Artist dream

The Artist Dream That Nearly Never Came To Be.

Creativity has always been an integral part of who I am, but this dream of living everyday creating nearly didn't come to be. As with every great story, we start back in the younger years. For me, this takes place in my last year of high school, a time when we had to figure out who and what we wanted to be (a lot of pressure for an 18 year old who has barely experienced the world if you ask me), but the choice for me was clear. An artist.

"But you won't make money as an Artist!"

As I shared with friends and family about my decision halfway through my senior year, there was a mix of responses. For many they agreed this was the obvious choice for me but for a few of those closest to me, there response was a fear based one, a response deeply rooted in the stigma of the "starving artist" stereotype. "You won't make money as an Artist". These words completely derailed my decision, after all how was I supposed to live a successful adult life if I couldn't even financially support myself? 

So I put the dream on the backburner, choosing instead a trade that had a some amount of creativity, Beauty therapy (with a vision to specialize in make up but that too didn't quite happen).

I spent 6 years in the beauty industry but I just couldn't shake the feeling this wasn't the path for me. I eventually left the industry and decided to go back to study my Bachelor of Fine Art instead as a 'mature age' student. Finally I was taking steps towards the career I always wanted, finally I could call myself a 'real' artist.

But 3 months into the 4 year long course I was starting to feel that this also wasn't for me. 4 years and a hell of a lot of money to develop my style and find my creative voice was looking less and less appealing just to be able to title myself a "legitimate artist" (hello imposter syndrome). So I left (or as I like to say, became an art school dropout ha!) and decided to find my artistic voice in the world that I draw inspiration and interpretation from, and save myself a hell of a lot of money along the way.

So I did just that and with each year growing my style and skills. I claimed the title and started responding to the question "what do you do for work?" with a simple;

"I am an Artist" 

  It took me a while to take up space in the areas I wanted to be, especially with imposter syndrome coming in hot, but your time on this earth is far too precious to not be who you want to be, or at the very least try.

Oh and for those wondering, those in my life who had concerns and tried persuading me not to pursue this 'struggling artist' life, are now some of my biggest supporters. 

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