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.

Olga Somers

Since childhood, I’ve been a creative person. However, my rational and analytical side won every time I had to make a major life decision. I chose to go into nursing because of the job stability, my interest in biology and anatomy, and the humanitarian aspect of the field. Read more>>

Justin Edgar

Growing up I had already had a remote idea of what I wanted to do when I grew up. As a little kid when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always listed Chef, teacher and scientist. It wasn’t until years later I realized being a chef meant I was also a teacher and scientist in tandem to bring a passionate artist. Read more>>

Maki Welton

Since I was a kid, I’ve always carried a deep passion for acting. I wasn’t the type to get excited over roller coasters or carnival food. For me, the highlight of going to Universal Studios was the tram tour. I was obsessed with seeing behind the scenes, getting a glimpse of how magic was made, and imagining myself in that world one day. One of the most defining moments for me was seeing my mom on TV when I was three years old, it felt larger than life and incredibly personal at the same time. From then on, I knew I wanted to make people feel something through a screen. Read more>>

Angela Holman

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally was when I was in kindergarten. A little collage I made called “Mouse” won an honorable mention at a school art show. I had absolutely no idea what an “Honorable Mention” was but I knew there was a little ribbon by my artwork. I always enjoyed coloring, cutting, and crafting as a child (and honestly still do!) Though I did not pursue art or even take art classes in high school, I knew in my heart I wanted a creative career. I began my college career majoring in Fashion Merchandising and after getting a summer job at a wallpaper store I quickly fell in love with Interior Design. Read more>>

Yulian Monroy

As an interior designer, I often found it challenging to source the perfect art piece that truly aligned with the design vision I had for a space. The right shapes, colors, and mood were often missing, and that disconnect could compromise the overall harmony of the interior. So, I decided to take a leap and start creating custom art myself—pieces specifically designed to blend seamlessly with each project’s unique aesthetic. This approach allows me to ensure that every artwork not only enhances the space but also feels like a natural extension of the design itself. Read more>>

Claudio Caverni

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative and artistic path professionally was when I was around 15 years old. I had been dancing in a small local school in Tuscany, where I grew up. Although I enjoyed it, I hadn’t yet seen dance as more than a hobby. Then the school closed, and I felt completely lost. I was just going to academic school and not doing anything else—but something important was missing. I didn’t want to do any other kind of activity. I knew dance was what I truly loved. Read more>>

Marla Hawkins

I’ve been creating art since I was about five years old. My grandparents, both creative people, are to credit for introducing me to creating art and to appreciating arts and culture in New York City, where I was born and raised. I was always known as the creative child from then through my attending The High School of Art and Design in Manhattan, where I focused on Fashion Illustration. My path to work in the arts took a lot of twists and turns after that. When it was time to graduate, I began second guessing if I could really have a career using my passion for fashion; My parents also moved to South Jersey, and with my being away from the city, I took time off to figure out what was next. Read more>>

Indra Rojas

Honestly, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t doing something creative. But I think the moment it really clicked that I wanted to pursue it more seriously was back in sixth grade. I did this little art project for school, just a small drawing, but my teacher and classmates were really impressed. That was the first time I looked at something I made and thought, “Oh, I might actually be good at this.” It gave me that butterfly feeling, like when you’re about to do something exciting and it just feels right. Read more>>

Hank Barbe

I didn’t set out to do it professionally—it kind of landed in my lap. I was a teacher, and I got hurt. There were a few months I had some time off. I always played around writing songs. One night I hit up an open mic, and like five or six weeks later, I got signed to a little indie record label in Atlanta. It wasn’t a planned move, but once the opportunity showed up, I ran with it. And that’s kinda how I ended up here. Read more>>

Olivia De Arment

I came out of the womb a performer. For as long as I can remember, all I ever wanted was to entertain. As a kid, I couldn’t solve a math problem to save my life, but I was constantly writing songs, creating plays, and roping all the neighborhood kids into being part of my little productions. I’d direct with big ideas and a clear creative vision, but the adults around me often called me “bossy.” Looking back, I wish I could tell that little girl she wasn’t bossy—she was a leader in the making. Read more>>

