Welcome to this space of coloring and colorful minds!
My name is Alfred Lee (he, him, his). I grew up identifying as a Korean-American Catholic male, so, as you might glean from this, I had quite a lot of catching up to do in terms of emotional intelligence. It certainly is quite the rollercoaster navigating the bicultural world of a Korean household and the Western education system. But hey, here I am on the path to becoming an art therapist, mental health advocate, and artist. Better late than never!

I highly encourage everyone to explore mental health through a creative space. I know that it can be quite daunting to do something “creative” or “artistic.” But before you resign to calling yourself “non-artistic,” please check out my Artist Statement and give me a chance to sway your opinion. We are all artists and I hope to help you realize that. It was, in fact, art and writing that laid the foundations for what would become a turning point in my life. I myself started quite late in terms of “creative” and “artistic” endeavors. I had been convinced that I wanted to become a doctor (I know, the classic stereotypical Asian-American narrative) since I was very young. It took almost dropping out of college, poor mental health, and a ton of reflective writing to realize that this was not my narrative. And so, with the seeds that had been sowed by my first creative endeavor, poetry, I began to write a new narrative for myself. It is by no means finished. But I hope that by sharing with you here the bits and pieces of what I do have so far, I can help you realize and take control of your own narrative.

I hope that by the time you have gone through some of the content here, you will be able to leave behind the false notion that you are not artistic. At the base of this belief, I find that most people are holding their artistic standards to the likes of professionals and legends (like Picasso, Monet, etc). I still have a hard time trying not to compare myself to others. But really what matters in the end is your own growth. And there is no baseline or comparison to measure yourself by. Because there is only one of you in this entire world.

My goal and inspiration for this space is to change the narrative of mental health. To scrape away the gunk of stigmatization, bit by bit, and create a safer, nurturing, and more loving world.

Lastly, I would absolutely love to get to know my readers, as it is to you that I dedicate this space to. The topics and content can come across as very serious and heavy, but at heart, I am a silly person looking to make life a little more silly. So please send me a message (even something as simple as “Hi! Just drank milk as a lactose intolerant and am now regretting it”) and I will get back to you as soon as I can!

Stay safe and healthy during these times!