We are BACK to finish our interview with Kim Collins! Are you ready for MORE?! If you haven’t read part 1, you MUST go back and read to get the first part of this interview with Kim. Grab a cup of coffee – or a glass of sweet tea – and pull up a chair for part 2!
Photo by Dawn Chapman Whitty
- Our Magazine is called Unconditionally Her (NEW+YOU). Because of your cancer journey, you birthed your blog “The Warrior & the Wishbone.” This is clearly part of your Unconditionally Her life – a 2nd Act perhaps. What made you create a blog and what do you hope to accomplish?
I have never blogged before, and never considered myself that kind of a writer, as it’s such a different world to my songwriting. But I started blogging because so many of my friends and family were curious as to what I was doing and it was so foreign to most of them. After many requests and much encouragement, I decided to go public with my story. A journal of sorts for me, and a sharing tool for those in need, for those who were curious or didn’t know where to begin in the holistic cancer world. At first, The Warrior and The Wishbone was simply a few posts documenting what type of treatments and protocols I was doing, but the more I got into it, and the more I saw that I was a vessel for people that needed to drink in some health knowledge, it expanded into a health blog where I would share my raw food recipes or health facts. I don’t really post on a regular basis, but it’s there as a resource for anyone interested in reading about what I did to cure my cancer. I felt it was my duty to share the information that Scott and I learned so much about; as I know how hard it is to study and find the resources in the alternative cancer world. There’s so much involved.
As a result of my blog, numerous public speaking requests, and being emailed daily for natural health advice from around the world, I now offer Health and Wellness Coaching/Consulting. It’s called Own Your Ohm Health, as I believe we should all feel the empowerment of taking our health into our own hands and educating ourselves as to what we are putting into our bodies. I plan on unveiling my health coaching website and a more comprehensive blog this year. (www.ownyourohmhealth.com)
- Tell us some of the unique challenges your diagnosis brought to your life and how you those challenges now provide a Unconditionally Her inspiration for you moving forward.
Being a musician and living a good portion of the year on the road brought up several hurdles for me with my new regimen, especially dietary. I basically had to stock up on a lot of my healthy foods before we would leave town, and have a separate suitcase for all of my herbs and such. I learned to find ways on the road to make it easier though. There are great phone apps out there that help you find healthy food options on road trips. Those came in so handy! Also, being a daily green juicer, we found places along the interstate like, of all places, Starbucks that sold good quality brand of cold press juices. While not ideal, as cold press juicing will never replace the real deal, it certainly is better than nothing. Also, there are natural food markets in just about every city these days, so that was our go-to for organic and raw foods as well as fresh juices. Point here: YOU CAN MAKE IT WORK WITH NO EXCUSES. That takes dedication. And that dedication gave me inspiration knowing if I can eat healthy on the road (without taking a famous chef along for the ride, lol) I can do almost anything!
In moving forward, as a band, my and Scott’s songwriting deepened to a level that only something like facing cancer can do to a couple. Our record that will be released later this year is filled with songs inspired by our victorious dance. It’s an up beat rocker for the most part, not a downer of an album as one would expect.
- You are a very accomplished artist, businesswoman and entrepreneur in the music industry. You have created longevity in an industry that for many can be limited. What is the best part of this Unconditionally Her life for you and how do you see that enhancing the landscape of your career in the future?
I think the best part of my new life after cancer is that I don’t wait around for things to come to me anymore and I truly try to live each day to the fullest, as trite as that may sound. My eyes have been opened. You are NEVER the same after cancer. Never. I could not imagine loving life more than I did prior to my diagnosis, as I was always a positive and loving person, but life does seem sweeter now. I do admit to have gone through a time of post-cancer depression, a kind of PTSD. But that has subsided and has only made me stronger. I feel like now I know my body and myself better. I believe with this new outlook in my life, the landscape of my career in the future will only continue to grow greener. 😉 But I don’t search for success… I just want to live a happy life doing what I love doing with the ones I love doing it with. That is success to me.
- Kim, you speak about making changes. Someone reading this will no doubt be inspired by that type of drive and may encourage them to make some much needed changes in their life. What advice can you offer them?
Always listen to your gut and your intuition. If you are unhappy with something, whether it is a job or a relationship, then take charge of your own life and change what is making you unhappy.
Maybe this journey in life isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about unbecoming everything that isn’t really you, so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.
- In your blog, The Warrior & The Wishbone, you stated, “For me, survivorship is learning how to take charge of my life and to take better care of myself, to appreciate every moment and to be grateful.” Any final thoughts on this statement?
If surviving cancer means I get a second chance at life, I refuse to make the same mistakes again. I refuse to dishonor my life and those who love me (and prayed for my recovery) by not taking control of my health and insuring that cancer does not return. Living a stress free life is a part of that commitment for me, as stress is the number one reason cancer is an epidemic in the world, thus I will try my best to appreciate every moment of this second chance living in this world.
My cancer will not return, but if (god forbid) it does, than at least I know I tried my hardest and that I was happy.
