Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Hi, thank you for listening to Chasing Life, a podcast aimed to help encourage you to chase a positive, healthy, and fulfilling life. I'm your host, Sarah Kane, and I'm so grateful you decided to join me. I'm a single 30-something dog mom, runner, and higher educational professional.
After struggling with a quarter-life crisis where I learned a lot about myself, I pursued and earned my MBA, got the good job, bought a house, but still struggle with fulfillment and continue to chase goals in running my career and life. I feel called to share what I've learned and continue to learn in the hopes that my story and tips will help make an impact on your day and help you feel less alone. Let's chase life together.
Welcome to another episode of Chasing Life. I'm your host, Sarah, and today's guest is Kara Conrad. Kara and I met a few years ago at a local SUNY Oswego alumni event. Kara is a native of Dryden, New York, and first began her broadcasting career in May of 2015 at WBNG in Binghamton. In September of 2016, Kara created an afternoon talk show called Around the Tears until September of 2019.
She recently started her own podcast, More Than Music, where she has candid conversations with up-and-coming musicians, singers, and songwriters local to Central New York and across the country. We talk about her career changes, her journey to starting a podcast, self-care Sundays, and staying true to yourself. I hope you enjoy our conversation. Hi, Kara. Thank you for joining me today.
Thank you for having me. I'm so excited. It's been a while since we've spoken, really. Yes, it has. And so much has changed for you. So why don't you tell me what's going on in your life? Oh my goodness. Yeah, so much has changed. And honestly, so much is changing just as we're speaking now.
don't even know how long ago we saw each other, but the last time we were probably like in Oswego or something. And so since then I worked for WBNG, which is a news station in Binghamton. And then from there I contract ended and I just was...
Wondering what I was going to do next, I knew that I wanted to do something different. So I went into marketing for a furniture company called Stickley in Syracuse, and I ended up not loving that. So one of my friends from WB&J that worked there, Esperanza, she told me about the Red Cross. And so I applied for a job at
with the Red Cross in Liverpool. And I absolutely love what I'm doing now. I'm an account manager for St. Lawrence County and a couple of places in Jefferson County, Clayton and Alexandria Bay. And
I just absolutely love working for the Red Cross and doing what I'm doing now. And then with that, I started to miss hosting. So I wanted to start a podcast last year sometime. And I was like, you know what? I'm just going to pull the trigger where I'm working from home now. I have a little bit of free time. So I started a podcast and I moved to Henderson Harbor, New York a year ago. There's just so many things. Yeah.
Yeah, I guess I didn't even realize that you were working for the Red Cross. So what do you do as an account manager? So as an account manager, I basically manage all of the blood drives that happen in St. Lawrence County. And we have great volunteers and sponsors who...
who volunteer to host these blood drives. So at schools and churches and community centers and the people in the North country are just absolutely amazing. So I manage all of those blood drives that are in the area and help them recruit donors to come and donate and work with the volunteers. And so it's a really fun job. There's a lot more to it, but it's so hard to explain. So that's pretty much
much just the basic of it. Yeah. Then thank you for sharing that. Cause I feel like you kind of have this like behind the scenes of what goes into blood drives and I'm sure that people have seen Red Cross blood drives, but they don't know all of the behind the scenes that goes into it. And so it sounds like you're kind of the
the ringleader and coordinating all of those things. Yeah, no. But it's also like community service and fulfilling work because blood drives are just so important to our healthcare industries. And so that's really neat that you're involved in that. Yeah, especially now too, because we're able to test for,
COVID-19 antibodies. So people who come back and have the antibodies, they can actually go and donate plasma. And then that plasma, we can take those antibodies and use them to help people with COVID-19, which is absolutely amazing. Just one unit of blood could save up to three people's lives, which is crazy to me. And you can see where your blood goes after you donate and stuff. So it's a really cool process. Yeah. There's a lot that goes into it that I didn't even realize because when I was in high school, we had blood drives. I...
