that's such a good question so I feel like I want to start back to when I was like playing soccer in college because soccer was my entire identity since I was like four years old and so my dad was in the army growing up so I lived in 15 different places wow so I moved here from a small town but my I didn't grow up as a small town girl I grew up kind of in these different military bases all over the country but so it still has that mindset ish where I had a breakout of like whatever consistent home that was or lack of home rather all the creative avenues I have now probably stemmed initially from the love I have for fashion yes which is so exciting but I remember when I was in college around sophomore or junior year I was kind of sitting the bench a lot more than anybody else on my team and at the time I was like this is devastating because it was my entire identity at that point right wow right it's crazy and then I realized I really liked to thrift I always go there because that's where it starts and my grandma would take me thrifting when I was like very young and when I was kind of sitting the bench I was like who am I outside of like the ball at my feet like what who am I outside of this so I started thrifting a lot and then I was kind of reselling the clothes to like a lot of the sorority girls on campus which is crazy and I had a whole page for it and then I love it I started sewing them into new things and then I learned so you started sewing yes I was reworking all of these different pieces and then I would have pop-ups at school and then like I became known as you know Katie this fashion girl and that's so crazy because that's not how you like self-identified in the past you were like oh I do soccer I'm sporty like that's my quote-unquote identity exactly and then when I was shooting the clothing so as an athlete I wasn't allowed to make money off my name my brand or my face my senior year of college I actually posted photos in like the clothing I was making on my page and promoted it and I actually got fined by the NCAA and then I had to sit out two playoff games whoa and so I actually feel like looking looking back I was like wow that was so crazy but it also was like even more of a testament to pursue what I was doing it was like a blessing in disguise it was like a complete redirection isn't that crazy it was like the universe being like oh this is not what you're meant to do you're meant to do this and like it being shown in your face I know isn't that so crazy yeah I always bring you back to that because that's where it started and then I ended up moving to Puerto Rico and that's when the modeling journey kind of began but I always try to explain to people that modeling for me wasn't so rooted in vanity as I think it is perceived for me was posing and expressing what I thought the garment was saying or what the vibe of the garment was I totally understand that no I love that because what I told you when we were sitting on the couch earlier is like the biggest reason I wanted to have you on the podcast is because it's super obvious from like the photos and stories that you create in your you know in your projects that it's really intentional for you like you it's not like you're just obviously you're beautiful but it's not like you're just like beautiful and just like posing and doing like the normal thing I can see in your work that behind it is like a lot of intentionality and I love that you're saying like what are the what is the clothing saying and kind of telling a story which I feel like that's really what art is in whatever form it is whether it's like this and it's podcasting or you know movies or photography or modeling or fashion or music like it all comes back to a story right and like an emotion that we're trying to like invoke in someone you know which you do that so beautifully thank you so much well yeah I would say one of my goals is to make people feel on the internet like yeah and sometimes it might make you feel uncomfortable so it's like hmm this is interesting but that's definitely one of my goals on the internet certainly now but it's very interesting as I've kind of evolved through the creative space at least in New York I almost can instantly tell when a photographer like approaches me with an idea that has actually no intention behind it there's no story behind it it's almost like a character they've invented that you know isn't clear or direct and I feel like that's sometimes really hard for me to like you know navigate exactly because you just actually care like you're like I want to do something more than just the surface level exactly and I think as I've grown that and fostered that it's so yeah it's it's definitely been very validating you know for me and what I'm doing now but I don't like blame or look down on any creative person that is kind of trying to discover that that's where I started it was like okay I'm gonna be this character on the surface and these are all my mood boards but like I actually don't know what this character means to me and if you look back at some shoots that I used to do it was very like at the surface so I feel like there was like a lot of living that had to happen and reading and nurturing that creative mind to actually be like okay I actually don't want to even post anything that doesn't have a story yeah no I love that though because it's not about just like being at the final end result like it's about the journey and like each creative person kind of has to go through that I really believe that you know I grew up like playing piano and something I love to talk about is when you learn how to play piano the first thing that you do is you learn how to play other people's music and then that helps you like learn the piano learn how to play and then once you know how to play then you can create your own so I really feel like emulation in the beginning of any creative journey like really does help somebody find their own voice in their own journey and then they eventually can create like their own style that's so unique to them but like how can people start if they don't even know where to start and that's where like inspiration comes from you know so wow I actually love that I think I'm gonna take that and download that into my brain because that's actually so good and I've never played an instrument so I wouldn't know but totally you definitely have to emulate other people's music before you can create your own totally it's the biggest teacher yeah so it's like you didn't always just have this perspective where you had a style and it was intentional and you had this like kind of creative process that felt effortless like it was something you've created over time and like strengthened like a muscle maybe I don't want to put words in your mouth but I'm guessing yeah I would say that maybe strengthen as a muscle but I feel like I was creating new muscles like okay like they didn't even exist yeah I feel like you are working parts of like maybe your brain that didn't even exist yeah totally I mean or you're just tapping into confidently bring new ideas to the surface because when you're in this replication mode and I see all the time on the internet now we're consuming these reels and take talks that have the same trending sound and the same text overlay and you're like okay I'm doing that but after this conversation I'm actually realizing it takes somebody starting with that or doing that to like eventually create their own overlays with their own sounds and maybe even translated into something else that totally makes sense no I love that so something that you said earlier was like nurturing the creative mind like how do you nurture the creative mind oh oh that's such