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.

Kayley Bishop

When it comes to music, it’s more than a “want” for me, it’s a call on my life. I’ve never known a moment where I didn’t believe I’d be sharing songs for the rest of my life, even dating back to when I was 3 or 4 years old. As I’ve grown older, experience is now showing me the responsibility of this platform and how my songs and message can impact and uplift in ways I couldn’t imagine before. That potential impact is a big inspiration to keep me in pursuit of the stage. I know I’ve got lessons on lessons that I write into my songs. I believe those songs are meant for the breakthrough of those who hear them. I want people leaving my shows empowered to do the next best thing in their lives. Read more>>

Jaé Anaé

I knew at a very early age that I wanted to be a musical artist… I say around 2 years old you could tell there was a prominent spark in me. I just loved music so much. I was always dancing to it, repeating drum cadences, and singing fluidly. By the time I was 3 1/2 – 4 years old, I would walk around with a karaoke machine and perform an hour long concert for my entire family. A few years after that, I was creating full blown concerts with my dolls. I’d learn albums from start to end and make them my set lists for my concerts. I’d get intricate. I’d make costumes for my dolls and create mini stage sets with whatever materials I could find. I would be so in the zone that I would tell my mom, “We can’t leave right now!! The girls are on tour. This is major!!” Haha… Creating and performing has always caught my eye. I think it’s just something I’ve always truly wanted. Read more>>

HD Reavis

I have a vivid memory of filling a spiral notebook with scribbles that told a story about a princess and a dragon. Clearly the lines and shapes made only sense to me; the pseudo-cursive weaving magic that only I could understand. But I understood it well. I can see my six-year-old self, standing in my parents’ room, reading this story, building this world, and believing in it. I knew at that moment storytelling was going to be a part of my life. Unfortunately, I would not come up with the courage until my late thirties; after years of hiding behind usernames on different forums, filling notebook after notebook, that I would finally commit to writing professionally. I had given my life over to marriage and raising kids, putting the writing part of me on hold. Read more>>

Lucia Heffernan

For as long as I can remember. I started drawing at a very young age, and hasn’t stopped. Art has been an integral part of my life, not just as a hobby, but as a means of expressing my innermost thoughts, emotions and perspectives. It allows me to communicate and connect with the world in a unique and profound manner. Read more>>

L$P Davis

One of the first songs I ever wrote was about suicide. The first time that I performed it, I witnessed how music can touch the souls of others. There were crowds of people crying from the joy of having someone see them and know what it’s like to be in that situation. I could tell that music could change lives and from there I began seriously working to perfect my craft and do this full time. Read more>>

Dakota Farnsworth

I knew for a long time that I wanted to be a creative, but the drive to become something bigger than just professional came from a deep desire in me to build up other people. For a very long time in my life, I felt like a very small person in a very big world. I had parents who loved me of course, but being the youngest in the family and also the new kid to multiple schools left little room for me to be taken seriously by others. I expressed these feelings in the work I did with photography, where I always looked to find the beauty in things that everyone else overlooked in their lives. Read more>>

Jaylynn Juelz

I’m always asked this question and it still amazes me how I began and decided to make it my calling. It was during quarantine when everyone was home and left to their own devices. People needed a connection to the outside world when we were literally in confinement. I was online and bored so I decided to start pulling out my clothes and accessories and do “dress up” videos and it was like magic, from one day to the next I was trending. I went from never even having a instagram before “Covid” to 100,000 followers in less than 3 months. Needless to say I felt like I belonged. Like this is what I was meant to do. People love what I bring to their screen and I love bringing it to them. I’ve been truly blessed to work with various companies and the future only looks brighter. Read more>>

Eric “Showtime” Tate

When I realized that my passion for roller skating and connecting with other skaters in different rinks in the city began to spread. With my patience and understanding of how to break down moves I decided to become a skate instructor for different levels of roller skating. Read more>>

Leigha Sherman

Honestly, it wasn’t until the semester before I graduated with an Associates Degree in Fine Arts. I’d spent nearly two years at a junior college as one of their two art majors, but it wasn’t until I was faced with the “what’s next?” question that I started realizing art was what I wanted to do professionally. For real this time. As a kid I grew up with art all over the house. My mom is an artist and my dad is a writer so creativity was always present. Over the years I’d always sketch and draw, learning techniques and things from my mom here and there. But it wasn’t until I got into comic books that I toyed with the idea of being a professional artist. Read more>>

Kayden Tokarski

I have wanted to be an actress since I was four years old and watched the Disney shows “Good Luck Charlie” and “Shake it Up.” I was inspired by Bridgit Mendler and Zendaya and knew even at that young age that acting was a career path I wanted to pursue for life. My parents thought I was way too young, but I kept asking them if I could try acting for years until they saw me in a musical performance when I was in the fourth grade. I had to audition for the school production and got a lead role. My parents came to see me perform and their mindset changed after that, fortunately! Read more>>

