During the pandemic, I was struggling. After graduating from college in 2019, I had an amazing job offer fall through because of the lockdown. I felt completely rudderless at a time when I thought I had it all figured out. Since we were all stuck inside together for months, there was no hiding my internal distress from my family. 

Fortunately, my parents recognized this even more than I did. That year, they gave me a gift that pulled me out of that pit, reignited my passion for creating, and set the journey in motion that led me to my career today as a professional creator and video producer. That gift was the Cricut Explore, and this device literally changed my life.

What is the Cricut Explore?

For those of you who don’t know, Cricut Explore machines let you design and cut tons of materials like vinyl, cardstock, iron-on, and even leather into custom patterns that you can use for shirts, hats, or any other DIY projects that you might have in mind. 

Able to work with over 100 materials, the Cricut Explore line allows you to create almost anything you want on demand in a user-friendly, inexpensive way. The cost-effective aspect was huge for me, as I had almost zero money to my name and all the time in the world to learn. Since the Cricut Explore works via Bluetooth or USB, I was able to create custom items on request for people, featuring specialized materials and designs that would normally take weeks or months to complete. 

The Cricut took on a pivotal role in my creative process. It led to the creation of XtarBoy Apparel, my custom apparel company, which would eventually support me throughout the entire pandemic. I made custom shirts for yoga studios, limited-run apparel and merch for micro-influencers, and even inked my first sponsorship deal for a motorsport racing team in San Diego.

The Cricut also introduced me to an important business mentor in my life. As I was trying to get XtarBoy off the ground, I had quietly taken on a job at a local auto-tinting place in San Diego, and the owner took a liking to what I was working on. He would request custom shop merch and team gear, and was one of the biggest supporters of my side project when I had almost zero faith in myself. He even set aside a corner of the shop for the Cricut, so I could print things for customers whenever I had one, and let me use the shop as a storefront for all my designs. Later, the gifting came full circle when my mom released her first book series, as I was able to help her with promotion and marketing by making custom merch to pair with the book.

Gifts can have lasting value

Sometimes we take the gifts we receive for granted. There can be an expectation that they should be the newest device, the latest collab, or the most expensive item in order to be considered a “good gift.” But for me, the greatest gift I got wasn’t just the Cricut itself, but the opportunities and experiences it opened up for me to create, take risks, and challenge myself in a new and exciting way. And at the core, that’s what a holiday with heart truly represents.