a good question nurturing the creative mind I mean I have so many different methods of at least writing stuff down and like I said cultivating the curiosity aspect I'll like always engage in like a workshop like a writing workshop or an acting workshop very random things whatever way I'm kind of thinking I'll go in that direction I'm very intuitive with my creativity I think for a while I thought I had to have you know this ritual when it came to my creativity like oh I'm gonna wake up and read ten pages and write them down and like like the artist way yeah but that's kind of that's a beginner step into becoming an artist but like as I grow through this process I'm like I kind of not that I want to say it is wake up and decide but like I just feel my way through it usually typically I mean yeah you know I love that me and my friends call that like following following the muse like because it sometimes I'm curious like does your creativity does your ideas like where do they feel like they come from like does it feel like it's coming from within does it feel like it's coming from outside of you like does it feel like it's both like when you have a creative like I call them downloads like yes but like what what does that feel like to you like do you feel like it really does come from like you in your own experience or just sometimes it feels like you're following just like the guidance and you're going going the way that it's going or do you feel like it drops in like how do you feel like ideas come to you oh my god I honestly feel like I am an artist of my own life as it's happening and that's why I push myself to experience experience experience and be present during the experience all of the time because that is where a lot of like the creativity comes from at least like producing certain pieces I don't think I could create any piece without an experience attached to it I love that I was trying to actually explain this to somebody I was with a couple of days ago that I read from the creative act by Rick Rubin which is actually a brilliant book if you like want to get started in nurturing your creativity but he says that like experiencing and analyzing are two different processes for your brain so whenever you're in a moment let's say even if it's just like going to a party and being there the whole night whatever or going on a vacation like I call it sport mode like I'm like oh I'm in sport mode right now like I'm not going to like try to intellectualize what's happening to me or analyze it and just experience it and then by the end of like the next morning if it's that short or if it's like I did a reality show in December okay and it was so fast fast go go that I was like I'm just gonna be here for this month and experience it and I'm not gonna over analyze literally any like how I'm not going to spend time trying to process what's happening as it's happening I love that though I totally agree yeah like let it happen because like the creativity that you pull from it is only gonna happen later once you like try to make sense of it but when you're in it like don't try to worry about making something creative from it because like it just ruins it exactly even think about the saddest parts of your life or like different moments that you've gone through it it's almost like you don't come up with the creative piece until it's like a month after like a couple months after or like a year after sometimes like it takes times like process what's happening you know no I totally agree and I totally agree that it's like different parts of the brain like being in kind of like critical thinking mode versus like pure presence mode I am calling all my romance lovers do you need a little extra spice in your life and honestly instead of dooms growing on your phone wouldn't it be fun to do something that turns your brain off that you know fuels your imagination and you know gets you where you want to go dipsy is a female founded app for spicy audiobook stories and more and I want to give you guys 30 days for free it's created by women for women their app is over a thousand spicy audiobook stories for literally everything that unique contemporary historical dark sports western romantic sapphic and more there's new chapters every single week and for listeners of skin dipping we want to give you guys a 30 day free trial for dipsy when you go to dipsy stories dot com slash skinny dipping that's 30 days of full access for free when you go to dipsy a dot com slash skinny dipping dipsy stories dot com slash skinny dipping it's gonna be linked below go check it out it's free like why not it's a healthier habit than doom scrolling and it fuels your imagination and yeah let me guys go check it out and I love that I always say like I have a really bad memory like because I'm just so in the present moment like I'm like my brain isn't like actually putting my memories back to my hippocampus like and recalling them cuz I'm like so deep in the moment and I'm not even like worried about even remembering that actually so interesting yeah like and I do feel like it's just a different process you feel like when somebody's in the creative the experience it's like just being the experience like don't worry about making art out of it and also what about like the idea especially when like being a creative is your job like is there any like pressure to like produce and I feel like that kind of weaves into that because sometimes I'll be in a moment and then I'll have an idea and then I'm like oh I could do this and this and this with it but then I'm like all of a sudden out of the moment out of the experience and like thinking about what I can like create and produce versus just experiencing yeah I think what I have been talking about most of this entire time because I love that you brought that out because it's like a switching of the gears is like creativity that's pulled from like for the memoir like of your life or just like everyday living as an artist but I think when I go into work mode as a creative hmm that's such a good question I kind of I mean I guess I'm pulling from experiences but I'm also just like looking at something differently and kind of just like going on a whim about something I guess there's so many different ways to creatively approach something but if I'm working with a brand or trying to come up with a concept for something I kind of just sit and I try to like you know like what could I do with this and I guess I have to come up with a certain example for this to actually make sense because I feel like I'm talking in riddles right now like do you have a creative project like that you're working on currently or something that you've done recently that you feel like you remember a little bit of the process yeah totally but I totally feel you like the creative process is interesting because it's like how do you even put words to it when it's just like not a thing that involves words like it's just like a right actually have a good example when you're in like a trio of people you can kind of like listen to them talk and then when it comes you can say it but when it's like one on one it's like okay but I love that I also agree I love I love hanging out in trios it's so good yeah because you can go like new if you want or you can like chat have personal connections you guys and just like joke around I don't know yeah I get it I get it yeah okay so for example I would say like one of my biggest career milestones this far has been shooting for cosmopolitan magazine which is super fierce that was super fierce and I felt like that was like a culmination of every single thing I've ever done like living here which is crazy but when we are coming up with the idea so we're