didn't like it. I don't like having my blood taken, but it's a little bit different when you're donating, but I was also too small to even donate. So yeah, it's cool to see the behind the scenes and really goes into that. So I've been doing that for, it'll be a year on February 4th, I believe that I've been working for the Red Cross. I was the same way as you as my weight. I was like right on the cusp of the minimum weight when I was in high school, even in college. And so I was like, I don't think
Yeah. Donate blood. And then because I'm so active and running and training for half marathons and marathons is I honestly have never donated blood because of how much takes out of my body. It's like the energy. And so do you have any advice on what the ideal donor is? Well,
there's really not an ideal donor. I mean, any blood type can donate. It's hard because we do do it at high schools and 16 year olds donate blood, which is amazing. And I think that's so great that they do that. So there's not really the ideal donor. Really anybody can donate. Obviously there are,
things that like health history and all everything that you have to go through, which that's before you donate blood. So then our staff will tell you if you're able to or not in that time, or you can go on rapid pass. We have a rapid pass before you donate and see and answer all those health history questions. So you don't have to actually go to the blood drive and get
spend that time going there. So there's not an ideal donor. I mean, we do have the power red donors, which you have to be a certain blood type. And then for females, you have to be a certain height and weight. And then for males, you also have to be a certain height and weight and power. Reds are double red cells. So they count as two.
So that's nice. But that also, that takes more out of you than the normal blood donation. I didn't expect us to go down the path of blood drives and donations or anything like that. But on a more positive note, with all the career changes that you've had, or
Are there any tips that you have about career advice or just pursuing different endeavors that you'd like to share? So there's so many things that I feel like I've learned throughout the journey. One is like really staying true to yourself and you don't really have to know exactly what you want, but having those goals. And I was only with the furniture company for a couple of months and I was like, you know what?
I don't like this. It's not vibing with me. So I just pivoted and I chose another career path and it ended up being great. And I thought I was going to be in broadcasting for the rest of my life, but that lifestyle and the amount that you get paid is not sustainable for myself. So I think the biggest thing was staying true to myself because I really struggled during that time. I'm like, oh,
like, you know, I really love and this is what I went to school for. And should I stay in broadcasting, but it's not sustainable salary. And I don't want to move every two years. So I think I just really had to figure out what I really wanted. And at the core and career aside, like, what do I want? Do I want to stay in New York and stay near my family? And ultimately, the answer was yes, for me. I'm the same way. And my parents live 10 minutes away from me. And I work
As you know, at a university and sometimes working in higher education, mentors or bosses will say you need to be open to moving in order to advance your career. And at this point in my life, I'd rather stay close to my family than worry about some promotion that may or may not make me happy.
Exactly. But being around my family makes me happy. So totally agree. Thank you for sharing that advice. I think it's sometimes so hard for people to be open to different career paths that maybe they didn't go to school for because they feel an obligation to stay in a career field that they spent a few years getting their degree. Right. And then they find out that it didn't actually make them happy.
You're a proof that it's okay to kind of expand away from that. There's still skills, I'm sure, from your communication and networking and your interpersonal skills that you've gained from being in broadcasting that have helped you in your career now. Oh, absolutely. Oh, yeah. A lot of my interpersonal skills from that communications experience
And from that broadcasting career that I had, like you said, it's definitely transitioned because I'm still working with so many people, like the sponsors and everything that I work with in St. Lawrence County and constantly talking to them and helping them. And it's great to have those interpersonal skills that I gained from broadcasting and doing interviewing and things like that. So yeah, it's definitely transitioned very well into my new role at ThreadCross. I love just hearing about your involvement in such a
beneficial organization too. I think a lot of people realize like the behind the scenes or just all of the work, someone has to do it. And so it's great to just personally know someone who is involved in such a renowned organization. Thank you. On a different note, transitioning from careers, what's something that you are obsessed with right now? Oh gosh, something I'm obsessed with right now. Does it have to, can it be like a TV show? It can be anything. Oh, absolutely. Okay. So right now I'm so obsessed with, uh,
It's called Homeland. It's with Claire Danes and I'm obsessed with it.
