Do you remember the moment you realized what you wanted to do professionally? Was it magic? Was it scary? We wanted to hear from some of the most talented artists and creatives in the community and so we asked them to tell us the story of the moment when they knew they were going to pursue a creative career path.

Mary Budd

When I was about 7 years old, I did what I now know was a completely improvised stand-up set for my Mom and my older Sister in my parents’ bedroom at the foot of their bed. My Mom and Sister were laughing so hard they were crying, and I remember feeling so proud that they were genuinely laughing because they thought I was funny. Read more>>

MAKO Girls

Our first time knowing that the entertainment industry was a career path we wanted to pursue was after meeting the boy group Mindless Behavior in July of 2012. Soon after meeting them we purchased their documentary, watched it and became immediately inspired by their journey and the impact they had on the world. Read more>>

RealYungG

When I was 8/9 years old I heard 2 pac Me Against The World album and 50 cent Get rich or die tying album and the rest was history. Also I found music as a creative form to express myself and my personal feelings music has all way been my safe space. Read more>>

Kemuel Pierre-Louis

I wanted to make films after watching one of Jim Carey’s movies in the movie theaters with my Uncle at 12 years old. I was fascinated with Liar Liar’s airplane scene with Jim Carey hanging from it at the end. Read more>>

Marie-Chloe Duval

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally was during my master’s degree in criminology in Montreal. I was deeply immersed in research, systems, and theories of human behavior, but I felt something missing—an entire emotional dimension that analysis alone couldn’t hold. Read more>>

sharon simon

I knew I wanted to be an actress from a very young age. But with little success I had given up. The tragedy of 911 woke me up to the fact that our lives are short and it propelled me to start my career and stand-up comedy. Read more>>

Mo Sargent

I have wanted to be an artist for as long as I can remember. Both of my parents are artists in their own right. My mother was a professional flute player, and my father is a graphic designer. Despite this, I was often discouraged from pursuing art beyond a hobby because of the financial limitations associated with a professional artistic career. Read more>>

Athena Nicolaides

I first knew I wanted to pursue a creative and artistic path professionally when I was a child. As a child I was naturally drawn to art and rarely without a paintbrush in my hand. I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from West Chester University of Pennsylvania, with a concentration in graphic design. Read more>>

Aimee La Joie

I have always been in love with movies. To this day, I can’t get enough of them. Simultaneously, I have always had the performer bug, whether it was school choir performances or making sketches with the home video camera with friends. My childhood friend Holly and I made hours and hours of videos over the years. Read more>>

Ajaya Bhatnagar

Oh I think it was in 10th grade in high school! I have always been involved in arts and crafts in one way or another for as long as I can remember, and the biggest credit for that goes to my family, especially my mother. Read more>>

Jalen Johnson

I was always a kid with a big imagination. My brain had no off switch so I would always think of different ways to reinvent ANYTHING. That being said I fell into love with cars, sports and music. Read more>>

Ralphy Vies

I’ve always been drawn to creativity since I was a kid. Clothing and music were my first loves—music through singing with Highbridge Voices, and fashion through the way I treated every single day in high school like it was a runway. But the exact moment I knew I had to pursue this path fully came during a setback. Read more>>

Michael Ryan

Well, I guess that would have been during my high school years. I took to drawing early as a kid, influenced much by my older brother. Comic books, movies, album covers and procrastinating on homework were great sources of inspiration when it came to drawing. Punk rock and skateboarding also pushed it further I think—that and paint pens. Leather jackets, skateboards, even a car or two, became a new drawing surface to take my hobby outside of my own sketchbook and out into the world. Read more>>