shooting an editorial and I knew it was going to be six to eight looks and we had a meeting like three days before the shoot and they were like we wanted to be like kitty unhinged like in the city but like this is essentially a shoot inspired by you like what are some ideas that you have and I was like oh god that's so that's so exciting they're like oh you really want to do like the can I have a piece series that you do we want to do that with like one of the bags and then you know we want you to be like running late to something like that general like you know that and I'm chaotic like exactly and I was like oh it would be kind of fun to like be carrying a bunch of balloons and like trying to fit them into the taxi and like those are experiences from one time I was trying to get into a taxi with twelve balloons like six months prior and I was like that would be so good for an editorial actually totally so that was one where like I'm pulling from memories and I didn't I didn't use that yet so I was like oh this would be such a good idea so we did something like that and then they're like we really wanted you to do something like unhinged on the subway and I was like I'm obsessed with Alice in Wonderland I was like if I have a team with me like can we do like a tea party on the subway so we did a tea party on the subway it was actually so crazy yeah so your mind just kind of literally almost asks itself like what could be like cool and fun and different and then your and then like ideas kind of just flow through right exactly and I also would like to say like creativity on teams and like when it's collaborative is the closest I've ever felt to God and when it actually comes to fruition it is so it's so cool to be a part of like a collective that has an idea and it comes to fruition and you hear somebody else's idea and you're like wait that's brilliant because like from those ideas that we were talking about somebody else is like oh you know what I think you would do I think that like something that Kitty would do is she'd be dragging a steamer with her and she's like steaming clothes over a steam hole in New York City in the street and I was like God it's like AI came up with the idea for myself but like we're all just on the same page so I feel like also creating with other people is so important having like a support system that is like yes and you know totally no I so agree because when you're bouncing ideas off of people it's just like so much more can come up and flow through and like it really is like there's no bad ideas you know just like the ideas that aren't set are the only ones that are not good like you know and you don't even have to use it but it's just like to even say one idea can lead into another you know because our brain works in connections like one thing fires off another neural pathway and then all of a sudden like we have a bunch of ideas so we're kind of other people it's just like bringing so many minds together I feel like a question that may be coming up for people as they're listening is like but like how do I find like those people to like collaborate with and like be creative with or do they just like fall upon you or like you know what has been that process because you moved to New York you said like two and a half years ago yes that is such a good question I'm so happy you asked that but I always tell people when they ask for advice with this it's like you have to be yourself completely on the internet because like the people looking for you will never find you and like you'll attract the wrong people or wrong crowd when you're posting inauthentically so when you start posting authentically like the kitty on hinge whatever stuff I was posting that led me to that opportunity it was because like they found me because that was so you yeah though that's my identity I don't want to attach myself to an identity but that is part of like you know the personal branding of this you know creative it feels on the stream on social media and it feels authentic to you I love that like I feel like a lot of people have like you know been skeptical because I've made like a lot of like friends and like creative friends online and like you know I feel like there's a whole like idea that you just like don't meet authentic people online you know people especially like not in the industry you know there's like a little bit of that outside perspective and for me personally like I was always just like I feel like I got so lucky like every single person like I've ever met like I've vibed with like I connected with and I felt like we actually genuinely hit it off and like a friend pointed out to me and she was just like I feel like Kayla the reason that's happened for you is because you're so yourself online exactly and so I feel like I totally agree like if you're being yourself like the people that are meant to find you will find you people are attracted to authenticity also triggered by authenticity okay wait yeah that same more no I love that well people are attracted to authenticity and some people are triggered by authenticity fucking fast you can be so yourself that it throws somebody else off that they're like we I you're like provoking things inside of me that like I wish I was comfortable sharing if that makes sense and like totally they'll get there eventually and if anything like being yourself at least for me being authentic online has been liberating for myself but the messages that I receive is like I feel so much more creative following your page and I'm like oh my god like I feel like liberating other people to like explore themselves is like the most affirming thing in the whole wide world totally and I feel like when we are ourselves and we're embodying our authenticity we give other people permission to do the same which is like so fucking special let's talk a little bit about like your journey of like moving to New York City and like doing that leap because I think so many people maybe are like stuck in their hometowns or like somewhere that's not like nurturing their creativity and they want to be somewhere you know that has more more going on more people to connect with but it's fucking scary and it takes so much bravery to be out of your comfort zone will you tell us a little bit about your story I was watching a video that you posted like a year ago I'm guessing was like a year ago because it was like you talked about how you had been here for a year and you said that you told your parents that you rather sleep on a park and a bench why do I see I like wrote this wrong so I'm like keep reading it wrong you told your parents that you rather sleep on a bench in central park then not follow your fucking dreams and move to New York City tell us about it oh my god it's so true give us the more oh my god the law this is such a crazy story and looking back I'm like oh my god I was so and I even bless my heart but like people still ask me like they're like that's my most asked questions like how did you move to New York like I want to and honestly some of them are really hard to respond to you because I was so uncomfortable and it takes a lot of suffering to move here because it's not it's not a comfortable experience and you're working your ass off and you're not seeing a lot of success for a really long time but my thing was I would rather sleep on a bench in central park than wake up every day at my parents house in Tennessee not doing what I feel like I was called to do I had visited New York a couple months prior to actually moving there and I literally felt like I was experiencing a parallel universe of what my life could be what's supposed to be and that's also like also the crazy chills I got when you just