Apoorva Gupta

As a child, I was always inclined towards painting and drawing rather than sports or academics. My teachers told me that I have a natural talent. But like typical South-Asian families, my parents and even I thought it was just a hobby. Never did I think it could be a profession. Read more>>

Ra’Desha Stoudmire

Knowing I could sell tickets, cd’s, merchandise and just inspire people with my words, just by creating music that could motivate them to chase their dreams or, to just simply relate and feel good about themselves showed me that I could impact the world with just one song at a time. The freedom that I felt from the first time that I performed on stage from the freedom that I still feel today, releasing music and getting feedback from the people that love my music and still get inspired will always be a great feeling to me. Knowing that my purpose is unity and to install confidence in others to be great in their own way is a huge reason for my consistency in music. Read more>>

Pamela Grau

I was born into a world of art, both of my parents were painters, and nearly everyone around us was in a creative field. It wasn’t just a career path; it was our identity. We were like a family of zebras. I knew there were other ways to live, but this was simply who we were.
I began taking art classes at five and never really stopped. I was technically skilled early on—almost too early. By my late 30s, I found myself at a crossroads. I had spent so long perfecting how to draw and paint that I had bypassed something crucial: my own voice. I hadn’t yet asked the deeper questions or explored my personal story. I was living in the shadow of my parents’ legacy, trying not to disappoint them. Read more>>

Bre Seals

I think I’ve always known I was a creative. I’ve always been captivated by how the body moves — how it tells stories without saying a word. Even as a kid, I was drawn to the idea that everything has its own choreography. Like, truly — if you think about it, from a rock falling, to water flowing, to how a car pulls into a parking spot — there’s a rhythm, a sequence, a kind of dance to all of it. And that always stuck with me. Read more>>

Sandra Schustack

I’ve always been creative. Drawing, painting, writing…it’s just part of my life. However, I never really shared my art publicly. As an adult, I dreamed about having an art career or being “the creative” on a team. While I’ve spent much of my professional life in creative industries, like being a kids’ business owner, producer, and marketing director, I was often the one helping bring other people’s visions to life. I loved being surrounded by creativity, but when it came to putting my art out into the world, I hesitated. I doubted myself. Read more>>

Woody Bradshaw

My brother Don was seven years older than me, and he could play the keys off a piano. He had an incredibly soulful voice—something truly special. He introduced me to all the great singer-songwriters of his era, shaping my early appreciation for music. My mom, an English literature and drama teacher, brought music into her classroom as a teaching tool, so I was lucky to grow up with two strong creative influences at home. Read more>>

Jerico Levi

I would say that I first wanted to pursue an artistic path professionally when I was 16. I’ve been a musician since 11, but have been rapping since 14. When I was 16 I reconnected with my Dad. He put it in my head you can make a living from music. He gave me the book “All You Need To Know About The Music Business”. That’s when I started being set on getting a record deal, etc. That’s the same time I started actually recording songs, until then I was just writing. This was 2011. The next year my older brother who’s also a musician, told me about Bandcamp and SoundCloud. I started releasing mixtapes through those outlets, including DatPiff. Read more>>

Elijah Cavinder

I actually all ways dreamed of retiring into a creative field when I was done with my working life. I went to art collage and quickly learned that I did not fit well into a structured class environment. I honestly wasn’t a good student in Highschool either. I dropped out my junior year and got a GED the same week. Then attended the local community collage while figuring out what I wanted to be when I grew up. I had always been a natural artist, I gained the skill from my dad and his love of creating with his hands. After leaving the art collage I decided to go back to the community collage and get an associates degree in network technology. This began a long list of tech jobs spanning just under two decades. Read more>>

Paris Maese

When I was sixteen, I had the realization that I wanted to be an actress for the first time. It really started because of my love for the Hunger Games franchise. When I saw the first movie in 2012, I was hooked, but when I entered my sophomore year of high school, I wanted to take a deeper dive into how the magic was made. That spark of desire for knowledge of what it takes to make a movie developed into a flame of passion for acting. Read more>>

Lilou Grasser

I started dancing when I was three years old. My parents have always been in artistic environments, so I grew up surrounded by creativity. As a child, I wasn’t just dancing. I was also doing theater, musical comedy, singing, playing music, drawing, and exploring all kinds of arts and crafts. Read more>>

