Hi! I’m Kim, the brains behind Kim on a Limb. I grew up in the Air Force for twenty years, but the American southwest is my home (#desertrat). In July of 2016 I graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho with my bachelors degree in English. Since 2018 I’ve been working in the mental/behavioral health and medical fields. Since then I’ve wanted to find a way to marry these two passions. In an effort to do so, I decided to create a blog where people can come to find comfort, understanding, and hope as they travel on their journey in life while having a chronic illness.

So why Kim on a Limb?

My entire life I’ve felt a little bit … different. As a kid I didn’t feel like I fit in. I was a homebody and very introverted. (I still am, but I’m not terrified of talking to people anymore.) Doing anything new by myself made me uneasy. But as I’ve grown up, life has taken me on a series of adventures that have pushed me far out of my comfort zone:

• working at a fast food restaurant in junior college
• going to college in Idaho
• serving an 18-month volunteer mission for my church where I had to learn Spanish
• participating in a 3-week study abroad to England
• volunteering as an English teacher in Mexico for 4 months

Throughout all of these experiences, I’ve felt like I’ve been pushed out on the limb of a tree. It’s somewhat scary seeing the ground from so high up and at times I’m afraid I’m going to fall. Sometimes I do, but I’m always able to pick myself back up. I’ve had to learn – and am still learning – how to rise above the negativity in my life. I learned that being different is a blessing. Though I’ve felt out on a limb most of my life with my personality, many people have expressed gratitude at my courage to voice my opinions and be myself.

What’s my goal?

Not too long after returning from my mission, I came across a quote that has stuck with me:

Be the love you never received.

Rune Lazuli

I’m not gonna lie, I tend to misquote it in my mind a lot and say “light” instead of “love.” But both work. I know what it’s like to have people not take my mental illness seriously, or invalidate it, or put me down. I know what it’s like for people to not know how to act around me because of my bipolar, so they brush everything under the rug or turn a blind eye. I know what it feels like to fall between the cracks. I hate those feelings, and I don’t want anyone else to feel them. I made a promise to myself that I never wanted people to walk alone in the dark like I had.

My goal is to uplift and inspire, and I hope you feel such during your visit here.

Welcome to my little corner of the universe.