Is there ever a “right” time to start a creative career? Our goal has always been help people pursuing their passion. Helping those people often means helping them think through important decisions such as when to start, when to take the leap. Below, you’ll find our conversations with successful creatives reflecting back on when they had to decide whether to start or wait.
Savannah Smith
I wish I understood myself a bit more sooner and I think that would have given me the confidence to pursue the art realm earlier in life. At the time of graduating high school, I was ok being influenced by parents and teachers to go through the college route because of the illusion of safety that it provides for a career and finances. But at the same time, I think it has taken time through meeting new people and experiencing different industries in different ways to get to the space that I am joyful in having a career that goes to the beat of my own soul. Read more>>
Janelle Stephanie Koch
If I could do it all over… I would have started much sooner. I would have started a photography company right out of high school. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize how much I loved photography until later down the road. So, if I could have somehow magically gotten the memo that I LOVE photography then I would go back and start sooner. I’ve always loved taking photos of life unfolding around me but I didn’t realize that could translate that into a job/passion and I didn’t realize that was unique. Sometimes what you are looking for is right in front of you but you cannot see it because it feels normal to you. Read more>>
Chatwaka Jackson
This is something I’ve often reflected on, but I truly believe that God’s timing is always perfect. Looking back, if I had started my career earlier, my drive, passion, and even the path I’ve taken might have looked completely different. Read more>>
Barb Flunker
I was always creative in making art for myself ~ painting, drawing, assemblage, collage. My teenage son told me my art was good and I should show it to galleries. He knew I was not listening. A few weeks later he gave me a list of six things that he thought I needed to do. I had business cards made and visited a few commercial galleries as he had directed. Even though no one took my work that day, the gallery directors were supportive which boosted my confidence. Looking back if I had started earlier I may have had more time to make the art and navigate the art community. On the other hand, I believe that opportunities come when they are supposed to. The key is to act on the opportunity. Read more>>
Darryl Glover
I had a wierd “day in August” 3 years in a row. The first year… I realized it was time to make a change, The second year, I realized I wasn’t ready to survive on my own with out consistent – weekly income….(yet) and the third year I jumped. literally. I turned in my resignation, finished out my contract, and jumped out of a plane the next day. It was time for a new beginning…I was 25 Read more>>
Primrose Paul
Sometimes I wish I started my creative career sooner just because I think I would have had better skills but I also believe that things happen when they are supposed to. I began my creative journey in college when I switched my major from biology/chemistry to studio art. For a while I had struggled with the thought of what my career would be as a doctor and I didn’t see myself as one. On the other hand, I had a deep passion for art history and reading which was actively getting ignored because I was pursing another path in school. And on one random Tuesday when I couldn’t stand to do chemistry anymore, I had a light bulb moment, I wanted to do art history and pursue something I saw myself doing. Read more>>
Sydney Yeager
As a child and as a young person I always knew I wanted to be an artist, but for some reason I became convinced that I should study something more “practical” in college, so I majored in English. It took four years of college, a marriage and two wonderful children before I realized that I couldn’t avoid being an artist, so I returned to University to start over again and study art. This decision was not an easy one to make, as our children were quite young and needed both of our attention. Family life changed, but the three of them were, and continue to be, supportive and enthusiastic despite making sacrifices. Read more>>
Ann Marie Scarpinito
I feel that when I first got into cosplay and attending conventions it happened at just the right time for me. It was the early 2000’s and I was out of high school and just starting to hear about cosplay. During this time the internet was still very new so everything was word of mouth and what you heard from friends of friends. My childhood friend Aneesa was away at college and called me about an anime convention happening close to her campus. I decided it was time for my first road trip ever and I drove to Tampa and we attended the first year of MetroCon. We were both so new at cosplay but it was such an eye opening experience to be among people who were into the same interests at us. Read more>>
Alina Siddiqui
The year was 2020, and the world had collectively paused due to the outbreak of COVID-19. In the middle of whipping Dalgona coffee and baking banana bread to pass time, I heard psychologist, Dr. Edith Eger, say in a podcast, “It takes courage to be average,” and it changed my life. You see, up until then, my personal narrative was, “I am good at everything I do.” I was always a high achiever. I was the first in my family to earn a graduate degree. When I decided I wanted to be a marriage and family therapist, I became one. Read more>>
Gibran Garcia
Growing up, my dream was to be a baseball player. From the age of five until I was twenty-one, almost every part of my life revolved around school and baseball. Acting wasn’t even on my radar. At the same time, I had a deep love for music. I learned to play the guitar when I was twelve, and eventually moved to the bass. That creative spark was always there, even if I didn’t know yet where it would lead me. Read more>>
JESSIECO
Like the majority of creatives, I wish I had started sooner. I’ve always been a creative person; however, I suppressed that side of myself for many years until my senior year of high school. By the time I began seriously creating and releasing music, I was 17, fresh out of high school. If I had started coming out of my shell as an artist at a younger age, I would have more experience under my belt and possibly be a more developed and talented artist. Read more>>
The Batman Of San Antonio
I always loved Halloween, and going beyond a regular costume, so cosplay was with me early on. I always loved the idea of becoming a character, someone different from myself.
I wasn’t sure if acting was something that would be in my future, but I knew that I always wanted to be creative and dress up. I had a fairly successful career and retail sales, but never truly felt fulfilled. After a life-changing experience, I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my days helping others and putting my dream to the forefront. Read more>>
Christy O’Connor
I sometimes wish I had started my creative journey sooner, but I recognize that I needed to follow my path the way that I had in order to find my voice as an artist, and build my sense of worth. When I finished my undergrad program, I left with less confidence in my artistic abilities than when I entered. As a result, I pursued a teaching career as a stable and predictable career path I knew I could succeed in, without much personal risk. I abandoned my artistic practice for ten years while I focused on teaching. I taught early childhood education throughout that time, depriving myself from any meaningful creative outlets. I felt like I was hiding away my true self from the rest of the world and fighting against my nature to create and make, as I tried to fit in and blend in with the “normal” life I thought I was supposed to lead. Read more>>
Asha Omega
If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t change a thing. The years I spent being a student of the craft too afraid to share my gift, watching my peers take the Chicago rap scene by storm, lit a fire in me that I didn’t know what to do with. I sat in open mic after open mic watching some of the greatest rappers, singers, poets, and whatnot leave their mark on every single person in a room. I knew after years of writing poetry, short stories, hiding inn plain sight, that I had earned the right to take up space. And from there I went to Clark Atlanta University as an honors program student, where I effectively wasted student loans from the government to make art in their studio library with my homegirl Ocean Baileux. When I finally went back home, I joined Emcee Skool, a 6 month artist development program that led to year of community work, activations, teaching in schools on the west and south side of Chicago – my understanding of music, its power, and what it can do on a macro + micro level shifted entirely. Read more>>