Meet Kelsie Overacre

 

We were lucky to catch up with Kelsie Overacre recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kelsie, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

In April of 2021, we purchased our first home after learning that we would no longer be able to rent the home we were currently living in. We had just gotten married in November and found out that I was going to have a baby right before Christmas that year. We purchased my aunt’s home and thought this was finally our chance to have something of our own, together. We had plans to remodel and make our house, the home we had always wanted. Little did we know, that things were about to take a whole other course. When we moved in we found mold underneath of the flooring so we replaced over half of the flooring in the house and the subfloor below. We did not notice any immediate issues with our home, however, after bringing home the baby, her and I both began to develop health issues. We were told that she had colic and would need stool softeners daily. The roller coaster began then. She was diagnosed with RSV in September. After RSV, I was not ready to take on teaching responsibilities, the stress, and certainly wasn’t ready to bring germs home to my already ill child. After returning, I found myself feeling frustrated at times and couldn’t stay as organized as I was before. Time seemed to slip by before I was really making an impact on any activities I was trying to do or tasks I needed to complete. That was the case for inside of school and outside of it. We all got COVID the day after Christmas, also my husband’s birthday. I retuned from break late and was now taking more and more leave without pay. I decided to finish that school year and then pursue photography full-time because teaching was not enjoyable. My students were everything to me, but teaching is heart work and mine was struggling due to hidden toxins and the changes that was causing in all of us. Teaching during the pandemic was not the same and it ruined the school culture we had created and nurtured for so many years before. The ultimate decision was made though, because I was hoping to get hired for an elopement in Alaska in March of 2023, as well as the decision I had made to have cosmetic surgery in January. I booked the elopement the last week of that school year and turned in my resignation paperwork.

As time passed though, I noticed that I felt different. I was less interested in photography and I was avoiding tasks as much as possible. I had quit everything I ever knew and worked so hard to achieve at school to pursue this passion for a better livelihood and to better my emotional and mental health. Quite the opposite happened actually. My business began to lose momentum, and my passion was gone. I became a different person and went on a wellness and spiritual journey during this time. I found new friends, lost old ones, and even stopped engaging with some family members, as they had a hand in adding stress and drama to my life, that I was desperately trying to end. I knew I still needed to provide for my family so I started moving away from weddings and families to doing more social media, content, creation, and marketing for other businesses. During that time, my husband was not supportive and things became even more volatile in our home. When you are poisoned, you aren’t yourself. He was not himself, our children were changing, and worse, I was changing and witnessing everything around me change but couldn’t seem to get a handle on it.
I am a do’er. I get things done. I realized I was now on a relentless pursuit to figure out what was wrong with our health, and both my mental and emotional states because of the situation. I was developing more major health issues and honestly felt like I was going to die if I didn’t get help. I had brain fog, memory issues, mood swings, cystic acne (more like blisters/hives you get from poison ivy), perimenopause, anxiety, depression, and G.I. issues. I’m allergic to so many foods and chemicals. Perfume and fragrances are the worst. I developed celiac disease, MCAS, and sometimes POTS symptoms as well. My youngest child also developed celiac disease, leaky gut, and then PANS/PANDAS. My experience as a special education teacher, gave me the skills and knowledge to see that my daughter was not ok. She was becoming OCD and developing autism from the environmental stress she was under.
After spending all of my money and almost losing my business, I decided enough was enough and committed to getting answers for me and my family. The needs and the want to get better pushed me to work harder with my social media and then pushed me to try videography. I realized that my suffering could not only help others, but it also could fuel my creative fire as well. I learned that, even though it may be hard to do weddings and families after mine fell apart, that I am a creative, and when I’m not creating, I am not sharing my gift with the world as I was created to do. This push led me to other businesses and creatives, that have been a huge part of my healing and the road to my recovery. Without my relentless pursuit to use the gift God gave me and the want to heal my family, I would not have been able to make it where I am now. My health and business would not have been able to bounce back as they have (still a work in progress). I feel I need to use my struggles to encourage others to pursue their dreams and talents relentlessly, as well as to help others who could be suffering as we did, so they know their is hope, they have purpose, and that they have at least one person in their corner. We may not get what we ask for when we ask for it, but showing gratitude, loving others when its hard (instead of running away), and just being a good person, gets you to where you are intended to be. I have learned so much and feel as if I have a new outlook on life and my habits and mindset have shifted to where God intends for me to be. Sometimes losing it all, shows you that you really already have it all. Hold your people close, hold them accountable, but do it in a loving manner. Your family, friendships, health, and business will thrive when you are focused on using the gifts and knowledge you were given.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My name is Kelsie! I am a mom, christian, and lover of the outdoors. I am a Virginia Beach native and after living in North Carolina and Hawaii, I decided to return to my hometown of Pungo, the rural area of Virginia Beach. People describe me as outgoing, fun to be around, and extremely creative. I have an eye for detail and love for light, so my photography is unique and organic. I started my photography journey by capturing the love and special memories of those closest to me. From there, the journey has blossomed into so much more! I specialized in engagements, weddings, and lifestyle sessions previously, but have recently expanded my business to include videography, drone imaging, and social media management. I also do some influencing, aside from the content creation I do with the businesses I work with. It is important to me to capture those raw, authentic moments that others may not see when in those intimate settings. My style can be described as vibrant, bold, and edited with a fine-art, creamy texture. My primary goal is to provide my clients with a visual of the love, memories, and laughs I have the pleasure of witnessing during our time together, when shooting personal sessions and events. For my social media and content creation clients, I want to sell their services and products, while also educating others and collaborating creatively. My clients don’t just call me their photographer, but also their friend. I am known for my creative eye, hustle, and risk-taking. In the future, I hope to travel more and connect with other like-minded business owners.I am most proud of my ability to bounce back every time I am faced with adversity. Photography was a passion and hobby for me at one time, but slowly developed into a business to make up for the income. Now it is my life, the way I will be able to achieve my dreams, how I can fix my family, and how I will inspire and share my gift with others, who may not be ready to make major changes or aren’t ready to pursue their dreams.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Being an empath, growing up in the church, and all of my life experiences (good and bad) have been the most impactful parts of my journey. My best advice is to love others, be kind, generous, and show gratitude for the good daily, and look at each obstacle or “bad” part of your life, as a learning experience and chance to be better than you were before. Accept your faults, learn to love yourself, and never stop pursuing what and who matter most to you.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

There have been many special people who have helped me overcome the challenges that I have faced in the last year. I lost many of the people I thought would be in my life forever and many people who I poured so much of myself into. It was new friends, that I met through my most difficult and unloveable times, that stood by me and pushed me to keep searching for answers and not to give up on myself and my dreams. It was my new doctors at Reboot Functional Health, my chiropractor, and practitioners of natural and functional medicine that didn’t stop searching for the answers, even when my tests results were confusing and contradicting. God has given me the strength not to give up and my daughters are my reason why.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Miguel Ramon Nava IV and Casey Christian (Casey Christian Film)

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