We recently connected with Kayla Sutton and have shared our conversation below.
Kayla, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
My confidence and self-esteem really flourished when I began to prioritize myself. Whether that was my dreams, my goals, my health, my relationships etc. I feel like making time for myself and making sure I was taken care of has helped my confidence tremendously because, through that, I’ve been able to discover more about who I am / want to be. It’s really a continuous journey but it’s definitely worth it!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m an Actress based out of Atlanta. That’s how I typically describe what I do even though now I also model professionally. I have always known I wanted to be an actress and fortunately for me I’ve been able to successfully pursue that passion and love of mine. Modeling I am fairly new at so that has been a bit of a stepping stone for me recently. It’s coming on about a year since I’ve started and although so far so good I am excited to learn more about this profession and take it just as seriously.
I adore acting because it has pretty much always made me feel happy. Every time I act (Especially when I book those “bigger” Gigs) I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. It’s almost hard to describe but it’s that feeling that warms my heart and leaves me on cloud 9 every time I’m on set. With that being said, of course, the business / industry has its challenges. Nonetheless those obstacles reconfirm my absolute dedication to my craft and my goals. It’s definitely a profession that is not for the faint of heart.
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?
Looking back, I think three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that have been impactful for my journey have been Confidence, Focus, and Learning to Rest.
From my experiences, growing my confidence has allowed me to really stay at this journey and, as cliché as this sounds, believe in myself. There are always going to be a lot of Naysayers so if you do not learn to grow your confidence, it can be easy to feed into other opinions and doubts.
Focus has allowed me to stick to my overall goals while allowing me the ability not to lose sight of the why I set out to accomplish the things I’ve always dreamed of doing. I feel it is important to focus on why you originally set out to do whatever you choose to do in life because the weight of the world can lead you on an entirely opposite path that might not be what you’ve originally intended. Of course, there can be pros and cons to this and that’s why focus is important… If you’re able to refocus, you can determine if the path you’re on is for the better or for the worse.
Rest is something that I had to learn the hard way. When I first started my acting / film journey I found myself extending myself too thinly. This resulted in major burn out. I had to learn to say no and prioritize whether what I was doing was really helping me move forward with whatever it was I was setting out to accomplish. Sometimes doing things for others just for the sake of lending a helping hand and expecting nothing in return was great! Other times it left me exhausted. It has really been about balance for me. I’m thankful I’ve learned that it’s okay to live my life and not apologize for wanting to sleep in. Your health is important, your relationships outside of your career are important. It’s more than okay to have genuine relationships and hobbies that don’t revolve around how it can spring you forward in your profession.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
The current challange is trying to stay afloat during this WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strike. I fully stand with the unions, so really, I feel as though this is absolutely necessary no matter how uncomfortable it makes me as a creative. Obviously, even though I am in full support, I have to financially support myself. Lately, I’ve been having to find a balance between working a survival job and still making time to pursue my craft.
Luckily for me I have some incredible people In my corner that have helped me tremendously during this time. I’ve also been able to enjoy new life experiences during this phase and just live my life which I feel like before the pandemic, was a rare occurrence for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm8410048/?ref_=nm_mv_close
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/kaylasuttons?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
Image Credits
Photographers: TJ Baker – Brittney Mullins – Katie Parker
