WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU TAKE A CHANCE AND FOLLOW YOUR DREAM?
When you take a chance it pays off. The proof of that is all around you. One social media influencer, dancer, and business owner Kacie Rose is proof of that. She took a chance and followed her intuition and heart. Now she owns her own business and brand doing what she enjoys most: travel and acting.
New Yorkers are known for the fast paced life and never stopping. They are art snobs and do not have time for anything that isn’t planned way in advanced. Or well, that is the stereotype anyway. However, that is not so true. Especially when it comes to Kacie. She was enjoying a career of dancing and theater living in NYC when she decided to make a change. If you get to know her a little bit better, I guarantee her story and words will inspire you.
So, you do talk about why you left the dance industry and pursed travel, but would you consider going back to that industry? The NYC area is known, and especial dance, to be highly competitive is that also part of the problem in Italy and led to you pursing Travel?
“Sometimes yes and sometimes no. I miss expressing myself through performing,
miss acting and being so into a scene that it might as well be real, miss playing
the adult version of dress-up, and miss performing in front of a live audience.
But I was also at a point where I HATED the industry. It’s a really, really tough
industry to be in, and I was in it for 10 years. There’s a lot of rejection, a lot of
politics, and a lot of things that are simply out of your control. It’s hard. And the
hate that I felt toward the industry started translating into a hatred for performing,
which I definitely don’t want because at my core I love to perform.
I didn’t realize all this until the pandemic hit, actually. All of a sudden my entire
industry was completely shut down. I couldn’t go to class, couldn’t audition,
couldn’t perform in a public setting if I wanted to – and I was completely relieved
about that, which was a huge wake-up call that maybe I wasn’t as happy doing it
as I thought anymore. At that point Dario’s visa in the US was ending and since I
was in this limbo of not knowing if I wanted to perform anymore, we decided to
move to Italy on a “6-month trial basis”. I started posting TikTok videos for fun
about my life here and all the things I was discovering, which then obviously
grew to be something bigger than I ever could’ve imagine. I’d always loved to
travel and learning about other cultures on this planet, so it felt natural to do.
So in a way I think I AM still performing, just in a different way. I love to make
people smile and laugh, so it’ll always be in my blood. Italy doesn’t really have a
strong musical theater/theater scene in general, but I’d love to act again. Who
knows – putting it into the universe“
“SPEAK IT INTO EXSISTENCE AND IT WILL COME TO YOU…”
Florence is relatively small when compared with NYC. Has that been a challenge to adjust to? Better or worse?
“It’s been a challenge in some ways but a blessing in others. In NYC there’s so
much variety, so much diversity and you can get pretty much anything you want
at any hour, from groceries or medicine to any type of cuisine. So coming from
that it definitely took some adjusting to get used to things like “Pausa” or stores
closing early on Sundays, or not being able to find certain foods and items lol.
But on the other hand, one of the best things that I think Florence and Italy have
given me is the art of slowing down and enjoying life. NYC is very go go go non-
stop, which can get overwhelming and stressful. I don’t think I really understood
what it meant to “enjoy the little things” until I moved here, and for that I am so
incredibly grateful.“
Is it difficult to adjust to the Italian culture for you, or do you find that you have easily embraced it?
“Some things were easy to adjust to and other things weren’t. There were certain
parts of Italian culture that I easily adapted to and others that I still struggle with. I
feel like it’s the same for anyone that moves to a different country (or in the US,
even a different state!) can understand – it’s not easy to move to a place that has
cultural traditions, norms, language, and ways of doing things that are completely,
100% different than what you grew up with. It’s almost like you have to re-learn
everything all over again, which can at times be super frustrating and make you
feel just so incredibly helpless, embarrassed, or stupid.
It’s gotten easier obviously with time. I’m really lucky that I have an incredible
partner that lived with me in the US for a bit and understands the culture shock
that happens, as well as a plethora of Italian friends that are there to help me if I
need it. In general, I find Italians to be very helpful when it comes to teaching
someone something new.“
You mentioned you have taken Italian courses, did you study in the USA or always like the Italian language, Italy in general? Do you speak other languages too?
“I didn’t seriously start focusing on learning Italian until I moved here, and once I
did I went IN. I took Italian courses at an academy, was supplementing with apps
and other online resources, and then of course just being here is the ultimate
Italian lesson. I studied Spanish for 8 years which definitely helped when I first
moved since so they are both romance languages, but now that I speak Italian to
some degree I can’t remember any Spanish. It’s like my brain can only focus on
one latin language haha. I’m trying hard to learn it though – it’s my ultimate goal
to be fluent one day.”
Out of all your business aspects, which is your favourite? Writing the travel guides, or filming the tiktoks: how has this made working not feel like work for you?
“I honestly don’t know if I have a favorite – I love helping people, which is why I
started my business and creating content in general. I think culture differences
are the coolest things on the planet and is the best tool we have in our toolbox to
understand, respect, and appreciate other people living on this planet. We’re
commonly taught that what is unknown or different to how you do things is
“bad”, which is just not true. If we can learn about other cultures. get curious and
excited about our differences and then embrace them, I just feel like we would be
so much more unified as a human race. At the end of the day we all want the same thing – to eat, laugh, breathe, and love – we might just do them in different ways. And
that’s a beautiful thing. So that’s what I’m trying to do.“
Is there anything you want people to know about making that kind of career and life change or build a business like you?
“You just need to go for it. If you’re scared to do it, then acknowledge that and do
it scared. If you spend your time waiting for the “right time”, then you’ll be
waiting for your entire life. You gotta do the shit that scares you, because life is
just simply too short not to.“
“IF IT SCARES YOU, DO IT SCARED“
What is the most rewarding thing that you did?- it is definitely brave to move to another country and change careers. And, it is a huge achievement what you have already accomplished.
“Oh gosh it’s so funny you ask me this because the American mid-westerner in me
is revolting against anything that resembles bragging hahahaha.
I guess maybe I’m proud of myself for always getting through it and finding the
silver lining. There’s so many blessings with this new life, but there’s also a ton of
really hard things that come with it, and I’m proud of myself for pushing through
it even when there were many times I just wanted to give up and quit doing it.
It can be hard to remember so just in case anyone needs to hear it today –
breathe. You’re doing a lot better than you think you are.“
❤
“YOU ARE DOING BETTER THAN YOU THINK“
So, there you have it. Sometimes when you take a chance, the best possible outcome can happen. Even when you least expect it, follow your dreams and follow your goals to find your own personal freedoms and happiness.
Follow her journey here on her social medias:
BethAshlei 
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