I just love the show and been around for a while. So I think the first season was in like 2011 or 2012 or something, but yeah, Homeland. I'm also obsessed with yoga right now and meditation just because I struggle a lot with anxiety. So that's been kind of like an outlet for me and I've dabbled in yoga a little bit, but I never got super into meditating, but now I've been doing it every day. Same thing with yoga. And yeah, I, I'm obsessed with those three things right
And obviously I'm always obsessed with my dog. I can totally relate to you, dog mom. Yes. Are there any particular apps that you use for yoga and meditation? I use Yoga with Adrienne and she's absolutely amazing. I love her. Like she's fantastic.
such a good yoga instructor. And she's so fun and she's so funny and she'll sing. I don't know. She's just awesome. And the practices can be short or they can be long if you want. She does 30-day yoga journeys and stuff like that. But I just go on there and I pick which one I'm feeling like morning yoga or a wind down yoga or a five-minute yoga or something. And that's been really helpful. And then
for my meditation actually through the Red Cross. And this is another great thing about the organization. I'm sorry to be talking about them so much, but there's Headspace. And so they have paid for a membership for everybody in the Red Cross to get Headspace if they want to. So I've been using Headspace for meditation, but before that I was using Aura and that's free. I've heard of Headspace.
And I think just in the last nine months, I feel like focusing on mental health or having tools to improve your mental health, to take care of ourselves has become much more vital. So that's great to hear that you found two things that have really helped you to stay centered and take care of yourself as well. I think mental health is...
slowly has been gaining traction in general for people, especially right now. I mean, just with the pandemic hitting and everything almost a year ago, I think that really brought mental health to the forefront for people, which is great because I think mental health is so important. And just struggling with certain things that I have just throughout my life, I think it
it makes you better aware of yourself. And then it's like training your brain, like just like you exercise, people exercise, it's exercising your brain, which is so important too. Yes. Thank you for sharing that and sharing the benefit that it's made for you. Yeah, it's great. I love it.
So tell us about your podcast. Oh, yeah, absolutely. So I love music in general. I mean, growing up, my grandfather, who we call Baki, would play guitar and sing out in the backyard. My dad was always in a band playing the drums. And I've always enjoyed...
singing. I'm a closeted singer because I don't like to sing in front of people. It's just like family that I've sang in front of. And I was in chorus in high school and I was in the band when I was in middle school and I played the drums too, but I decided to stop doing that because I was all the way in the back with percussion and nobody could see me. So that was my issue. And
And I guess that led to the life in front of the camera for me, which is kind of funny to look back on. But I digress. So anyway, when I worked at WB&G, I wanted to have local artists
on to the show and interview them and have them play a song live and stuff like that. So through that, I met a lot of musicians and Cortland and near where I'm from, Dryden has so many different musicians and they're amazing musicians. And so I've just really loved music my entire life. I think it just has a way of speaking to people and putting into words your feelings that you can't put into words yourself.
So I was originally going to name the podcast Nashville Stops Here because that was where I was getting a lot of musicians from. I was partnering with Grace Musicians Group and also a distillery called Waterman's Distillery in Appalachian. And so they were bringing me a lot of amazing artists.
on the show. And so when I left WB&G, I was really trying to find something while I was working at Stickly because this job is not making me happy. I want to do something that's going to make me happy. And I loved hosting and I love speaking to people and I loved getting people's music out there and helping other people, however, that music could help them. And so I
I did that and I was like, you know what? It just didn't pan out. The timing didn't pan out. So in December, I was like, I really want to do this podcast. Like I'm going to do it. So I was like, when am I going to name it? So I came up with all these names and I was like, more than music, more than music podcast. Yeah. Because I,
it's more than the music for a lot of people. Like the lyrics, they connect to the songwriter, they connect to the different types of music that they hear and stuff like that. So I named it More Than Music. And then I reached out to the people that I knew. So
Rachel Beverly, she's an amazing singer, songwriter in the Cortland area, Cortland, Ithaca area. And she was my first guest because she's just the first person I thought of because I love her mashups that she does. And so you'll hear about that in the first episode if you listen to the podcast about her mashups and just the way her mind works is amazing. And then
I've had Chris Merkley. He was just my recent episode. He is really revitalizing the Cortland music scene and bringing the music scene to Cortland and has these two venues that are going to be opening up after the pandemic, you know, kind of slows down a little bit. And he's been in the music business for 20 plus years. And he was a great, great person. I've interviewed Rob McCall of all poets and heroes. And that was actually somebody that recommended I, uh,
reach out to him and talk to him. And that interview was just so profound, super philosophical. And I just love that kind of deep connection and conversation that you have with people. So his was great. And then a couple of episodes that haven't been released yet, I interviewed Sydney Irving. And she's a 17-year-old girl who is just mind-blowing. And I just can't wait to see where her career goes. She's amazing. She's just wise beyond her years. And then...