said that like even just like my I felt so authentically me there like I felt like I was chasing authenticity to because I was waking up in Tennessee I was working a barista coffee job and then a serving job and I was like and I think the service industry is everything because I feel like it's a backbone of so many people like artists and creatives but I was like I like I don't I was I was not supposed to you know do this and I mean you have to do those to like foster other creative things that you want to pursue like that's honestly like the what living in a capitalistic society is like unfortunately but living where I was like living with my parents that you know like didn't really understand me or working with people that I feel like it's different in New York City when you have a service industry job because everybody there is like an actor or there they have some creative they have the thing that they're trying to do and they have the thing that they're trying to like fund their life with exactly versus like in Tennessee I felt like I didn't really have that and it was like I felt so isolated and lonely and like the only way I could connect was like sharing things on TikTok and yeah so moving to New York City was everything but it definitely was extremely hard and like I said like the culmination of my entire career thus far was really working with Cosmo Hallerton and that happened two and a half years after I moved here so no it takes devotion I feel like in consistency I think people want to see the fruits of their labor right away and it just like doesn't happen like that for any like very rarely I think because like of the internet and how quickly things can happen for people people post like a couple of their projects or like a couple videos and they like don't do well and then they're like well but guess I just don't got it and it's like no girl you gotta got to stay consistent because it will happen like I genuinely believe like if you pick a direction and you move towards it and you show up with devotion and consistency something will come of it something will happen you will receive opportunities like I've seen it so many times in my life and then in the lives of like those I'm close to that it's inevitable like if you don't stop your success is inevitable yeah totally like yeah I kind of just told myself for a brief period of time not even I think since I kind of started this journey but like I have to get at least one percent better as an artist every day like cultivating some type of direction every day and there's a lot of different facets of my creativity of being an artist that I have and I nurture but one percent like take a take a step in some direction and it will like you said it is inevitable I believe that too firmly yeah no it feels so inevitable and like so if somebody came to you and they're like kitty like and I'm sure you get messages like this all the time but it's like oh like kind of like how did you have the balls to do what you're doing like to take the leap of faith like how did you have the bravery or have you always just been like somebody who's willing to like quote unquote fail you know and try anyway you know I honestly and I say this like because my parents hadn't supported a single dime of this entire journey and I like to point that out because I feel like you know there is like this narrative where like oh well this helped they helped you or this not in the other but it's like I actually think them not helping me put me unfortunately in this mindset where I'm like oh I have to survive in New York City so I have to grind like I have to do this like that's where a lot of the ambition and motivation came from because like there is literally no other option like necessity like and that's kind of crazy but like the back against the wall kind of mindset but that's actually how things happen no it's so true like bravery comes from the necessity like you gotta you gotta like you have you know like and like I want you one day when my kid is like I want to move to New York City like can I can you fund me for this I'm like of course like I want to be able to like fund whatever dreams they have but I will say not having that pushed me into this like intensely grind mindset and that's why it's hard for me to give advice to people about moving here because I'm like it was so so so hard but I mean I think that's perfect though like the honesty of being like it's so hard but like is it so worth it no it's it's so beyond worth it because I also like I mean I've gotten to this point and I still feel like I'm in the beginning but I'm like I'm a testament to you know so many people that want to move here and like I mean if you just scroll on my page you'll be able to find like like you'll see the whole journey like the whole stories right there I've never like archived or deleted anything even on TikTok I moved here with like under 10k followers and I think it might like 210 now and even Instagram just I think I started the year with like 30k and now it's like in a different place but it's like that's a testament to somebody like who's like oh I'm never gonna grow it's like I've watched a bunch of my different pages start at zero you know and it's not even about followers because I hate saying like that as a metric but they do you know provide opportunities and they are a direct you know like kind of reflection of your consistency because like you said like it's inevitable it's not about like I think we can all agree I don't think everyone's gonna judge you for talking about the followers because it's not about like the followers but when you like have the community and you have the eyes and the discoverability on you there's so many more opportunities that can come your way and you can also like make money doing what you love you can make money from your art in a creative way in a way that generations never before had the opportunity to you know like like the starving artists like archetype just like doesn't have to really exist anymore because like people who are actually creative are some of the people that are making the most money right now I would say yeah like creativity is scarce yeah and I've I found that so much more recently when people are you know asking if I can consult for their projects or brands and I'm like wow really you think I have creative ideas and this is like musicians I've looked up to or like brands that I've always wanted to work with like cosmopolitan yeah that's huge bye when I was a kid so it's like wow like me because like for me I don't feel any type of like difference so I'm like I can't believe that it's such a scarce resource but I feel like it's so abundant in everybody if they actually just like you know it sucks but I feel like the belief in yourself that yeah I do have good ideas and I can't do this I used to say something on the couch earlier where you were like said that and correct me if I'm wrong but you feel like if people fall into like creating like whatever one else is creating and what's on trend like they almost like not lose but kind of lose like capability for their own creative ideas to come through can you say more about that yeah I will say more about that but it actually it's kind of crazy one of my favorite things about myself is the ability to change my mind because I'm so I love that same I'm like I'm such a my moon is in Gemini I don't know if you know wait what's your other science I'm a Virgo Sun but then my Aries rising you're an Aries rising what about you I'm an Aries Sun but I'm a Scorpio rising and then I'm a Gemini yeah I'm a Gemini moon I think Gemini moons are so flexible and mutable in that way and I'm the same where I'm like I can say something