Vater Boris

It’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment that I knew I wanted to pursue the artistic path. I almost feel like I never had a choice. I still remember being (guesstimate) 4 years old, in a purple wig, screaming into a “microphone”(a magic marker) along to my parents Queen in Concert VHS. Music is everything to my Dad and my Dad has always been my best friend and idol. So, of course music became just as important to me. Read more>>

Melody Votoire

My earliest memory is in Joliet, Illinois when I was five years old. My mom sat next to me drawing a butterfly, and I drew a flower. I remember putting down my pink and purple crayons and saying, “This is my favorite thing.” Read more>>

Burke Louis

The first time I was ever introduced to a live band was back in sixth grade in Long Beach California. The band was Linkin Park. The show opened with Story Of The Year, Hoobastank, POD, then Linkin Park. Read more>>

Diego Valadez

Honestly, I was already messing around with keyboards at home way before I ever thought of doing this professionally. I’d just play along to songs I liked in my room and post little clips on MySpace (yeah… it was that long ago, lol). But the real turning point was in 2007 when I went to my first concert to see Sonata Arctica. That show completely blew my mind. Read more>>

Stephen Mayberry

My journey began when I was 8 years old. I come from a family of singers and musicians, and was asked by my father if I wanted to learn how to play the bass guitar. Then later on as a teenager I learned how to play the piano and the organ. My songwriting journey began in my Twenties and I started music production in my thirties. But 2 years before my 40th birthday I was involved in a vehicle accident on my job that changed my life. It was then when I decided to pursue a career in music. Read more>>

Landon Stephen Popadic

My first love was theatre. Stepping onto a stage and sharing a visceral moment with a group of strangers that can never be exactly replicated again. The catch and release of emotional energy. I remember going to see The Music Man on Broadway with my grandmother. I had to be 6 or 7 at the time. It was my first Broadway show and we sat front row center stage. I caught a rose that was thrown into the audience by Marian the librarian and I was captivated. I felt chosen by something bigger than myself. But I couldn’t understand what it was at the time. A few years later I would be forced by my father to audition (which I refused to do) for Willy Wonka Jr. at the Mosart Theatre in Palm Beach, FL. Little did I know this would awaken something in me that exists there to this day. Read more>>

Jun Lancini

I’ve always loved stories, so watching movies growing up was a must. Every time I watched a film, I would imagine myself in the characters’ shoes, trying to empathize with what they were going through. But I was too shy. Being half Korean and half Italian—but mostly Asian in appearance—I spent my early years feeling less than my Italian peers. I was raised in Italy, and looking different made me feel out of place.  Read more>>

Nelson Ortiz

My artistic journey started with me as just a spectator—I used to be a photographer and documentarian of street art and graffiti. As it became a hobby, I connected with a lot of artists who encouraged me to explore my own path in street art. In September 2023, I looked back at some of my old drawings and picked one from 2012 to bring to life—and the rest, as they say, is history. Read more>>

Julian Kennedy

I’ve pretty much known since day one. Both of my parents are professional painters, so I was born into the art world—literally. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been drawn to both art and music. Different forms of creativity have always surrounded me, and over time, I started searching for my own artistic voice. Read more>>

Pete Kyrie

I was an only child, with a loving mother but she had remarried into a family where I was an added sibling to an already formed family. I think this made it so I was always trying to be seen, heard and win over the love and admiration of my new siblings and new family members. Read more>>

Robert Lopez

I happened to tune into PBS one day and came across the series Craft in America. As I watched a few episodes, I was captivated by an installment featuring renowned jewelry artist Kit Carson. At the time, I had been creating various forms of art for many years and was an active member of a lapidary society, cutting stones and experimenting with wire wrapping. However, seeing Kit Carson’s work was a revelation. His intricate use of metals, stones, and other materials to create expressive, imaginative jewelry opened my eyes to the true artistic potential of the medium. That moment marked a turning point for me—I was inspired to begin creating my own unique pieces, and I knew I had found my artistic path in jewelry design. Read more>>

