Meet Michelle Kim | Co-Founder of heARTS and Crafts & heARTS and crafts

One of the most difficult decision I had to make was to forgive myself and let go of the past.

I’ve experienced trauma not only in my childhood but also several years back that held me back from living my life in peace. I would replay all the mistakes I made that I could have prevented, all the horrible memories that held me back in fear, the feelings of loneliness and the fear of not being “good enough” to accomplish anything.

It honestly took a long time and a lot of self healing to be able to accept the past and let it go. Therapy helped me in so many ways and opened new doors to self love and the motivation to move forward to live.

Therapy for me came in the traditional way in talking to a Therapist and doing treatments such as EMDR but also the creative way such a crafting. Crafting allowed me to find peace within my mind and body that let me channel my thoughts and emotions. It helped me process the past and helped my discover the new “me”.

I never had the intention of doing what I am doing now. It just all slowly fell into place and now here I am creating.

It started several years back after experiencing one of the most difficult hardship/trauma in my life, I isolated myself from the world. I stopped doing everything. As a mother, I had major “mom guilt” of not being able to be the best version of myself for my boys. I made a decision to start trying to self-heal.

My eldest son was starting Kindergarten and I wanted to find a way to be able to participate and be more apart of his life. I signed up as room mom and my healing journey began. I created an Instagram page called @Wu.nder_days to capture memories of everything I created and slowly it grew and grew. @Wu.nder_days became my creative outlet to help me find my voice and myself again. It wasn’t easy being vulnerable to share my mental health journey. Sharing my mental health journey was one of my biggest fear. I never had said anything out loud for everyone to hear before. I was worried of rejections and hate. But to my surprise, I received nothing but kindness, love, and support.

As @Wu.nder_days grew, I realized that I wanted to do more and make an impact in my community. I knew how therapeutic crafting was not only for me but also my son who also experienced anxiety and depression. The idea of donating craft kits formed and next thing you know heARTS and crafts came into life. heARTS and crafts non-profit focuses on sparking not only creativity in kids but also fostering their mental well-being.

Throughout this entire journey, I’ve learned that time is fleeting and that fear should never hold you back from trying to achieve your dreams. I rather try and fail than not try at all and regret a life time.

If I had a long weekend trip with my best friend, I would love to take them to Steamboat Springs.

Steamboat Springs has always been one of my favorite places to visit to relax and refresh. They offer a variety of scenic activities that make you appreciate Mother Nature. During our weekend stay, we would explore Fish Creek Falls, which is one of my favorite hiking trails. I love watching their waterfalls and listening to the wind whistling in the trees. It is an amazing way to stress relief and reconnect with your mind and body.

We of course, would have to decompress at Strawberry Hot springs. Its a must place to visit. They have studies that shows hot springs provide healing benefits and an amazing way to to reduce stress and promote healthy sleep.

Steamboat Downtown has the best shopping and restaurants. Its so hard to choose just one place to go. We would honestly visit every single shop and place to eat! There is no other way to do it.

I want to dedicate my shoutout to my Husband Wayne. He stood by me through all my hardship. He has been supportive of every single idea, and venture I set myself out to.

The days when I’m in the dark, he stepped up to help me by doing everything and letting me rest and heal. When I needed to cry, he would be there to hug me and listen to me vent.

It’s been a very long journey for the both of us, and I’m so grateful and blessed to be able to have him next to me.