Daily Inspiration: Meet Sophiea Kim

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sophiea Kim.

Hi Sophiea, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always leaned towards creativity. When I was younger, I loved journaling, singing and dancing. But somewhere along the road, a lot of the spark and time for hobbies and creative outlets were suppressed. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my various interests, and how to combine them together as a part of who I am or who I wanted to be. Additionally, the idea of being a “slashie” wasn’t normalized or popular yet.

As I grew older, I craved the liberation, light feeling and joy that I felt as a kid from a creative release. Time was passing by quicker and becoming more precious each day. I decided that the lost hobbies, suppressed creativity and the child-like joy were worth rediscovering, and required more prioritization.

I first began InnerChild Creatives as a self-project shared to a small circle of friends. It was a dedication to my younger self to do everything that I’ve wanted to creatively do but was once afraid to do so. Sharing creative work was something so personal and I didn’t know how to be comfortable with putting it out there for it to be seen.

I always wanted to learn more about photography and practice creative direction, so I arranged concept shoots with local creatives to make it happen. I wanted to journal more and write about young adulthood, and so I did. I wanted to direct film work sharing the beauty of celebrating how you see the world as a creative, so I did.

The goal here wasn’t about just showing the results or the work. The act of doing and sharing my journey of how to be a beginner again at something in your 20’s was to also invite others in my community to rediscover their inner child’s joy and creativity. I’ve grown to find so many friends in my circle who are so talented but have held back on sharing their passion as an adult.

Putting myself out there with my vulnerability and the progress of my journey has led me to meet new like-minded creatives outside of my circle. As the conversation grew, I began collaborating with others to conduct creative industry Clubhouse chats, weekly women’s group meet-ups, workshops, speaking events, and collaborative film work.

The self-project grew to be a cozy community platform for creatives to have a space to talk about creativity, intentionality, and mental health. Then, it transformed to be a collective of local creatives that collaborate on select projects that center around similar values of “coming as you are”, intentionality in life and for your craft, and mental health.

Currently, it is organically growing alongside the new life changes I’m experiencing in my life, and I’m looking forward to where this next takes me.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’ve heard during a sermon that when you ask for patience, you don’t just receive patience. You receive opportunities to grow patience. And in this similar way, the past years have been uncomfortable growing pains with overall happiness when you look back to see how far you’ve come. Gratifying, turbulent yet peaceful.

While there was a learning curve to practice technical skills, I’ve found that my main struggle came from needing to overcome my fear-based inner mindset and voice. I was surprised to find that the root of what stunted me from fully enjoying creativity was the subconscious idea of perfectionism. And how this perfectionism came from my fear of failure, and how that came from very high expectations of myself.

The irony was that my goal for InnerChild Creatives was to find the child-like joy, but my old thinking patterns inhibited me.

Pushing forward again and again to “reprogram” my thinking patterns and forms of mental habit took time. It looks like taking the time to pause and unpack where the emotions, thoughts, or anxiety are coming from. Reframing my thought process, and distinguishing my fear-based mental reality vs. actual present reality have helped me to come further on this journey to enjoy the process of creating, sharing the works, and engaging with others.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m happiest (or most proud) about my collaborative work, the mission behind InnerChild Creatives, and the like-minded creatives I’ve met on through the journey. The message behind my works and the mission behind InnerChild Creatives very simply means to “Come as you are. Allow yourself to heal your inner child (through a creative activity you enjoy) and find that child-like joy.”

When was the last time you had fun and got lost in the moment just to do something creative and fun? Laughed even if it’s silly? Had fun just because it was fun?

When we become older, I feel that the responsibilities of life grow larger and larger, and so there’s always a means to an end.

What InnerChild Creatives hopes for is this: before doing something for others and the world, one thing can be just for yourself – whether it’s writing, doing unique looks with makeup, painting, dancing, drawing, decorating your house, etc.

It can be private or public.

No matter how old you are or how “late” you’ve started your craft, it’s important to live out what you’re passionate about. It doesn’t matter if you do it part-time or if you are self-taught. You are still a creative and can have your space in this world to share what matters to you. It’s not about always being the best that you have a right to do something.

Do it for you if you find joy doing it.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The first, most important lesson in my journey has been learning patience and trusting the process.

I’ve often been so focused and hasty getting to my end result and destination that I needed to remind myself to have fun and enjoy the experiences along the way too.

It’s good to have focus, but it’s also good to have a wider perspective instead of a narrow vision. While heading towards where you think you want to go, there can be little signs from life revealing the need for slight shifts or redirections to where you need to go. And that place may be better for you than what you have initially planned.

The second lesson I’ve learned is the importance of finding contentment.

We’re in a society, especially in Los Angeles, that is always about achieving the next, big thing. There’s high expectations for self, life and career. However, when you reach contentment, you allow yourself to have the most joy and gratitude throughout your everyday life, despite what the external or uncontrollable circumstances may be.

Things do not always go according to all of our plans and desires. When things were out of my control, I found it the most frustrating.

Learning to let go and flow, accepting the lack of control, and finding blessings in the present have been tremendous to my overall happiness, quality of life, and health. The glass is half full, not half empty.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.innerchildcreatives.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innerchild.creatives/

Image Credits:
AIGA Los Angeles (@aigalosangeles)