Ursula Schwartz

When reflecting on my artistic journey, I can confidently say that I knew I wanted to pursue an artistic career professionally from a very young age. Art has been an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember. From my early childhood, I found immense joy in expressing myself through various artistic mediums. Whether it was drawing, painting, or creating sculptures, I was constantly immersed in the world of art, experimenting and exploring new techniques. Read more>>

Shriya Myneni

From as far back as I can remember, arts has always been my creative outlet. For several years, I dabbled in various musical instruments like the keyboard, harmonium, and guitar while simultaneously training in various dance forms, primarily Bharatnatyam. As such, the artistic realm has been an inseparable part of my life. However, it was when my grandmother taught me how to hand-sew in 6th grade, that I finally discovered a profound interest in creative expression through fabrics and textiles. I will never forget how much I enjoyed the act of crafting small items from scrap fabrics lying around my house and selling them to my friends. Not only did this awaken my inner entrepreneurial spirit, but it also unveiled a world of limitless possibilities within the field of design. Read more>>

Luke Donald

It started at a pretty young age. My dad was a musician and I think that may have rubbed off on me a bit, but we always had music on, and I used to love riding around with him listening to him sing Elvis and Waylon tunes. That inspired me to want to pick up an instrument and once I got my first guitar, I never really stopped from there. I was sort of an awkward shy kid that had a hard time really expressing myself to others and fitting in, but when I found music, it gave me my voice and saved me in so many ways. When I started writing songs and playing in bands, I felt like I had a purpose, and the feeling I get when I tap into whatever that place is that inspires songs and creativity, fills me with so much joy, wonder, and excitement that I’ve never stopped chasing that next song. Read more>>

Allison Swalley

Probably when I was a teenager. I would always be sketching. Any opportunity I had I would just draw. My mom still has alot of my drawings to this day. When I got into high school, I took all of the art classes I could, but I never thought I was good enough. In 2019, I decided to just follow my dream and go for it. Read more>>

Ariana Hess

If I am being honest I have always been a creative/artist DIY kinda girl but never thought professionally. I was constantly taught in school, go to college and get the career. But growing up I constantly was surrounded by all the adults in my family that are in the construction industry of some nature and owned their own small businesses. So in Highschool I not only took alot of math/science I also took journalism, yearbook/newspaper but for fun never for a career choice, to be honest I didn’t think it could be a career. Read more>>

Faithima Wright

I’ve always loved drawing fancy costumes as a child. I remember venturing off into the clothing section in Department stores to put outfits together. My favorite characters were Lena Horne as Glenda the Good Witch (“The Wiz”) and Cruella De Vill played by Glenn Close (“101 Dalmatians”). Watching their extravagant costume design inspired me to pursue fashion. I eventually attended school for Fashion merchandising as an aspiring celebrity fashion stylist. My first job out of college in the industry was working as a Costume PA on the hit tv series Empire. Seeing the characters come to life on set for the first time I realized my true dream career. Read more>>

Erez Barnea

Music is in my blood. My grandfather from my moms side was an Opera singer and my father used to write poems. When I was about 6 years old, cable tv just became a thing in Israel (I moved to LA 6 years ago but all my life I’ve lived in Israel), and I vividly remember flipping through the channels, landing on MTV right when the music video of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana started playing, and I told myself “that’s what I want to do”. Read more>>

Flora Bai

Ever since I was a child, I’ve always dreamed of becoming an artist, envisioning my artwork adorning every corner of every city, from grand sculptures to murals and decorative paintings in people’s homes. For my four years of undergraduate study, I chose environmental design with a focus on interior design. However, starting from my sophomore year, the process of designing architectural projects and dealing with interpersonal relations within a group began to cause me depression. As a result, I turned to drawing illustrations during my free time as a way to escape from negative thoughts and relationships. I remember creating my first series of small installations called “Man in a Case” using mixed media like clay and watercolor. It marked the beginning of my liberation. Read more>>

Michelle Garcia

Art has always been the only option for me. It’s undoubtedly cliché, but it’s true—poetry is (and will always be) the be-all-end-all. Even in my earliest memories, becoming a writer never felt like a goal or dream profession to me, but a calling. Storytelling was what I pursued naturally as a kid, creating my own fictional worlds as early as three years old, reading my construction paper “books” theatrically to my preschool classes. As I got older, those made-up stories turned into pieces much more influenced by the real-life complexities of girlhood and navigating identity. I fell in love with poetry specifically in middle school. Read more>>

Kirin James

If my mother was replying to this question instead of me, she would say that I’ve known since I was 4 or 5 years old. I think it took until high school for me to really make up my mind. I was always the ‘art kid’ in school- I’m sure you either were one or at least know who I’m talking about- always drawing on whatever I got my hands on, the first one you go to if an assignment even mentioned the word “draw” in the brief. I’ve done woodworking, ceramic sculpting/throwing, crocheting, knitting, cross-stitching, embroidery, sewing… if I found something where I could use my hands, I tried it. Read more>>

