We asked some insanely talented artists, creatives and makers to tell us about when they know they were going to pursue a creative career.

Michael “Thrash” Ornelas

I’ve always been drawn to telling stories and performance. I think we all loved recess as kids; being on the playground in the middle of class, the unbridled unapologetic PLAY as it were. I think a lot of folks get shy and forget how to play whilst some of us never stop playing. Read more>>

Siti Lu

Growing up, I always wanted to be a Comic Artist. When it was time for applying to college, I realized there were not many comic majors out there. I ended up studying character animation at CalArts, and I was lucky enough landing my first storyboard job at Cartoon Network my sophomore year. After graduating from CalArts in 2021, I’ve been working as a professional Storyboard Artist at Cartoon Network and Netflix Animation. I’ve storyboarded for shows like Close Enough, Driftwood, and We Baby Bears. Read more>>

Jovanee Bryan

Back in 2022, when I was a senior in high school, I remember feeling ready to take a different path than most of my peers. While many of them seemed to have their next steps figured out — heading off to college, securing jobs, or following more traditional routes — I always felt drawn to something different. Read more>>

Kate Kaminski

When I was growing up, my mother used to tell me I was going to be a writer but I didn’t have the confidence to pursue my love of writing and couldn’t imagine what that kind of life would be like. I thought I had to be practical and accept that a creative life wasn’t possible for me. But by my late twenties, I was burned out on dead end clerical and secretarial jobs, so one day I declared myself a writer and over the course of a couple of years, wrote my first (unpublished) novel. A couple of years after that, I made an impulsive decision to go back to school to earn a graduate degree in film production at Boston University. I’ve always loved the movies and my plan, such as it was, was to become a screenwriter. Read more>>

Torie MP

I was always a creative kid; crafting, building, and imagining worlds. The second I learned it could be my life, it was all I could think about. I was constantly on the lookout for ways to express my creativity; whether it be drawing, writing, cosmetology, sewing, photography, and editing. I wanted to learn and do it all! Luckily, having grown up with the growing popularity of the internet, I was able post these creative musings on blogs, and social media. I started as a hobbyist, like most, and as I continued to learn more skills and play with the ones that spoke deeply to me, I was able to put them out into the word. Read more>>

Zoe $lim

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path is when I was in the 5th grade. I’d randomly make beats with my hands on the lunch table and would turn my poems that I’ve written into freestyles just for fun. Of course I didn’t take it seriously then. It wasn’t until 2017 when I did the viral Still Standing Challenge. That video got close to 1 million views on Facebook and is still doing numbers on YouTube. That’s when I knew I wanted to take music and songwriting seriously. Sometimes it takes for us to go through serious situations in life in order for us to shine light on our God given gifts. Read more>>

Dion Langley

As a child, I got started playing drums at a young age, and I feel in love with it. I always felt that a another sense of expression without having to speak in my opinion. And growing up in church, I noticed how cool the drummers were when it came to the church community and people. I used to watch them each Sunday and I noticed all the attention giving to them in situations so for me I was always impressed with the drummers. As I got older and got more into drums and music I begin to fall in love with it and wanting to grow all around the board. So I joined the band and expanded my knowledge in the craft. Learning how to read, and teach music. As my talent grew, my career did also and getting the opportunity to tour and play with various artist and also turning my drumming into a business and being able to spread a positive message through music. Read more>>

Nature Trammer

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally was when I was just 12 years old. Growing up in Uganda, I was always fascinated by the beauty and diversity of African culture. I would spend hours watching music videos, fashion shows, and dance performances, mesmerized by the vibrant colors, rhythms, and movements. Read more>>

Kirah Koo

There was never a moment of “realizing” I wanted to pursue art—it was always in me. I started with dance, and for as long as I can remember, movement was my first language. Before I even had the words to express myself, my body already knew how. Art isn’t something I chose; it’s who I am. Read more>>

Tori Fields

The first time I knew I wanted to Pursue art , was when I realized that art was what I used to cope with a lot that was going on in my world. I had lost someone that was very close to me… like a sister. Whenever I got lost in my emotions , or in deep thought about her, my mom and me, noticed I always picked up a pencil or a paint brush and just go to work… I went through my own accident once, where I almost lost my life….to where I couldn’t work or do anything for that matter… I had nothing but art. Art took my mind off so many things and I would just get lost in it… that’s when i KNEW. Read more>>

Brenda Stearns

I’ve always been a creative person. My social media journey started with the intention of sharing my handmade doll business with a community. It grew quickly, and every doll drop sold out. But when I became pregnant with my fifth child, I had to step away—I simply didn’t have the capacity to keep making them.