but then I'm like but I also see this perspective like I'm like I see all the sides yeah well you said something so amazing earlier that I literally won't forget about the when you were learning to play the piano so when I was sitting on the couch and I was like oh I see a lot of people emulating different reels sounds and you know the text overlays and then you're like oh well if you think about how like a pianist starts you like start by playing other people's music before you can create your own I was like whoa that like change whatever I said on the couch I don't know an hour ago mines can change I love that that's part of being a curious creative person is always being open to new possibilities but yeah I but I think it is the dedication to the curiosity thing too because that in tandem with you know at least the consistency and the cadence and the dedication of posting it's going to evolve into something it's like we said it's inevitable like that's kind of the equation but I think when you're just replicating for you know oh I just want the followers like the intention behind it is an authentic and it's just not going to be what you want it to be you know totally so what is like obviously Evan has everyone has different intentions but what is like your intention behind what you do because I think that you're so right like something can be the exact same on the outside but the intention behind it creates a whole different energy and story find like a project a person a career that's a great question I actually wrote down wrote it down I don't know maybe a few years ago but um I've kind of always thought my purpose in life is to encourage others to keep living which is like very simple but I feel like it's simple but profound but I think that's why I post it's like kind of like random but I like to say it's like whimsical it's like very adventurous on my page because it's like oh I can't do that and like I can you know live in a different version of myself and like this girl did it and she's done a hundred different things a hundred different jobs and she's doing it and I kind of like I feel like that's so encouraging to somebody who's like I think this is going to be my life for the rest of my life I had like the worst existential crisis when I was like 23 and I was just like I don't understand what the purpose of all of this is not that it was like dark but it was very like why like I don't understand why now I'm 26 how old are you 25 but 23 in astrology is actually your 12th house perfection year which basically means you're going through your 12th house and 12th house is like death rebirth existential thoughts and like everyone at 23 like goes to this moment where they're like what am I doing with my life I would argue it's the hardest age it's the hardest age 23 is by far I have some friends that are there right now and I just keep saying and I'm like there's something about 25 that has felt so good that has I don't know I just feel like things really I don't know how you feel like 26 but there's something about like your early 20s that feel like everything is new and figuring things out and in that it feels unfamiliar and scary and hard but then all of a sudden like 25 hit and then I lived a couple more months and then I was like okay like I don't feel like as lost as I did before in my early 20s for sure I even would say like the confidence behind posting and doing what I'm doing it comes from being older and I think the biggest scam is that like you're expiring like oh god no like I feel like I become more confident I become smarter I'm making more money I feel like prettier and I feel prettier because it's like from all of the other things that are happening you know and I've lived through these experiences that I didn't think I was going to like get through totally so like the 30s are the new 20s like I'm not scared of getting older like I always say like I'm excited to get older I don't know and like I get it in like certain industries like yeah the expiry day and just like who says yeah no actually yeah I think it's just such it's so it's so sad that people actually believe that too because like I feel like my life just consistently gets better because I feel like I'm becoming more myself like I think that discovering yourself is really just going back home to yourself like peeling your own layers back and like peeling all the layers that society has like made you conform to you're like peeling them away and like that only happens as you get older and that's why you talk to somebody who's like 60, 70, 80 they're like all the biggest piece of advice is like don't care what anybody thinks like your fucking cares and it's like seriously the faster that you can get there that's like when you start living your actual life yeah and I feel like you become magnetic in the process like four more opportunities four more growth because like you're just not afraid to be seen in a certain way and just really living for you and I love that that's like part of your intention is like showing other people that what you're doing and living a creative life and testing certain boundaries and just fucking going for it like that is possible for them too but it's just kind of like a fucking do-it mindset like what is it it really is that but I also feel like it was 23 when I was like the whole thing about sleeping at a bench in Central Park that it was really honestly truly like I can't imagine doing this every day like again like I literally had to break whatever cycle it was and like you know it was uncomfortable but it was like a growth oriented process and it felt really bad like I wouldn't say you know I've always been a very happy person I always say God gave me extra serotonin which is super sweet because like even in like my thickest darkest moments I was always like happy and positive because I always knew it was going to work out but oh it is like you have to just like really believe that but I would say like 20 to 25 is really like what am I doing I don't understand and I don't even know how I'm gonna get on the other side and do what all of these other people on the internet are doing but it's just a consistency because you will and you're gonna be 26 like me or older and you'll be like oh yeah like I love that no honestly I love that okay I feel like how did 43 minutes go by so fucking fast we're like wrapping it up you're literally fucking amazing oh you're amazing you really are you really are amazing um something I did want to talk about real quick before we finish off is like taking chances with your art because I think that's something you kind of touched on a little bit before like I feel like you definitely take chances and do things differently that other people aren't doing and I was just wondering like do you have advice for people for like stepping out of the box like in their creativity and like being willing to take chances or do you have any like stories where you've done something and it just like has kind of maybe like in a societal perspective failed or like not turned out the way you expected or do you feel like whenever you take a chance it pays off like lots of questions sorry but you have a Gemini moon so I know you can handle it um the first example that comes to mind in terms of taking chances and I don't mean to like say this to be like oh like this is such a success story because it's not like that all the time but um the can I have a peace series I don't know if you've seen it but basically it's it's one of my most viral series it's like so I always I love that character because like I she teaches me a lot too because she's just like me I don't know like because I think she's actually really smart anyway