Madison Hughes

The moment I knew I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally was right after I auditioned for The Voice. It was a huge leap for me—I had never done anything like that before, and I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I just knew I had to try. Read more>>

Melanie Mendoza

Ever since I was a little girl I was very creative! I loved drawing and doing arts and crafts, I’ve always had a wild imagination and I loved making up bedtime stories for my younger cousins. I also grew up with my mom always having a camcorder out so I grew up being very comfortable around the camera. I used to love filming music videos, skits and recreating scenes from TV shows with friends and family and then editing them on iMovie. My first big girl purchase was a Canon G7X when I was 15, I used to do babysitting as my first job and saved all my money from it. It’s funny because now all the influencers are obsessed with that camera and I think it’s gone up in price and for a while it was just collecting dust on my bookshelf but she is making a comeback for sure! Read more>>

Rainn

I honestly can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t want to do something creative. The exact niche I wanted to fit into changed over the years, from me being a little kid thinking that I wanted to paint professionally, to moving up to the idea of creating my own comics, to really falling in love with storytelling and thinking I was going to become a writer. The medium might have constantly changed, but that passion for making something has always been a part of me. Read more>>

La’Marr Collins

There have been many moments that shaped me wanting to pursue a professional creative path. I am an artist by definition, so I always knew I wanted to be an artist since very young. My love for graphic arts started in grade school, and my passion for music has always been a part of my life. I decided to pursue a degree in graphic design in high school, while giving up the desire to be in choir around the same time. It wasn’t until my last year in college that I decided to take making music serious. So within the next year after I graduated, I started writing consistently, tapped in with a producer I’ve known throughout high school, and decided to release a music project that I believed would capture the essence of my art. Read more>>

Basel Sabri

When I was in university studying environmental engineering, I was experiencing heavy depression and misalignment before I even knew what alignment meant. In third year of university, we took an environmental law class, and I opened my eyes to how long it takes to make positively impactful policy changes and it almost shattered me, knowing that I was dedicating my whole life to a career in hopes of making positive change on the environment, but only to be fighting money, hungry politicians, and industry leaders. In that moment, I knew that the lifestyle of a successful engineer is not one that I wanted for myself, and I promised myself that I would chase what I want to do. Read more>>

Antonio Pantoja

My dad passed away back in 2009. He was my best friend and biggest inspiration. An immigrant from Peru who came here when he was 19 years old. He had a thick Spanish accent. I had 2 seconds of video of him before he passed away. I watched it all the time. My daughter was 1 when we lost him and when she was growing up, she always asked me to tell her stories about my dad and I’d say, “baby, I think I told you all of them!”. Read more>>

Juan Alvarado

It was a quiet evening in my teenage years, back in Colombia. I had just gotten my first electric guitar—a gift that instantly became my most prized possession. I remember sitting on the edge of my bed, carefully learning the song “The Unforgiven” by Metallica. It wasn’t just the technique that captivated me—it was the emotion behind each note. I could feel the story, the longing, and the passion pouring through every chord. That song spoke to something deep inside me—something words couldn’t fully express. Read more>>

Alexa Janell Aviles Arnold

In 2010 I got into trouble with the law. I dealt with these consequences for the next couple of years. I had hit my rock bottom at 21 years old and had no idea what my life would like. I thought “no one will hire me”, and I had no idea what career I could possibly have. Up until that point, I had been a server in restaurants and I had dropped out of college. Read more>>

Darren Lee Cupp

From a young age, I’ve always felt a deep connection to entertaining and entrepreneurship. At the age of eleven, i taught the neighborhood kids the thriller dance from the Michael Jackson video and charged their parents a quarter to watch their kids perform. It wasn’t just fun, it was the spark that ignited my journey. That passion carried me across the country after high school to pursue a career in the arts, and I’ve never looked back. Read more>>

Fío Avocado

The year after I graduated college I moved to Portland, OR to pursue the Comics and Graphic Novels Certificate Program at the Independent Publishing Resource Center. My idea was that I would work for a non-profit and be able to make my art. I learned quickly that both worlds were quite competitive, and I was fresh out of college without a lot of work experience. Read more>>

