Who is Kayla Dantley?

Hey hey! My name’s Kayla but you can call me KD.

I wanted to start this blog to feature all aspects of life. Not only just to focus on my own ventures but to resonate with you guys too. I hope that you can find inspiration through my personal perspective of life. I’ve been often told that I can bring the best out of people and that I give good advice. If you can relate to what I reflect on in my blogs and find that my words speak to you, then that’s all I care about at the end of the day as I believe I was put on this earth to connect with others whether it be from a business or personal perspective.

To be completely honest, I struggled to write about myself in this introduction blog because I feel like I’m constantly talking to others about their own lives and barely share my life with others. The gemini in me, born June 11, 1997, tends to hold my emotions in and commonly cover up my feelings with jokes, sarcasm, and inquiring more about other people than speaking on what I’m going through as I tend to keep to myself. I noticed sometimes it is good to get it all out rather than keeping it all in, especially because someone out there can be feeling the same way and is looking for an outlet too. When I have expressed what’s going on in my mind to my best friends, I coincidentally find that 99% of time they can relate to what I’m going through. In 2020, I started journaling more and getting my thoughts out which was helpful so I plan to use this blog to reflect more on my experiences.

I would say that my mentality of wanting to handle stuff on my own stemmed from how I grew up. I am the youngest of 3 kids. My sister is 9 years older than me and my brother is 11 years older than me. If you weren’t already thinking it, yes I was an “Oops” baby. No worries though, my parents have always reassured me that I was a good “oops” lol. In the long run, I’d say this made me more independent because I tended to entertain myself more than relying on siblings that were close in age for entertainment and advice, especially when they went away for college as I approached my teenage years. Although I always wished I had a sibling closer in age to me because I love the relationship my brother and sister have with each other, I learned to find the best in the situation after awhile. It allowed me to learn from their actions and I’d say my parents gave me more freedom. As I got older, I found myself getting closer to my siblings as we started to relate to each other more about life and felt like I could confide in them more. Even though they still try to act like a second set of parents to me at times lol, I wouldn’t want to have it any other way and I love them dearly.

My parents and siblings lived in a couple different states before I was born but we grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland in Montgomery County. I was born in Washington, D.C. but my parents, who are D.C. natives, have lived in our Silver Spring house that we grew up in for years now so Silver Spring will always be home to me.

My parents were highschool sweethearts. My dad went to DeMatha Catholic High School and my mom went to Elizabeth Seton High School and the rest is history, they’ve been married since 1981. My dad, Adrian Dantley, is considered to be a D.C. and NBA basketball legend as he played 15 seasons in the NBA. Firsthand, I do not usually share this with people because I want them to know me for me and not just stereotype me as the baller kid who has things easily handed to them in life. One thing I appreciate about my upbringing is that my dad still taught us to get our own and how to handle money well. Yes of course he has always made sure that we were financially stable but it wasn’t like we were going to get every materialistic thing in life that we wanted. I admire that my parents molded us in this way because it reminds me to remain humble about life, just like they did.

Once again, this is another way my upbringing has made me into the person I am today. I try to remain humble in all situations because the second you start to become full of yourself, life will have an interesting way of putting you back in your place. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but it’s thinking of yourself less, which has made me always tend to be curious about others and how I can help to bring out the best in them.

Trying to bring out the best in people leads me to something I did for 14 years to keep a smile on other people’s faces. I was a cheerleader since I was a little. I started in gymnastics, played basketball and softball as well, and also did some modeling, but cheerleading was what I always stuck with no matter what. After cheering competitively for years, I cheered all four years during my high school year at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, Maryland and was captain my senior year. Then I went on to cheer for two years at University of Maryland College Park, and was also captain, along with my best friend, during our sophomore year. Being a cheerleader for so many years taught me something about life in general.

When you think about it, after a game, the cheer squad is either on the sideline cheering or they’re at the tunnel or bus greeting the players with smiles and chants as they return. Win or lose, their job is to do one thing: cheer. This taught me that you have to remain positive in life even when you’re down in life. If you remember nothing else from this specific blog, then I want you to remember that you need to be the biggest cheerleader in your organization or business. Likewise, I hope that I can be of support to you when you need it!

Now you may be wondering how can KD help you? Well. I graduated from University of Maryland in May 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a focus in Public Relations. If you asked me my senior year of high school what I was doing with my life I would've told you that I was going to University of Georgia to study fashion merchandising as I wanted to be a fashion merchandiser/stylist back then. I even started a fashion blog back then because I always had a passion for fashion, which I still do, but not enough to base my whole career on it.

To be completely honest, I randomly chose to pursue a Communications degree my freshman year of college during the fall 2015 semester at University of Maryland because I still planned on transferring to attend University of Georgia. I had been waitlisted at University of Georgia for Spring 2016 but didn’t want to fall behind on credits so I planned to attend University of Maryland just the first semester. But of course I ended up loving the University of Maryland and stayed. I know I made the right decision in the end because I built so many relationships that I will always carry with me. As I continued in my Communications studies, I noticed how much it interested me and it began to feel like it was my calling.

While my classes interested me, it wasn’t until I started covering events like DC Fashion Week and multiple lifestyle and entertainment events/segments during internship with the local news station at Fox 5 DC that I realized how much I enjoyed crafting ideas and content for brands. I love being able to see the full picture of how the content that I’ve created turns out. Knowing that I’ve been able to help other businesses out with their social presence and seeing their satisfaction with the final product, lets me know that I’ve efficiently done my job.

My friends and family commonly refer to me as their go-to for social media/brand management, as well as content creation. I want to be able to connect with lifestyle and entertainment brands and help their visions for their brand come to life too.

I currently work full-time as a social media coordinator for an educational technology company. I also volunteer on the social media ministry, which I helped to start, at The People’s Community Baptist Church, which I have been a member of since I was christened there as a baby.

When I am not working to improve my skills as the digital diva that I am, I am most likely catching a flight, shopping, exercising, watching the Real Housewives of Atlanta or one of my other favorite TV series, or spending quality time with family and friends. I love all things entertainment and I am always down for a good time.

I can’t wait for you to get to know me better and I hope to connect with you!

-KD