Gary Carpentier. He was another interview I did, which hasn't been released yet. Most people might know him from The Voice. He was on, gosh, I can't remember what season, but he was on Team Adam Levine.
So I interviewed him and then let's see. Gosh, I feel like I have all these people and I can't remember. Oh, Tessa Dizuba. So she's from the Binghamton area and she lives in Nashville, Tennessee. I interviewed her as well. I feel so happy and it brings me so much joy, this podcast. I just love it. It's my passion project, I guess you'd call it. So I do it on the side and it's great. I love it.
That's great. And it sounds like you are really off to a running start with so many guests. I'm lucky. You've released a few episodes so far with a few more already lined up. So that's awesome that you took that leap to start a podcast. I know how scary that can be that you just feel like something is like eating away at you. You're like, I really want to start a podcast. I don't know how, but let me just try it and see where it goes. And
If you have that nagging feeling, the only way to silence is to do something about it. So I give you so much credit for following that instinct and for pursuing something that you're so passionate about. Because I think a lot of people hold back on doing that because they're afraid they're going to fail. But the only failure is if you don't try at all. On Anchor, you get the analytics and stuff of...
the podcast. And so when I like obsessively look at it, I'm like, Oh, only this many people have looked at it. But then as a whole, like over 200 people listened to the podcast. I think it's so cool. Cause this wasn't something that I'm like, I don't want to do this.
for monetization because I have a job. So this was just like for fun and something that I really love. Like I said, my passion, something that I really love and something that really, I found this podcast is called Be You Sis Podcast. And it's with Kylie and Lauren Farrell and their sisters. I really love the podcast and they have like this little Zoom gals Facebook group that they do and they have the Instagram and stuff. So I was like, you know what?
I'm just going to reach out to her. And I want to get involved in this little Zoom gals thing. And I crave a female connection. I think it's so important. And to have that group of people that you can talk to and women that you can talk to. And so I reached out to her and we've become friends. I would say good friends. And I was just texting her before the podcast today. And she's super helpful when I'm talking to her about my anxiety and stuff like that. So
They started that podcast. And so I asked her, I was like, Hey, how did you start your podcast? Cause I really want to start a podcast. So she really helped me. I told me about anchor and that I'm like, you know what? I'm just going to do it. I'm going to go for it. And if it fails, it fails, but I don't think it will because I know so many musicians that I have the content. So I knew I was going to be able to have the content and I knew people would listen. And from the Cortland area, because a lot of the artists is from Cortland because that's where I'm from. So yeah,
that's my audience really. So I was like, well, I know I'll have at least my family and friends listen. So that's a group of 10. Like I said, I love it and fills my soul up for sure.
That's so great. And I can definitely hear the passion you have for it. I can't wait to listen to future episodes and just continue to watch you grow and pursue that. Thank you. I appreciate it. One last question to wrap it up. I really enjoyed our conversation, by the way. What does it mean to you to chase life?
Oh boy. So I've been thinking about this question. To chase life, I think is to pursue what's going to make your heart happy and fill up your soul and to stand up for yourself, whether it be to somebody else that you disagree with or to...
advocate for yourself if you're feeling some sort of way for myself, having anxiety and everything. I was like, you know, I really have to advocate for myself and take action and do something about it. So going to therapy and doing meditation, doing yoga and being proactive to help myself. So I think chasing those things and loving yourself, I think that's really important too. And that's something that
I've had to learn throughout my life in college. Only five and a half years ago, I felt really depressed sometimes. And I feel like I've come a long way. I've figured out more of myself through the years. And that's...
taken a lot of hard times and a lot of difficult times, but I feel like now at 29, almost 30, I feel like I finally am in the best place ever.
