Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Katie Thompson of Northern Virginia

We recently had the chance to connect with Katie Thompson and have shared our conversation below.

Good morning Katie, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
I LOVE this question! My Aunt Sherri always says to find something to make others laugh in every scenario and it’s seriously such a gift and life lesson we all must take. I definitely tend to be a bit serious at times and I think it’s important to all take the time to laugh at ourselves and others. As for a good laugh in my life, honestly, my dog Rosie and her little behaviors and antics always give me a good laugh!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Katie and I am the one woman show behind The Pink Chickadee – a preppy and grand millennial fashion, travel, + lifestyle blog focused on empowering others to find their own joy. The motto around here is to create your own confetti wherever you go! The Pink Chickadee was created during my latter college years in 2020 out of a personal love for preppy fashion blogs during the pandemic when I couldn’t find a college internship. Whilst, I decided to create my own internship after taking an website development course and decided to build my own website. Hence The Pink Chickadee was born!

Since The Pink Chickadee’s founding days, I have been spotlighted in Shapermint’s blog, RedFin, the DC Bloggers Union, and my Alma mater Meredith College’s Meredith Magazine. My content has been featured on Starbucks’ Instagram page in 2022 – a wild, exciting, and proud moment in itself! Today, I am currently celebrating four years at my incredible job, which I landed using my skillset learned from my founding blogging days and currently reside in the Washington, DC area. In early January, I will be launching something *very* exciting and community-based. SO, stay tuned!!

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?
A very wise college professor of mine once said: “think without a box.” When I was growing up, I always sought to forge my own path and do my own thing. I firmly believe that the world is our oyster and our potential is limitless. In school, we are typically graded on a scale from 0-100, and I used to believe that that is how we are to be in the real world. However, grades don’t matter as much in the world and I firmly believe that we must think without a box as per my college professor.

What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
Funny enough — I actually felt compelled to start my blog out of a tough situation within my personal life that left me feeling hopeless. Besides not landing a college internship in the middle of a pandemic going into my Senior year of college, I just really longed for a community of like-minded people. I also was fearful of not being “perfect.” Nobody’s perfect, but it’s always better to put something out there than hold it in. I had always wanted to create a blog and I firmly believe that if someone wants to do something, then they will. I had always wanted to start a blog and I did. The same goes for several areas of our lives, whether it be personally or professionally. We must not let what may be holding us back now take away from what we can build for our futures. Why not start now, even if it’s something small?!

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
Oooooo I’m a big prominent of self care and doing things that bring me joy and think everyone should, too. One of my best friends and I discuss how when something brings someone else joy, then it brings us joy in return seeing them have that joy! Happiness is contagious and it can be tough at times to see the joys that are everywhere. There is always something good!!

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What do you think people will most misunderstand about your legacy?
I think it’s so easy to get into the self-comparison game and look at what someone else has today but not where they started and all of the hard work that went into getting them where they are now. We generally forget to look at where people started and all of the hard work and rather less glamorous things and tasks that got them to where they are today alongside a squad of loved ones cheering us on. I see that as speaking true for myself, too, everything that I have and have built is thanks to a supportive network of friends, family, and colleagues, as well as a willingness to put myself out there and invest in myself continuously.

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Haley Finan

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