YI-AN PAN

As a teenager, I immigrated to the U.S. with my Taiwanese family, and at the time, pursuing an art career didn’t feel like a viable option. Though I had always been an “art kid” and loved drawing and creating, in our household, like many immigrant families, the focus was on practical and stable career paths. Art was something I enjoyed, but it wasn’t seen as something you could actually build a life around. Read more>>

Mis Sadistic

When I was about 5 years old I watched Tod Browning’s “FREAKS” (1932) I was hooked. I could relate to the characters, this is where my love affair with horror movies began. I wanted to be one of the characters on screen but I never saw one of me. I decided at that early age in my life that I was going to be an actress. I was born male and when I started saying I was going to be an actress my parents flipped out! My mother wanted my son the Doctor but life gave her, “my daughter the show girl” lol. I was strong willed and nothing was going to stand in the way of my dreams of being an actress. Read more>>

Susan Winn

I’ve loved art for as long as I can remember. I was lucky to grow up surrounded by it—my mother is an artist, and our home was always filled with her work. Watching her create made art feel like a natural part of life. More than anything, she showed me that it was okay to make mistakes, to experiment, and not to worry about what others might think. Art, to her, was about doing what you love. Read more>>

Ariel Anderson

I’ve been involved in the artistic world pretty much since birth. As a kid, my parents put me in dance to break me out of my shell and let’s just say it worked. I immediately fell in love with the art and anything remotely involving creativity. Since middle school I knew I wanted to continue exploring my love for the arts and pursue it professionally. In school, nothing I was learning really interested me. I never felt that passion or light the way I did when I was doing anything artistic. Back in 2020 I decided to explore photography and videography and obviously loved it. Just 6 months ago I had interest in making that a source of income so I reached out to Social One and asked if there was a way I could become involved. Read more>>

Charlie Yuying Luo

Growing up, I was always passionate about art. I loved learning how to draw, watching cartoons and animations, and exploring music through piano, singing, and dancing. Part of this came from generational expectations: girls were often encouraged to be good at art. However, more than that, art became my one true friend throughout childhood. I remember sneaking my night light on after my parents had gone to sleep, just to finish a drawing. Art was always there for me when I needed it most. Read more>>

Noah Sanders

My first realization that I wanted to pursue a lifelong profession of art struck me like a thunderbolt at a young age.

I was 7 or 8 and I already had a robust habit of doodling little characters in my school notebooks. I also enjoyed studying the ‘Masters’ in the newspaper, namely Garfield, Calvin and Hobbes, Peanuts, and many others. But on one particular morning, I ended up staying home from school, probably from some pretense of being ‘sick’. I spent the morning laying out all of my doodles and loose papers to review my body of work. It was at this moment that I was struck with a matter-of-fact thought that this–drawing, illustrating, creating stories–this was the work I am supposed to do. Read more>>

Zach Christensen

When I was a senior in high school, I auditioned for my first play, OUR TOWN, by Thornton Wilder. When I chose to audition, it was for a fun change of pace that I had longed for in high school. I had dedicated so much time to athletics, uninspired by anything else, especially when deciding what to do after high school. By the end of that production’s process, I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to the arts. Read more>>

LindaAnn LoSchiavo

My creative calling revealed itself when I was still attending elementary school. I was nine years old when I wrote, costumed, directed, and produced my first one-act play in New York City.
With my piggybank budget and the fearless determination of an amateur — albeit a young theatre enthusiast who had seen numerous plays on Broadway for the past five years— I assembled a production team consisting entirely of myself. I conducted formal auditions with girls from my class, choir, and Girl Scout troop to cast the five female roles. Then I managed every production element single-handedly—rehearsing the actors, teaching each one how to deliver her lines dramatically, sewing all five costumes, designing a simple unit set, and directing the entire show. What began as a child’s creative project evolved into a successful 45-minute production that ran for quite a few months in New York City’s boroughs. Read more>>

Eveline Tainio

It wasn’t one big lightning-bolt moment — more like a quiet knowing that kept getting louder over time. I feel like it’s such a cliché to say “I always wanted to perform,” but it’s true. I grew up wanting to be seen, to express something. In Finland, we don’t have school theatre programs the same way they do in the U.S., but every time I had the chance to act, sing, or play in a school band, I took it. And I went for the lead. Read more>>