Getting started sounds so easy – but for millions of aspiring artists and creatives, the uncertainty of the path forward presents a very real challenge. So, we wanted to gather some artists and creatives we admire to open up about their experience and how they think about whether they should have started sooner or waited for a better time.

Pedro Lopes Adão

I started my literary career when I was fifteen: I was a boy, I lived more in dreams than in reality, motivated by reading existential and decadent poems and good philosophy books. Some of these works shaped me and I feel like I started at the right time. If I’m not mistaken, the first publication was at sixteen, in a magazine, with an essay on Vergílio Ferrreira. Read more>>

Xavier Henry

Personally, I absolutely wish I would’ve started sooner. There are people younger than me who have seen a lot of success but they started when they were 19-23. I’ve been playing video games my entire life yet the concept of streaming/content creation didn’t come to me until 2020. My daughter was just born and Covid just hit the world heavy but my friends who have been streaming for a while said I should get into it. Read more>>

Naseem Shahrivar

I started drawing and painting at an early age, as my parents were both artists. However, I never trusted being an artist for a steady income and it took a back seat for a lot of years. I am definitely curious as to what would have happened if I had the confidence to let go and fully immerse myself in art. Read more>>

Katie Baber

I can honestly say that I don’t wish I had started my artistic career any sooner. I’m really only now at a place in my life where I have the love, support, and appreciation I needed to be who I really am, and create what I love. Being creative in one way or another has always come naturally to me, but it wasn’t until somewhat recently that I narrowed my focus to just my artwork. A few years ago my life and choices pushed my body to its limits. Read more>>

Alexis Peterson

I think that I have always been a creative but it took me a while to find the right niche. I was a make up artist for many years and then a hair stylist; while I loved the creativity, that never felt right to me. I sometimes do find myself thinking about where my life would be now had I started pursuing photography earlier but I am right where I am meant to be. Everything that happened in my life led me to this point and had it happened earlier I would not have been able to capture what I am able to now. Read more>>

Christopher Robles

If given the opportunity to revisit the start of my creative career, I would definitely do it. I began my creative journey in 2013, a period when I was literally still a kid at the age of 13. Writing a ton of poems, listening to so many artist and doing a ton of reading, I fell in love with music whole heartedly. Starting when I did provided a solid foundation of learning and growth. It allowed me to develop fundamental skills, build relationships, and gain valuable experiences that shaped my creative perspective. Read more>>

Tara Workman

I was late to the craft of photography and only learned to use a camera in my mid 30’s. I had an established career as a Family Physician and took a photography class at the suggestion of my husband after I mentioned buying a new camera when I already had a perfectly good one that I had no idea how to use. Photography then became an obsession filling most of my free time as I learned the craft and over time became an outlet from the stress of my day to day work. Read more>>

John Dalton

I started playing drums at the age of 14. When I was younger, I felt that I had started too late. I would see clips of child prodigies online half my age who were way more developed than I was. That was a discouraging feeling at first, but as time went on I realized that I could find my own way in music. As I’ve grown I’ve come to appreciate when I started playing. To find my purpose in life that young is an incredible privilege. Read more>>

Mikey Vee

Ever since I was a little kid I loved music. My first hip hop album was actually “Get Rich or Die Tryin” but I was into a bunch of different types from the start. I remember staying up late downloading music off Limewire hahah. When I was in high school, I began writing poetry to be able to write down how I felt. This eventually led to me writing songs and doing open mics in college at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. My homie M Shah had put me on to studio recording and I recorded my first songs at his apartment. Read more>>

Alexus Rendon

On many occasions I’ve found myself wondering how different things could have been if I had branched out and began making art full time sooner. That thought has been an idea that I’ve found myself going back to during both successful and difficult times in my artistic journey. I was at a crux in my life roughly 2 and a half years ago where I found myself needing to either make the plunge to become a full-time artist or stay in a work environment where I was very unhappy.  Read more>>

Kennedy Steinman

I’d love to say that if I had a chance, I would start my career sooner, but truthfully I feel like I started my journey at the perfect time in my life. At the time I was working a serving job that, while I loved, I was feeling burnt out with as well as going to school for a career path that I knew wouldn’t be a good fit for me. I needed a change and was encouraged by my parents to take a chance at a personal interest. Read more>>

Joe Summers

I am an artist. As obvious as this may seem to anyone reading an article about an artist, it is and has been a strange statement for me to identify with. Writing, saying, or even acknowledging this statement has been something I’ve struggled with the entirety of my artistic life. I even went so far as to “quit” being an artist for close to 6 years at one point, feeling that I didn’t deserve to make art or to claim the title, that there was some metric that I simply did not meet, or that I simply wasn’t “artistic” enough to be considered an artist. This feeling was a major hurdle for me to clear. Read more>>

Mariah Frances

I wish I could’ve started my creative career sooner than later. However, God‘s timing is really important in my life. I started modelling in 2018. I had a hard time connecting with people who were models on social media, especially on Instagram. I reached out to many Cleveland area models, and they did not respond to me on Instagram. However, I reached out to a a group on Facebook Called the Ohio Fashion and Beauty network and introduce myself to the admin. Read more>>

Aolani Coban

If I could go back in time, I would consider starting my creative career sooner. I embarked on my creative journey in my early twenties but looking back, I can see how starting earlier could have given me more time to refine my skills and build my network. More than just starting earlier I wish I’d had more confidence in my knowledge, belief in myself, and discipline to have stayed consistent throughout the years. Read more>>