Story & Lesson Highlights with MaKinlie McRae of Rural Kansas

We recently had the chance to connect with MaKinlie McRae and have shared our conversation below.

MaKinlie, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What are you chasing, and what would happen if you stopped?
I’ve wondered this many times myself. What would life look like if I stopped chasing perfection? If I allowed myself to rest in the unfinished, to find joy in the beautiful mess of becoming. I don’t think I’ve ever fully surrendered to the mystique of not being in control. Perfection has always felt like both a compass and a cage: guiding me toward excellence, yet quietly convincing me that who I am right now is still not enough.

I’m chasing an ideal that doesn’t exist outside my own imagination, a version of myself that’s always just one step ahead. But maybe that’s the point. The pursuit keeps me curious, hungry, alive. Still, I often wonder what would remain if I stopped running. Would I finally meet the woman behind the curtain, the one who exists when the performance ends? And if I did…would I finally believe she was enough to take the stage without the act?

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I was born in Belleville, Kansas, and raised on a small farm tucked between Downs, Osborne, and Tipton. Life in the country gave me plenty of room to imagine and create, and for as long as anyone can remember, I’ve been drawn to expressing myself through art—whether it was fashion, drawing, painting, photography, dance, or performing. Choosing a creative path never really felt like a choice; it was simply who I’ve always been.

My mom is a kindergarten teacher, and my dad, Jason, was a hardworking man who could fix or build just about anything. He also struggled with addiction and passed away when I was fifteen. Losing him to suicide changed me in ways I’m still discovering, but it also deepened my understanding of emotion, empathy, and the importance of honesty in my work.

I graduated from Lakeside High School in Downs, and went on to earn my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from Fort Hays State University, graduating Cum Laude in 2019. I later completed my Master of Fine Arts in Intermedia in December 2022, focusing on Photography, Performance Art, and Graphic Design.

Photography has been a part of my creative life for about ten years now. My work often focuses on texture, dramatic lighting, and the interplay between black-and-white and color editing. At the heart of what I do is a desire to tell stories, both my own and those of others, with honesty and vulnerability. My art is about advocacy, self-discovery, and reclaiming the narrative of who we are. My photography has been shown in galleries across Hays and surrounding communities, including the Moss-Thorns Gallery of Art, the Patricia A. Schmidt Gallery, the Colby Prairie Museum of Art and History, and the Hays Arts Center’s Fortitude and Persistence exhibition.

I currently serve as the Creative Lead for a Kansas-based tech company, where I’ve spent the past three years shaping brand direction through design, photography, and concept development. It’s a role that keeps me challenged and inspired, especially within a team that values creativity and connection.

Outside of my full-time role, I stay connected to my roots through freelance projects that celebrate community and storytelling. Recent collaborations include menu design for Storytellers restaurant in Hays, branding for Oz Branding in Osborne, and a full creative campaign for the city of Plainville. My photography continues to be another avenue for storytelling, allowing me to capture everything from expressive portraits to quiet, everyday moments.

Lately, I’ve been exploring somatic art therapy as a way to bridge emotion and creation more intentionally. The idea of movement as a form of release feels like a natural extension of how I already approach art—intuitive, heartfelt, and rooted in transformation.

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 part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
For a long time, anger was my armor. It kept me sharp, alert, unyielding—a force that protected the parts of me that once felt small or powerless. In its own way, it served me well. Anger taught me how to survive, how to stand my ground when the world felt too heavy to bear. But protection can quietly become confinement.

The more I’ve healed, the more I’ve realized that I no longer need to be edged to be strong. Softness requires its own kind of courage. The kind that lets you stay open even when it hurts. I’m learning to release the version of myself that mistook defensiveness for safety. In its place, I’m choosing gentleness, not as a weakness, but as a radical act of peace.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
I would tell her she isn’t too much. Her light was never meant to be dimmed to make others comfortable. There’s a whole world waiting to meet her exactly as she is, arms open, ready to receive what she has to give.

I would tell her that she will lose things along the way she once thought she couldn’t live without, but to keep going anyway. Every ending will carve space for something softer, truer, more aligned with who she’s becoming.

And when the people who should have understood her don’t, I would whisper that it’s not because she’s broken. She just hasn’t found her people yet. But she will. And when she does, she’ll finally understand why she had to become her own first.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
My response is complicated…both yes and no. I hold authenticity close, almost sacred, because I’ve learned that living truthfully has a way of filtering out what isn’t real. The more rooted I become in who I am, the more I seem to unsettle those still searching for themselves. I’ve made peace with that.

But even in that honesty, I know perfectionism still lingers, quietly working as a shield. It’s the part of me that believes if I can control every detail, I can protect myself from misunderstanding or failure. In truth, I’m the same person in public as I am at home: unafraid to speak up, to stand for what’s right, to be seen. Yet I often wonder who I might become if I gave myself the same grace I offer others. If I loosened my grip, and finally allowed myself the freedom to fail beautifully, humanly, and without apology.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope people say I was generous to a fault. That I never hesitated to lend a hand or a listening ear when someone needed it most. I hope they remember my fierce loyalty, the fire that kept me moving forward even when the path was steep. That I was equal parts kind and intuitive, guided by both heart and instinct.

I hope they speak of my curiosity, my work ethic, and the way I poured myself fully into everything I touched. But more than anything, I hope they remember that I never gave up. That I fought tooth and nail for a life I was proud to call my own. A life built from love, resilience, and the quiet belief that even in the hardest seasons, beauty can still be found.

I think the story of my life, as I live it now, is about learning to trust myself: my instincts, my heart, and my voice. It’s about embracing the messiness of imperfection, the quiet power of vulnerability, and the freedom that comes from letting go of what no longer serves me. I hope the path I leave behind is one of courage: courage to be soft when the world expects hardness, to speak truth when silence feels safer, and to keep moving forward even when the weight of loss, fear, or doubt feels unbearable. If there’s one thread I hope ties it all together, it’s this: that a life lived fully, honestly, and fiercely in pursuit of both justice and joy is a life worth remembering.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.makinliemcrae.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kinliemcrae/profilecard/?igsh=Zzg3MmtqMTZkcnNl
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/makinlie-mcrae-75bb46179?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app