Even though I had to stop, that creative spirit never left me. I shifted my focus to social media as a personal outlet, and what started as a small journal of my life grew into a large, engaged community of women. I began sharing my postpartum journey—at a time when many of these conversations were still considered taboo. Read more>>

Ann Aarat

If I have to be brutally honest, the first time I knew I wanted to pursue a musical path professionally was when I was roughly 11 years old. I used to try and come up with songs along with one of my close friends in school then. Every day she would come to school with a new piece of music written, and I would be left feeling like I would never be good at writing music. The sad part and also the funniest part of it was that she made me feel that way for the longest time, and then a couple months later I realized that she was just copying lyrics from some of the well-written songs I had never heard of. I still don’t know what exactly she gained from doing so, but all I learned from that is to have faith in yourself and what you’re doing, and always trust your gut! Read more>>

Yvette White

I’ve always loved art and didn’t really pursue it till I was about thirty five and both my children started schooling. When my youngest’s first day to get on the bus arrived, she says to me, “I go school mumma, what you going to do? You go school?” I replied, “I don’t know sweetheart, we will see.” Later when I opened up our local newspaper the “Indian Times” I saw that they were offering a Fine Arts program at our local Adult Learning Center Iohahi:io. This two year program would be giving me the opportunity to learn and try all the mediums. My dream, and I never told a soul… until that day… that I wanted to learn and be an artist. Furthermore, I noticed that the deadline had passed. I didn’t let that stop me. Read more>>

Jack McLaughlin

I’ve wanted to make music since I was a little kid, but the “this is absolutely why I am here” moment happened while I was backpacking through New Mexico’s Philmont Scout Ranch in 2015. I was actively dealing with my first heartbreak, as well as the subsequent dissolution of my main friend group, and I was dreading the experience entirely, plagued by FOMO, sadness, and despair. As the trail wore on, I eventually had a moment of clarity, in which I not only started to understand my relationship with long-term depression, but also what truly drove me as an individual. When we returned to base camp, gone were my fears regarding my loss – all I wanted to do was find a quiet place to sit, listen to music, and think. Read more>>

Christopher Arthur

I knew I wanted to pursue this creative path when I wanted to create apparel that represent something more. As I was seeing apparel being marketed and worn daily, I realized that clothing at the present time was merely trendy. As I noticed these trends, I often wondered how people gravitated to what they wore. Was it the clothing itself? The material? The messaging and story of the design itself? These thoughts and reflections along with the seasons I was experiencing in life made me question if anyone was going through similar circumstances. These seasons that God was taking me through were processes that only God could get me through led to the brand name “It’s All God”. What these experiences produced inside of me, all my accomplishments, whether it’s up or down seasons, I know it was the Lord sustaining. Read more>>

Greg Fields

I had worked in the non-profit sector all my professional life – public relations and fundraising for universities, and then for a magnificent international development organization. But all along I had played with my writing, penning short pieces that I never shared, extremely bad poetry and the occasional opinion piece. I always felt comfortable putting my thoughts down in some way, but I really had little expectation that it would ever come to anything. Read more>>

Ashley McElvy

My passion for piercings started in high school when I began getting my ears pierced, gradually adding more each year until both ears were adorned with rings all the way up. Growing up, my mom had several piercings, and she allowed me to be a part of those experiences. Through her, I learned the importance of self expression and individuality from a young age. I was fascinated by how piercings could be such a personal form of art, and that passion only grew as I got older. Read more>>

Roxxy Wild

A not-so-long time ago …there was MTV, They played music videos. They played a lot of music videos in the 80’s from Hair-Bands….because they were, in a word, totally awesome dude!
The music as fun, the clothes were wild. I dare say..”nuthin but a good time” was the mantra of the decade.
That music had such an impact on those of us lucky to experience it first-hand and it’s staying power in indisputable. Read more>>

Ashley Johnsen

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally is in 2017 when I was going through a tough time in my marriage. I am now divorced but found out that my ex-husband was unfaithful. At the time, I decided to pour my energy into keeping busy by continuing to pursue my passion – sharing outfit inspiration and affordable fashion. I began to photograph my outfits and contact the PR departments of brands I loved for potential collaborations. I would post my outfits on Instagram and other social media accounts, tagging the brands and using relative hashtags. Read more>>