I've ever been in my life. And it's funny because a lot of people, I think I've said your 30s will be the best time of your life and that's when you'll really be happy and that's when you'll really figure yourself out. And I'm like, no, I'll figure myself out. I know myself already. When you're that young, you're like, no, I know everything and I'm fine and I'm great and my life's wonderful. And
Just looking inside yourself, it's eye-opening and it just feels like a weight's been lifted, I guess. And I'm always striving to be better and I'm never going to stop learning and I'm never going to stop learning.
growing and everything. So at this point in my life, I feel like this is the happiest I've ever been, regardless of my anxiety and things like that, because I'm learning to accept that part of myself and not try and push it away and be like, no, I can't have anxiety. And just telling myself that it's okay. So I think that's what really chasing life is to me is
figuring out yourself and doing things for yourself that are going to fill you up and make you love yourself. And that's the answer that I have. Thank you so much for sharing that. I can really relate to a lot of things you said. And when I kind of settled on chasing life for the name of my podcast, that was my intention of, yes, it kind of has a
a shared connection with running, chasing, but also learning and growing and pursuing things in life that make you happy. And those are all things that I really value. And it's great that you're making that same connection and that other people think the same thing when they're trying to define what chasing life is. Yeah, I love that. And it's hard. It can be hard. Life can be really hard and it throws you different things and you just got to
slowly crawl. If you have to crawl, crawl through them and get on the other side of them and be a better person at the end of it. Absolutely. And it's also hard to silence other people's feedback to you on how you should be living your life and talking about going into your 30s. So I'm 33 now. And I feel like over the last couple of years, I've been really able to just settle on things that
I'm doing that make me happy, not things that I was doing because it was making other people happier. They were saying, well, you should be doing this. You should be doing that. It's like, no, I need to do things that I want to do. That's what chasing life means to me. I love that. Yeah, it's so true. And I feel the same exact way. Stop letting other people's issues and feelings affect you because-
That has nothing to do with you. That's their stuff. You need to focus on yourself. There's nothing wrong with helping other people, but letting their energy, whether it be negative energy or whatever, you know, positive energy, obviously good, but letting their negative energy affect your energy. I've definitely created boundaries. That's important too, is having boundaries and not having other people.
affect you. Absolutely. And it is really hard to drop the boundaries too, because you want to help people, but at the same time, you're like, well, I have to take care of me too. And the tough thing about somebody might be negative is that you can only do so much for them until they need to take that step and actually help themselves too. So telling those boundaries. And I just want to say one more thing. I know, like, I feel like this is so long winded for me, but I'm so passionate about this too. If your cup isn't full, you can't help
other people fill theirs. I totally agree with that. And there it's exercise to take care of yourself or meditation to also take care of yourself, sleep, right nutrition, or that quiet time, that self-care time, you know, just going for a walk around the block and spending time in nature. Those are all things to take care of yourself. Yes. Being in those things. And it's, I do self-care Sundays and my
My friends now do it and they're like, I really have to do the self-care Sunday that Kara does. You know, I put on a face mask and I do a hair mask and I paint my toenails and I paint my nails if I want to. I do what I want to on Sundays. And so even if it's a 15 minute face mask, do what makes you happy and do what's going to fill up your cup. Because that's so important is because if your cup is full, like I said, you can help other people fill their cups and don't let somebody else pour out your cup either. Yeah.
That's such great advice. Thank you for sharing. I feel like we can go for a lot longer. I really enjoyed our conversations. It's been so great to catch up with you and just hear about what's going on in your life and how you are chasing life and your goals and continuing to grow and take care of yourself through self-care Sundays and meditation and yoga. I can't wait to check out more of your podcast episodes and I'll definitely link that in the show notes. Yeah, yours too. I'm so excited.
Thank you. You're welcome.
Is there anything else you'd like to add or ask me to wrap this up? I don't think so. I mean, like you said, I feel like we could talk for hours about this. I feel like I've just learned so much throughout my life just so far. And it's been a short one so far. I mean, 29 years seems like a long time, but it's not in the grand scheme of things because you're a child and then you're a teenager and think you know everything and then you're in your 20s. And I think life is just starting. Yeah.
I agree. Yeah, there's so much to learn. And you're close to 30. I just have to say, like, from my experience, the 30s have been my best decade. So have that thought forward too. It's not a bad thing anymore.
No, it's not. I don't think it is at all. My brother, when I turned 30, he wrote in my birthday card, this will be your best decade. And he's been right. His 20s are so like tremulous with getting out of college and you're like trying to figure out what job to pursue. And then 30s is where you can actually start to enjoy your hard work. I love that. That's so true. Thank you again for being a guest on my podcast. Thank you for asking me. I love this. It was part of my self-care Sunday. I think it's amazing. Thank you.
Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed today's episode, please be sure to subscribe and leave a review. I would love to hear from you. Even better, take a screenshot and tag me in your Instagram stories at SarahChasingLife.