I'll get to the point but basically that series stemmed from can you explain the series real quick for people that don't know your content yeah so basically it's a can I have a peace series it's like all that friend that lives in their own universe um essentially like I'm putting a piece of gum in my mouth and someone he's like oh can I have a piece like kind of referring to the gum and the character or myself I guess she'll like pull out a piece of it could be like I saw the chicken or a puzzle piece or whatever kind of piece like a van goe piece like it's so random and cute I love that I really I really love that series but how it started people asked me like what made you think of doing that I was like oh that's such a good question let me tell you um basically I went to um lunch with one of my friends and she was like oh what do you want to eat and I was like can we split something and she was like debating a sandwich or a pizza and I was like oh let's do the pizza and so we did it and then we took it to go and I like put the uh pizza like the to-go box like in my bag and she asked me for I was putting a piece of gum in my mouth and she was like oh can I have a piece and I was like imagine I gave you a piece of pizza yeah and like it's so dumb she's like you're so dumb and I was like oh that's kind of like a funny idea and so I tried it and I posted on TikTok first and I remember the first comments like the first three comments were like there's still time to delete this this is so unfunny like oh yeah and they were like I hate people for that it was like it was like the first three or four comments and I was like dang that sucks and I still reposted it on Instagram wheels because that time I was like you know what I'm like so tired of being scared to post some reels because I felt like Instagram had more people that actually knew me there and it's kind of like curated or like yeah exactly now it's becoming more fun exactly so I ended up posting on there too but like yeah the first comments were like oh this like is so unfunny like they're still time to delete this and I literally like my heart sank and I was like you know what I'm just gonna like see it through and that ended up being like my first video that hit like five million views wow and like I just continued to do it and still today like it's it's goes it's probably surpassed like a hundred million views in total which is like I've had people come up to me in the stream like oh can I have a piece and I'm like oh that's cute but I'm like that was like a chance in a sense because like that was my first chance of like humor which is like interesting but it wasn't humor is like more like taking chances and out of the box because people are judging with humor people are like not selling funny and it's like shut the fuck up you don't pay my bills bitch like exactly but it felt like I said authentic to me and I liked it and it was something that I enjoyed that I was like no it's genius I love it I'm gonna keep it and it's crazy like but people will try to like put you down and because they don't get it but like you can't listen to them like you have to envision the you know the 70 year old or the older person that's giving advice and they're like oh who cares what they think because like who cares what they think and also like I'll post things that sometimes I mean I don't want to say they flop because like whatever but by engagement metrics they flop but I'm like this is my favorite thing on my page like totally you're like I love this and that someone's gonna come to my page and be like oh this is exactly who I was looking for so I feel like that's like where you take the chances like keep it up don't delete it yeah and don't listen also to like the first opinions or the opinions in general like if you like it and you think it's interesting like that's enough it is that time of the year again where we are diving into our dreams and if you feel like you want to start a podcast I just had so many people asking me like how do I do it how do I do it and I was like you know what like I've been in this industry for like three and a half almost four years now and I understand it so deeply of course I'm learning things every single day and constantly updating what I am teaching people because you know the landscape of social media and podcasting is constantly and I mean constantly changing and I'm learning too but I created a podcast cam because I wanted to help you guys you know create your podcast just get out of your own way with the limiting beliefs with the mindsets with the self sabotage not taking the step forward but you feel called to the stream if you feel called to the dream of speaking it is planted in your heart for a reason you have something to share and that's something that I emphasize so deeply so we talk about the mindset of uncovering the limiting beliefs but then we talk about like the logistics like how do you create a podcast but if you already have a podcast and you're looking to grow and monetize how do you grow how do you grow on social media what are the formulas that you can use how can you do it still well working a nine to five and being in your busy schedule like how can you do it all and then how can you also monetize create money from it and kind of start to build your empire and build your world that you're creating if you're interested in that at all you have to join podcast camp it's going to be so fun go ahead and check out the link in the description and join podcast camp text me if you have questions on instagram at sunday's kick you can always ask me questions and yeah I just want to help you bring your dreams to life yeah because I literally promise like somebody's gonna see it and think wow like and resonate so deeply with it and be so happy that you exist because you posted something like that and I'm a big believer that like because I'm like very like this podcast is like mental health we talk a lot about a lot of things like but it's also like spirituality and I feel like very connected to the energy of all of this and you know for me I feel like when we are willing to choose ourselves over the opinions of others whether it's like in our or career or in relationships or in lifestyle however it is I really do believe like the universe or like spirit god source whatever you want to call it like I feel like whatever the higher power is like rewards us for like listening to ourselves and like trusting ourselves you know like totally like you keeping that up and then it just like going crazy viral and expanding your opportunities and expanding your discoverability is like the reward for being so authentically you oh thank you but no like it was like a lesson from God and when I say God I think like God is everything everywhere all the time like in terms of like spirituality I think like God is me on my deathbed that knows everything that happens like yeah like it felt like a lesson or gift from God that like the next day like it was just like kind of blowing up for the next few days because I was like that was like a reward for sleeping through the night knowing I had comments like that on the video yeah and just like trusting yourself like being like I'm gonna trust myself even if other people don't think this is good I think it's good and turns out a lot of people thought it was amazing and funny and cool I think back then like I think one of my friends kind of did like send that to me because I feel like Loki that's me just like not like I feel like in my day to day like in my work like I'm very like intellectual but with him when I'm with my friends like I'm a dumbass like I'm always just like I don't even think she's like dumb okay I like me when