Trevor Ellis

I first realized I wanted to pursue a creative artistic path when I discovered some incredible, hidden mountain bike jump trails in Texas that almost no one knew about and it was difficult to find any videos of people actually riding the trails. Most of the YouTube content of Texas mountain biking was focused on boring cross country riding and was lacking the thrill and excitement of downhill and jump trails. So I felt like I had an obligation to bring greater exposure and popularity to those awesome trails by riding and documenting them in YouTube videos so that it could excite more people and bring awareness to such an awesome sport. Read more>>

Justin Taylor

When I was very young, my Grandfather bought me my first guitar, I think I was about 3 or 4 years old. As I listened to all of his music collection and went to him to see his band play around Virginia and Maryland I became obsessed with guitar and live music. They’d make records in the studio on a regular occurrence and I knew I wanted to be a musician for the rest of my life. Read more>>

Aidan Martinez

I’ve always known. But if I had to pick the moment, it would be drama camp in 2007, when I won the ‘Best Performer’ award. That trophy is still on my wall next to my diploma and headshot—like a little reminder of why I do this.

But honestly, the real reason I fell in love with acting? That’s So Raven. Raven Baxter and her whole crew were everything to me. She got to be so many different characters, have so much fun, but still stay completely grounded and real. I was mesmerized. She made acting look like the most fun job in the world, and I studied the way she performed—balancing comedy with authenticity. And I realized how powerful storytelling can be. Read more>>

Luis Rosa-Valentin

Growing up I had absolutely no idea my life would take a turn for the artistic. When I was a kid the only thing I wanted to be was a GI Joe. So, It came as no surprise when I joined the Army immediately after graduating high school. The only inkling that I may be a creative came from my freshmen English teacher. She had liked a poem I wrote so much that she said:
“I can see it now. Future Luis, in a rocking chair on his porch, writing poetry.” To which I snapped back “no way, I’m a soldier, not a hippie.” Oh how the turns table. Read more>>

Steve Moon

I’ve always been a writer. I wrote a book for my school in the first grade, and I pretty much have been writing since then. I started writing scripts in college, and then got into the independent filmmaking world. Read more>>

N’Dia

The first time I knew that I wanted to pursue a creative artistic path professionally was actually during the pandemic. I’ve always been a creative when it came to my photography. I’ve always had a vision of where I wanted to go. It was just a matter of actually putting myself out there to work towards those dreams. I’m originally from Virginia, but during the pandemic I had moved to Maryland and got introduced to some great creative in the state. I went from flying solo, to being in a crew with two other photographers and a videographer. I later realized they weren’t in the space of photography that I want it to be in and that’s when I left the crew. Read more>>

Ilina Bhatia

I first knew I wanted to pursue art early on in high school. I was always interested in art–painting, drawing, writing–but thought of it as a hobby. I was seriously considering going down a very academic path, but then I got Lyme disease my freshman year of high school and was out of school for a semester, and mostly bed-ridden. My joints were swollen and achy, and some days the only thing I could move were my hands, so I started painting more seriously and more often. That semester I had off from school, I started painting larger and more complex paintings, and they started getting into small galleries or group shows. Getting that validation was the push I needed to tell myself, this is something I could pursue. Read more>>

JAe Savaiano

I first realized I wanted to pursue a creative career when I was 18. Growing up, I was deeply involved in the arts—ballet, orchestra, and painting all played a significant role in my life. I had hoped to continue with music, but I was encouraged to major in Marketing, as it still offered creative opportunities. In 2017, I earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Arizona State University and went on to work for corporations until 2022. Read more>>

Anne Marie Speros-Mallon

In 2007, my world was forever altered by the passing of my beloved mother, Joan, who bravely fought against breast cancer. The weight of that loss was overwhelming, and it plunged me into a deep sea of grief. It was during this tumultuous time that I discovered the transformative power of grief therapy. Through those sessions, I came to a profound realization: the opposite of depression is not joy, but expression. Read more>>

Alyssa-Ray Bouman

I started my career as a Substance Abuse Counselor when I was very young. I counseled hundreds of people and loved every part of helping others. However, in 2020, when the pandemic occurred, everything changed. I was no longer meeting with my clients face-to-face but speaking with them through computer screens. This left me feeling burned out and in need of a change. It was then that I realized I wanted to pursue a more creative career path. Read more>>

Desinique Robinson

I’ve always worked behind the scenes, helping family with their social media and websites. Then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I decided to launch my own business, 1110 Branding Studio. Right after I launched, I was fully booked for months with requests for websites, logos, and social media management. In 2024, I realized I wanted to step into the spotlight and make a meaningful impact on young women, both in my community and globally. I decided to pursue a path as a content creator and influencer, posted my first TikTok, and have been carving my own path ever since! Read more>>