The same old question
This is exactly why I didn't go to art school. My mom didn't shove a briefcase in my hand, but after I got old enough to think about art as something other than a hobby my parents started to discourage me from pursuing it further. It's a nice hobby, I was told, but it's no way to make a living. How can anyone make a good living being an artist? Business is the way to go.Funny thing is, when I was a kid they encouraged me to be as artistic as possible. I won poetry contests, my paintings were entered in competitions, I always took dance classes and played musical instruments. I was allowed to be the creative little kid I was. But as I got older and practicality became a more important virtue those things fell away.
Fast forward 20 years... I'm in the "business world" and I'm miserable about it. Looking back now, I see clearly that I'd trade a comfortable salary for a much lower one if it meant I'd feel a bit fulfilled.
*postcard from postsecret*
Labels: creativity, family, sad, woof
jotted down by Melissa at 2/04/2008 09:27:00 AM
4 What people are saying:
I definitely hear what you are saying... I hope I can encourage Maddie to be true to herself and don't fall the "practical" route!
2/04/2008 02:09:00 PM
My high school guidance counselor (circa 1963) advised me to be an "art teacher" because commercial art was too competitive a field for a woman. I studied at a teachers college for two years, switched to university to major in "basic design", flunked out, eventually got a double major in fine art and graphic design in my 30's and worked in the commercial art industry for twenty years. Don't listen to anybody but your inner voice...
2/04/2008 07:32:00 PM
Many of us find ourselves down a path or in a place, where we never dreamed we'd end up. I was an insurance agent for almost 20 years. I never thought "Gee, when I grow up, I want to sell insurance!" I sorta fell into it. It paid well, it was a "safe", practical, dependable career. Blehhh. LOL.
Believe it or not, I wanted to be a Cop growing up. I even started the application process when I was younger, growing up in Cincinnati. But getting married and moving to Ky to my ex - derailed me into the insurance life....so maybe that wasn't meant to be....I've always been into art and creative endeavors as well...but like you, family members, the ex, all 'pushed' me towards business/insurance.....it's sad, but we tend to do 'what's best' and not what we really want.
Hope someday, you find a way to follow your dreams...
2/04/2008 09:40:00 PM
s'funny, but having always wanted to write, a conversation with a friend sticks in my mind...I pretty much said what you said, to the friend who is a poet and also an illustrator, and was immediately rebuked. "Don't do it because you think you might like it" they snapped, "it's the most frustrating thing on earth", "you think you get to be creative?" she snarled...."only do it if there's no other release"
So that's me told I guess.
2/05/2008 11:07:00 AM
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