I'm slow and I'm like I don't think it's that I think she's like fast or she's not no she just doesn't give a fuck she's just like not going by society's idea of like what words even mean it's like what does that what like what does it mean at peace like yeah totally like be specific like she's just like I love that yeah no yeah dumb is in the right word I feel like she just is kind of like I don't know a little like ADHD queen like she just thinks outside of the box she's like oh this is what you mean no I love that what would be your like top three tips for anybody who wants to like live a creative life oh my god that's such a good question I love that you're complimenting all the questions I'm like excited for what I'm gonna say because I'm not really sure what I'm gonna say but that's the best part I'm like about podcasting I have no idea what I'm ever gonna say literally these are my notes for today like nothing it's so fun you're like writing this story it's very like intuitive like you just have to trust co-creating truly so three tips for and they don't have to be in a row like just right living a creative life or just like what was the question living a creative life or like wanting to be in a creative career but I feel like it's also just like such a lifestyle rather than like a career too right I would say one is like cultivating the curiosity I talked a lot about that in the beginning but that's like if you can just dedicate yourself to curiosity my favorite question is why why why like like you know when little kids go through that stage like but I genuinely why like why no exactly like why that's an amazing question I would say to huh I think detaching shaming guilt to certain situations will liberate you in a creative process because I think that we grew up trying to conform to society in terms of like time and schedule and like rituals and routine but I think you can timelines right exactly exactly timelines too like if you can release like whatever weird feelings you have towards that and just like intuitively go through things and like don't try to punish yourself for not hitting certain timelines that weren't even meant for somebody like you you know like somebody listening to this podcast probably doesn't see themselves thriving in like the current system that exists so you have to like separate yourself and unlearn them and it takes a lot of time but I would say like once I stopped feeling bad about you know like not being married or not having kids or like oh I stay up till 5 a.m. working on something sometimes like and not being like oh I stayed up so like oh it's like oh no I had so much energy at the zoomies I like 2 a.m. like I'm not gonna pull myself for that like I love that because I'm the same queen like I get so creative in the night time like in the nighttime I like like I literally if I need to go to sleep I have to put myself to bed like before a certain time or else like my mind goes on and I'm like ready to create and I love that like I literally just moved in with my boyfriend like a couple months ago we moved in together before but we moved back in together and I'm like wait I missed my late nights because we have like a really small studio and I'm like I missed my late nights because there's something about it and like there's um like we could wait why are you looking me like that no I'm like thinking I'm like I was thinking about something that I'm just going in tandem with what you're saying okay yeah yeah yeah um no but I think that no I'm like wait why are you looking at me like that like no but um just because we have a really small space like he's like well I want to go to sleep and then I'm like gosh I just can't wait till we have I have my like own space my own room because I love staying up late and I feel like there's a part of society that says going to bed late it's bad for you blah blah blah like even me being in the wellness space like your health like having a nighttime routine and I'm just like fuck that like I just want to like if the creative juices are flowing and the intuition is hitting like I need to want me and my friends to like follow the muse like I have to follow it and listen to yeah I'm gonna remember that yeah totally I was actually thinking like while you're saying like all living with your boyfriend I was thinking about how I've been single for pretty much like my whole life right and I feel like kind of decentering men in a way has allowed me to really fully commit to like the creative process because I don't really have any distractions and I was thinking like I recently I don't even like met somebody that I'm like oh I really like like this person and I noticed it has started to cut into like the time that I have by myself or I can be creative and crazy so you saying that I was like this is going to be a bridge that I'm going to have to cross eventually you know in life like trying to find the balance because I think also like as a creative person as an artist too you really genuinely enjoy like the experience experiential experiential part of like you know being with people that you love you know that inspire you hello totally I think it's like maybe when you're first starting to see somebody can be a distraction but for me personally like I was saying to my friend yesterday because me and my partner we've been together like a really long time like how long like eight years but we broke up for a bit because we were in college long distance anyway long story short like no one has been a relationship that long my age so I'm always like wait what am I doing like am I making the wrong choices but then I'm like no this is like a really special person and we just like have this connection I was telling like my best friend Kaimana yesterday I was like you know what like I think like if I was single like I would be distracted from my creative work oh because I would be like maybe like kind of I feel like when I was younger I was like a little boy crazy like and maybe I would have like learned like decenter man for my life so I love that you said that but I think after when someone's like a stable force in your life like I feel like my partner supports like I never have to worry about like anything in a relationship because and I can focus a lot on my career and he can focus a lot on what he wants to do too because we like have each other as like a stability thing also so I think it's both and like I can see how it can like like take away the focus but I also think it can once there's like stability and it's more like secure it can actually like create a sense of like grounding beneath you especially for like us like you know air moon girly is like who can be all over the place like sometimes like a grounding force like does help keep my feet on the ground a little bit and though I love that you gave the other perspective there's both I understand both yeah totally yeah and I think actually most of it comes from the fact that I think a lot of my creativity comes not a lot of it but like there's definitely a portion that comes from heartbreak you know totally and because I felt that like I can push myself like that's an that's a really powerful energy to pull from so I think like when I try to this is gonna sound crazy but when I try to imagine myself in like a happy relationship not being distracted by heartbreak I'm like what is my art going to look like I don't know it'll evolve I know it's like you will be fighting but like that's and that's where my experience comes from and that's where it's important to communicate each other's experience when you're having conversations like this because like as soon as you said that I was like totally yeah but I totally see your