Meet Kaelin Tharpe | Mental Health Advocate & Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kaelin Tharpe and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kaelin, how do you think about risk?
Since I was young I have always been a risk taker! If you’re not taking risk you’re not truly receiving all life has for you. Now I’m not saying go and do something crazy but I am saying we miss 100% of the opportunities we don’t take. Risk has definitely played a major role in my blog (Kontrol) and my writing. It has allowed me to be super transparent and honest about parts of me that I didn’t think people would accept. Talking about mental health as a whole is very taboo but then you break it down and you get into the matter of being a person of color and talking about mental health. Which definitely has its own kinks to work out. I think it’s important that we have these conversations even if we’re scared. I took the initiative and did just that. I have learned that my decision to be open has allowed for other people to be honest as well. I get messages all the time from people telling me they’ve experienced the same thing or just thanking me. That’s what helps me feel like I am doing the right thing. I took risk! So why shouldn’t the next person?

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I created a blog called Kontrol or GainingKontrol and it is a collection of my journaling all the way from 2018 wrapped up into these different subject matters or volumes as I like to call them. I talk about everything from Depression to Anxiety, to moving out of our comfort zones to losing friendships! It is really a bunch of things wrapped into one but always try to focus on the “How’s your mental?” Part of things. Letting people know that our decisions and the things that we go through don’t define us. They may shape us but they don’t define us. Most importantly to let people know “Hey, me too!” I definitely ran into problems! A major one was deciding if I wanted to share this with the world. I have always had a passion for writing since I was in elementary school. I would write plays and poems all the time. The writing part was never the the thing holding me back. It was alway the idea of what would people think when they read this? Am I going to be judged? Will people look at me differently. So many questions to ask myself. Like I stated earlier I took the risk and I did it! Despite all the reservations I had about doing it. What helped me build up the courage to just do it was a lot of prayer and my friends giving me the motivation that I needed to just do it. At the end of the day the only thing that was holding me back was me. I’ve learned so much in the past year but I think the most important lesson I’ve learned is to be open. So much of my growth and my happiness has stemmed from my blog. I not only get to write and get things off my chest but I get to hear from other people who are like “omg me too!” Which helps you feel like you’re not the only one whose dealt with this. I would like the world to know that I don’t want to just be another person who talks about mental health I want to be a person who does something about it. I want to create a safe space for people to be comfortable and tell their stories. In what ever way is most comfortable to them. This generation is a generation of people working on ourselves and bettering ourselves and I think that is just amazing!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh gosh! It’s so much to do. We’ll start with Food. I would definitely hit up Fellini’s Pizza the pizza is fresh and always delicious. Bar Taco is also another one of my favorites the Duck Taco and the margarita are everything! If you have a sweeth tooth Jeni’s Ice Cream is definitely a good fix. Just make sure you get the Frose or the Gooey Butter Cake. If you’re looking for something to do in the night time but something very chill The Consulate is a super cool place and the menu changes every month or so and they explore a continent and play with different recipes but also the drinks are top tier. There’s also Pasha Restaurant and Bar (they have everything). If you are the outdoorsy type then I definitely say checkout Roswell Mill, Stone Mountain, or Kennesaw Mountain. There are so many cool gems in Atlanta, so I recommend taking a nice stroll around Old 4th Ward and Little 5 Points.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to thank my tribe for always being there, pushing me, and supporting me! I love you guys!

Instagram: https://instagram.com/gainingkontrol?igshid=aa63af2xg1se