Story & Lesson Highlights with Casey Astorino of Mid-Wilshire

Hi Casey, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: When was the last time you felt true joy?
I feel genuine joy every day now — the kind that comes from having lived through darkness and finding meaning on the other side. My life finally feels aligned with my purpose. I have a wonderful partner, incredible friends, a supportive family, and the sweetest pets. Music remains at the heart of my world, but I’m also learning and growing in new ways through my journey as a therapist, and in every quiet moment of connection that fills my day.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a passionate creative. For most of my adult life, I poured everything into one basket: my music career. But I’ve come to discover a deeper sense of balance and purpose.

Hitting rock bottom in 2023 nearly destroyed me, but it also gave me a new lens on life. My mental health collapsed, my world fell apart, and my reality grew darker than I could have ever imagined. My life was stripped down to its barest pieces — but in the aftermath, I was able to rebuild my world and construct an entirely new reality. One shaped by meaning, gratitude, and fulfillment.

Today, I’m working on my third album under the artist name ASTRINA, teaching yoga part-time, and pursuing my graduate degree in Marriage and Family Therapy while seeing clients at the Alliant Couple and Family Clinic. I’m also writing a memoir that captures the human side of that transformation.

My brand now lives at the intersection of art, healing, and human connection. Through both my music and my therapy work, I aim to help people feel deeply, think expansively, and reconnect with their inner worlds. Whether it’s through a lyric, a melody, a yoga class, or a therapy session, my mission is the same: to help others discover the beauty — and the possibility — that lives within our deepest inner worlds

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What breaks the bonds between people — and what restores them?
Difficult seasons have a way of revealing the depth of our connections. I’ve had to let go of people I still love — some who couldn’t walk beside me through my hardest chapters. But in that loss, I also witnessed the immense grace and resilience of those who stayed and helped me find my footing again.

Patience, understanding, and forgiveness can heal broken bonds, but only when both sides are willing. My gratitude for those who have steadfastly stood by me is endless, and I’m deeply thankful for those who returned with open hearts. I’ve also learned to love some people from afar — to honor that even the strongest bonds sometimes belong to a particular season of life. What matters most is staying open to connection, even when the form it takes changes.

When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I used to wear my pain on my sleeve. There was power in that openness, but I’ve found even greater power in knowing my pain, holding it with compassion, and choosing when — and how — to share it.

In the past, I was open, maybe even to a fault, about my mental health journey. That transparency helped me process what I was going through, and it was exactly what I needed at the time.

Now, after moving through deeper and darker seasons, I’m still willing to share — but only in ways that feel authentic and purposeful. The experiences that once felt heavy have become sources of empathy and strength, but I also know how important it is to protect the spaces where I’m still growing.

What I’ve learned is that power lives both in the truths you choose to share and in the boundaries you choose to hold. Right now, my power lives in creation — in writing my book, in shaping my album — and when the time comes, I will share with intention.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
One of the biggest myths in the creative world is that pursuing other paths means you’ve given up — that if you’re not all in, you’re out. I believed that for a long time.

What I’ve learned is the opposite: giving my life more dimension has expanded my creativity, not diminished it. Music feels freer now that it isn’t carrying the full weight of my identity. I create when I want to, what I want to, and how I want to — without pressure, without performance.

Music may no longer be the center of my universe, but only because my universe has grown. Instead of one overwatered plant, I now have a thriving, symbiotic garden.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future-oriented question. When do you feel most at peace?
I feel most at peace when I trust my intuition and let life unfold at its own pace. Peace comes when I work toward my goals in ways that feel fulfilling regardless of the outcome — when I’m creating, connecting, or simply being present. It’s the kind of calm that doesn’t depend on everything going right, but on knowing I will meet whatever life brings me.

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