perspective too like heartbreak like I literally think about that because I love to write music and I love to write songs and I'm always like how am I supposed to write like Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter if I'm not going through a bunch of heartbreaks but honestly like within one relationship you can also have a lot of like heartbreak and like evolution because like you're like when you're with somebody for so long like you're losing old versions of yourselves and you're having to meet new versions of yourselves and decide if you still want to be with that version it's just like so I am I definitely go through emotions and relationships too but I see both sides like and I do think so much beauty of art like historically has come out of heartbreak right it's crazy love it's like so powerful it's so powerful and invokes emotion okay wait do you remember what you're gonna say for number three yes I do remember my third one was um I know it's such a light but it comes oh thank you you are too um it actually goes off of what you were saying because it totally fits into that puzzle too but your support system like going around yourself with I hope that they make you feel like the most vibrant version of yourself because like that's the only way you're going to achieve the things you want like I'm around people in my life that make me feel more me and encourage me to be more me and if you have somebody that's kind of like judging you or putting you down for the things you do like you are never going to you know reach your creative potential in any capacity it's true wow that's actually the perfect note to end on because it's like yeah look who you're surrounding yourself with are they people who make you feel excited to be alive and make you feel like you can express yourself in the ways that you desire you know it's so important because like even like a bad relationship will make you feel so insecure and like you're not capable and like oh god it's so damaging and it's so hard to pull yourself out of that if you don't know anything different but I promise it exists and like I always say like if you can't find the sun like be the sun and be the light you know I think sometimes like the people that are like bring the most vibrance to a room have probably felt like the most pain and in turn you're just like alchemizing that pain into like love yeah and you want other people to not feel that way so you love to like share that like I totally agree wow this was such a good conversation Katie where can everyone find you I'm sure like everyone who hasn't who doesn't know you yet from the skinny dipping community has probably fallen in love with you and this chat I feel like it's very it's very rare that I have somebody on that's like so like like bounce back like really easy like we're just moons in Gemini and like I love it no that was so beautiful I almost like started crying at the end of that because I'm like no it yeah I thought moved by things you were saying too moved by like this whole conversation and like the level of presence with it too because I feel like sometimes you don't even know how you feel about your journey or the things you're thinking and this has been very affirming for me I think sometimes when we say things it's really just a projection of like what we need to hear too so this was a hundred percent church no whatever no whatever I say on the podcast is always what I need to hear I'm like like like it comes out and then you're like oh I really needed to remind myself this wow like this is so amazing because you get to talk to some kind of people I feel so lucky like wow and also in turn like people can learn so much from your conversations like that's so beautiful and exciting I like I'm so grateful to be on this journey like in New York because it just brings such a different energy and then like going to Europe tomorrow is going to be so crazy and like I know I just feel really grateful that this is what I get to do like it actually like blows my mind every day I'm like wait I did this and like you said it like it didn't come like right away or easy like I've been in this game for like three and a half almost four years now and like it took yeah two years to like finally like start seeing the fruits of my labor it just takes time and consistency and devotion and like I'm just always grateful for past me for hustling and being brave so like her and me can like play and have more fun and work for myself and do all the things right and there's still elements of being brave now always but yeah you ever look back at where you start and you're like oh like oh yeah I was like like this whole experience of the podcast has taught me so much oh my gosh wait I just realized oh my god what happened sorry once I get hey guys I still am in a recording so I should be done soon but we may need to risk schedule I'm really sorry guys um just the podcast like recording had to come first and we're a little behind love you I'll text you when I'm done to see if you guys are still around let me know I was supposed to have a meeting with my assistants at two but two in the two in the vibe what what time is it oh two seven two no it's fine it's not it's like literally they're my assistant like they're my they're my creative assistants like they're brand new too so we're like still figuring out flow and I'm like traveling right now so it's just like such a journey you know but I just was like oh I should like fill them in like I totally like forgot the time okay yeah we're all good okay cool um but oh wait you didn't tell us where I'm gonna cut the all that out by the way okay you can tell us where everyone can find you uh you can find me at pity lever on all platforms yeah take talks snapchat instagram I also have a newsletter that I send I send a newsletter it's like an open journal diary entry there's a link in my bio it's free yeah you just put your email in there and like weekly I send like kind of little notes what this has been all about I love but yeah I feel like you literally need a podcast you would do so well but give lots of other things going on I'm sure thank you but you're made for the podcasting really that you are yeah your brain like just works I because every time I'm talking I can tell that you're also you're listening fully but you're also like putting pieces together behind the scenes is that like true no totally yeah that's like what I do when I podcast like I am fully present fully listening but I'm also like processing and like connecting different dots it's just so satisfying yeah I but I think that's actually being present in a conversation when you are you I mean not that you're listening to reply but like you you know what you want to say in a sense of like at least on your end I know what questions asked because they're naturally just like we I'm curious about that when you are a good person but no I love that leaning into the curiosity why I think that's like my biggest takeaway from today it's just like why why why oh thank you so much for coming on kitty you're incredible you are amazing everywhere she is we're gonna link below so you guys can find her and maybe I'll come back on again someday when I'm back in New York that would be amazing I feel like we'll have to do like a little follow-up conversation that would be so fun okay what is the last thing last thing you want to leave us with oh my god oh sorry not to put you on the spot but hmm I would just say like to leave everybody with something is like make the world feel something make somebody feel something that's all I put on earth to do is feel so do it yeah thank you bye guys bye bye bye
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