Meet Cassidy Thompkins

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cassidy Thompkins . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cassidy below.

Cassidy, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
In the simplest answer, God. Over the years I’ve learned- just as anyone else should, that life will throw all kinds of tribulations your way. Time stops for no one and life goes on. I’ve adapted to dealing with things that are much bigger than me for quite some time now. I keep going always, no matter what. Like it says in 2 Corinthians of the Bible, “For our light affliction, which is for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” Hard times don’t last forever and I have the power to overcome every trial I suffer with- so I do.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m a rapper/musical artist and I go by Cas Brooks. I consider myself a poet before anything which is how I derived my artist name. It pays homage to the famous Black poet Gwendolyn Brooks- and my middle name is “Brooke” so it just fits.

I first started to take an interest in rapping in 2020. The year the pandemic was violently present is when I took my creative abilities a step further. I joined an organization at my alma mater Jackson State University called “Outspoken” which is a collective of different artists alike. They really helped me push my craft and become the artist I am today.

I will be releasing my first single September 1, 2023 and plan to grow with this hobby from there. Making music is very therapeutic and my only regret is that I should have started sooner! I’m excited to see where this journey will take me.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Self esteem, solitude, and optimism.

I consider self esteem a must-have. Believing in yourself and your abilities will take you very far. Self doubt is very self sabotaging and can weigh you down, ruin your plans and cloud your dreams. There’s nothing wrong with taking pride in yourself, who you are, and what you can do. Solitude is another big one. Sometimes your journey gets lonely. It’s great to have friendships and other relationships to depend on but they won’t be there always. Having confidence in solitude is a strength trait. It’s not easy being alone or having to do things on your own or feeling like you’re on your own. Having the dependence on yourself will prepare you for a lot; it builds character essentially and is just a great thing to have. Lastly, optimism- it ties into resilience. A positive outlook on things can and will help you keep pushing no matter what. It turns your losses into lessons. It keeps a smile on your face and your chin held high. It strengthens you and reminds you to never give up!

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
In the simplest answer again- God. Often when I felt like I’d lost everyone and everything, He never left me. Sometimes I lose my way and he sends me signs to help me find my way again. Sometimes it’s a scripture or words of encouragement from a friend, etc. He always has a way of letting me know he’s there. There would be times I would honestly be so lost that all I could do was pray- that all I could do was believe that God would hear me and sort it all out for me- and he did. He shows me what paths to take when I’m unsure and everything always works together in my favor.

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