An Inspired Chat with Katie Tsarnas

Katie Tsarnas shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Katie, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
Building a life for myself

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is katie and I’m an artist. I love making things, painting, DIY, crafts, dolls. But, what makes my brand unique is theres a little something for anyone, whether you’re into goth, hallowee, vintage, silly, simple. I make a little of everything and I really take into account what my customers like and dislike

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
When I was younger, I truly believed that I wasn’t good enough for this world and the people that inhabit it. But, as I got older, I started to take priority of MY feelings rather than anyone else’s, and gradually, I started feeling better about myself when I wasn’t constantly trying to please others.

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
The biggest fear that holds me back are the struggles I face every day with being autistic, specifically sensory sensitivity and not being able to understand things the way that neurotypical people do. The world I live in is not built for neurodiverse people (autism, for example) and that scares the hell out of me because from my experience, it has prevented me from doing a lot of different things that bring me the most joy. It makes me feel like I’m not “normal” and I’m very scared that it will never change. The fear that my disability will keep me from ever accomplishing anything in life is the one thing that holds me back the most. But, I have always had this light inside of me that just doesn’t know when to quit. I’ll be honest, it has dimmed a lot over the years, but, it’s always been there. It keeps me trying. Sometimes, that’s all you can do because if you don’t try and fail, then how will you know when you’ve succeeded? You might surprise yourself.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
To be honest, I do not have any friends. I used to when I was in my teen years, but I grew apart with them, eventually figuring out that we were just not meant to be in each other’s lives anymore. So to answer the question, it would have to be what my loved ones would say really matters to me and that is my mental well being, and animals. They’ll tell you that my mental health is my biggest struggle, being autistic all my life and not knowing or getting the proper medical/government help, I’ve still managed to push myself all these years, to keep going, and to learn new ways on how to put up that fight within me that I have struggled so hard to keep going. I now refuse to let anyone mess with my mental well being because I have worked way too hard to help myself get from where I was to where I am now

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I am much more in charge of my life now than I was in the past. I believe I am doing what I need to do, not what I’m told to do. I know what I want, it’s just difficult to get it but with the help I am getting now, I have more hope than I did before. I guess I can honestly say I’m in the middle right now since I finally got help so late in age. I don’t agree with people telling me what to do as if they know what will work for me and what won’t work like “oh, you should do this and not this cause I think its better for you, and you know, I think you’d be better off doing this instead of this.” nope! Not anymore! only I know what will work for me, not anyone else. There’s a difference between giving someone advice and telling someone what to do and where they belong in the world. Depending on a person’s situation, I just don’t believe that you should listen to what others tell you to do with YOUR life. Only YOU know what’s best for you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mercari.com/u/fantasyqueencreation/?msockid=2a749a46bcd7618b32248c38bd396062
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fantasyqueenscreations/

Image Credits
https://www.instagram.com/fantasyqueenscreations/