Pursuing a creative or artistic career can certainly be fulfilling, but it’s far from certain. Over the years, we’ve heard about the struggles from thousands of artists and creatives – it’s incredibly challenging and it can be tempting to wonder – what if you hadn’t pursued this path. We asked artists and creatives from across the community if they’ve every had those doubts themselves.

Andi René Christensen

I tried so hard to not be a creative in my late teens, no lie. In grade school, my creativity actually caused a lot of friction between myself and my peers, and even my teachers. My brain thinks very quickly and very abstractly, so I was often bored in school and frequently misunderstood, or even chided for my particular expressions of creativity. I once had an algebra teacher who threw pens at me if I was working ahead of the class and an English teacher who rolled her eyes and groaned every time I got up to read an original story. Read more>>

Manuel Abreu Swanston

I’m not a happy person, and I already know that photography and arts doesn’t really have anything to do with it, is just my way to deal with life in general, is a way of life. I have work in everything, to be honest, from a college professor to a valet, personal trainer, landscaper, everything! And I always knew that was temporary, I was gonna be an artist, no doubt about it. At the same time, I never conditioned my happiness to that, happiness is a really deep word. Read more>>

Kelsey Huckaby

I can’t imagine any other way of living life and doing things than to be creating art. I’ve always found ways to make any work or jobs I had relevant to the arts throughout my career, whether that be working in galleries or curating events. Even when money got tight or life felt rough, I could never see myself giving up and pursuing any other path. I believe if you’re meant to be an artist, and it’s in your heart and you act on it, you’ll find the right people to meet and places to be. Read more>>

Joshua Jarman

Recently, I chose to take on a traditional job in an industry that builds heavy equipment. I did the job because it utilized strengths that I have in building, hands on construction and material handling. The job paid very well and was secure in that there were lots of positions to advance. The hours were steep and long, leaving little to no time for creativity. This wasn’t the first time that I’ve attempted a traditional job, and it wasn’t the first time I had realized the importance of music as my work. Read more>>

Feliciano Mora

Even with the sometimes chaotic nature of being a freelancer, after twenty plus years of working in the corporate sector, I am much happier as a working artist. Read more>>

Jeri

I was made to write. I know it in my bones. Still, society tells us we should answer, as fellow author James Leviticus calls it, “the siren call of stability.” In more than a quarter century of working in this business, I have continued to take “side jobs,” and sometimes those jobs were adjacent to my art or parallel to it, but every one of them took my time and that became time that I didn’t have for my craft. Read more>>

Holden Brown

It’s not unusual for people to take the time to reflect on their life and career and consider whether making different choices would have led them on a better path. When that career is one as a creative, it often feels harder to justify those decisions when safer, more traditional opportunities were passed on in lieu of pursuing a creative field. I’m no stranger to the feelings of uncertainty, even guilt, when reflecting on my own path. Read more>>

Kane Churko

I think after two decades in the music business I’ve come to the conclusion that a “regular job” is what you CHOOSE to do regularly. There are definitely times where as a creative things can start to feel like a regular job, but I find that being allowed to be creative creates opportunities for me to do things irregularly and break the monotony of doing the exact same thing (the exact same way) everyday. Being a creative has it’s own challenges, but once you persevere past them then things just get better and better. Read more>>

Ramon Gil

Apparently, I’m what some people call a multi-potentialite. Meaning I have many varied interests. But another saying that resonates is “jack of all trades, master of none.” Being a master of none is a bit distressing but not so much from a skill standpoint but from an accomplishments perspective. I see friends having achieved so much, some are even retiring early, but I feel like I haven’t really made a lot of headway in any one direction. Read more>>

Raeya Cobb

Being an artist has its ups and downs emotionally but honestly, I wouldn’t trade it for any other occupation. It feeds my soul. It’s funny though because dance is always there for me, but it’s also caused me a lot of internal and external stress. I missed out on a lot of “regular” experiences that someone may have had growing up because I was always at dance rehearsal, church, or I had a performance; while everyone was out being teenagers. I’ve been injured multiple times where I had to sit down in rehearsals or take it easy for a few weeks. Read more>>

Brennan Urbi

Yes! The short answer is when I am working as an artist I am at my happiest. However I would be lying if I said I never thought about getting a “regular job”, in fact I think about it all the time. Living as an artist can be hard. For me it is the financial and job insecurity that can weigh heavy on me. Most recently I can back from a ,dare I say, life changing contract where me and 10 other actors toured around rural Montana and the surrounding states performing Shakespeare to underserved communities. Read more>>

Deborah Brenner

I absolutely love being an artist. I never imagined that I would be lucky enough to do something that I really loved. I didn’t always know that I was an artist however, I shaped my life being next to people who were great artists .From very early on, there were hints that an artist lived inside me. Read more>>