Megan Desrosiers

I’ve been painting with watercolors since I was in fourth grade and had tried various artistic entrepreneurial businesses over the years; however, they ended in false starts before they had barely gotten started. I’ve discovered that my heart wasn’t in it but it wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy being creative. The issue was that I wasn’t creating something that I truly loved and had a deep connection with. I wasn’t getting my message or my voice out into the world. I gave up painting with my watercolors for about 10 or 15 years at this point. Read more>>

Juliet Callahan

At age 19 I decided that pursuing a career as a musician was no longer just a dream. It was something I was determined to follow through with. So I promptly transferred from my Business school to an Audio Engineering and Production school in LA. I started out as just a singer/songwriter but it was important to me to be multi-faceted in the industry so I immersed myself in my production while simultaneously continuing to practice my songwriting/singing. I dedicated my time to my craft, focusing on the production/engineering with the goal of being able to produce high quality songs at my home studio. Read more>>

Katie Payne

For me, the day I started drawing was as much of a milestone for my life as were first words. My earliest memories are analytical thoughts about drawings- one that stands out is in Kindergarden lecturing my classmate that the sky is not just a line of blue at the top of the page, but should reach the horizon line as well. And so I always knew that I would have to pursue art as a career so that it could continue to be a part of my daily life. So, my conflict in life as I got older was knowing I wanted to create, but having no clear direction of where that fit in with paid pursuits. And also, the issue has been going from creating because I had something in my heart and mind to express, to creating because of a commercial need and someone will pay me to do it..

Carmen Moses

I’ve been creative my entire life. I was always “the kid who draws”, and spent most of my youth drawing and writing creatively. The “get a real job” energy was prevalent in my surroundings, so in 5th grade i decided I wanted to be a micro-biologist. I adore science as much as art, and it has been a recurring theme for me artistically. In high school I started getting into performing arts, including music, dance, and drama, and still drew and wrote. We did not have a particularly strong art department at my school, hence my gravitation towards performance. I always felt the drive to create and problem solve, and had a very vivid imagination. Read more>>

Témi

I knew I wanted to do music when I was five years old. I grew up, listening to baby face and other acts that my older brothers used to play in the house, and it was the time where I fell in love with music. Especially when it came to the 90s music in that sort of thing it was the type of music for me that really spoke to the soul and I think it’s the reason I have such a strong connection with it now. And it’s probably why my songs have that same appeal that same feeling when he comes down to my records. Read more>>

Nathan Mitchell

Music has always been a part of my life since I was child. My father is a musician and singer, as well as, my mother is a singer. My family is full of musicans, singer, creatives of all aspects of life. It was destined for me to follow in the same path. Read more>>

Jennifer So

I knew from an early age that I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally. It all started when I was gifted a Ballerina doll that actually moved and danced. I remember running down the stairs from my bedroom screaming, “I want to be a Ballerina! I want to be a Ballerina!” So, I began dance classes at the age of 3 1/2. Over the years what started with Ballet and Tap classes, led to Jazz classes. I even took Ballroom and Ballet in college. When I was six years old my mom and dad took me to my first ever musical, “The King and I”, at the Buell Theatre in Denver, Colorado. I sat in the front row, mesmerized by the actors on stage! This performance had Hayley Mills as Anna, and it was in that moment that I knew I wanted to perform on stage just like her. That sparked a lifelong passion for the arts, and I still love it today. Read more>>

Swain McCaughrin

I began my creative path by experimenting and exploring various subject matter and mediums for no other reason than it was something I enjoyed. I just kept creating and realized that I had a lifetime of art I wanted to create. Eventually all other work fell to the side and I was forging ahead professionally. Read more>>

Ditram Hadhrian

On that I don’t know which is the right answer, because creativity defines me and music understands me, but when all of them combined together here I stand. In my life I’ve been spending a lot of time alone which made me have a lot of time to think and come out with creative ideas. And there is where music founds me. I have been listening to music like for very long time and later after few years I decided why not to start creating my own music so that I could tell the world my thoughts and feelings. Read more>>

Tottiana Duffy

I knew from a very young age that I wanted to pursue the arts. I remember asking my mom for a red dress that resembled an outfit Selena Quintanilla wore because I adored the movie about her life. I can recall rewatching her movie dozens of times as a kid. She was a superstar, and I wanted to be just like her. I have always been a multifaceted individual. For most of my life, I have been into fashion, drawing, singing, dancing, hair, make-up, modeling, photography, etc. I enjoy and indulge in all of these things about myself. However, it wasn’t until I really started diving into dancing in High School that I realized how much passion I had for performing and creating my own choreography. Read more>>

Erica Dykes

I actually knew from a very young age that I wanted to pursue art professionally. When I was little, I always told my mom I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. We had a cupboard in the house with bins full of craft supplies. There was this store in my hometown called the Creative Zone, that supplied really cool crafting kits. It was my favorite place to go. Read more>>

Arthur Harris

I had always loved singing ever since I was a young child. I have fond memories of singing at my uncles church in Philadelphia, PA. Where my grandmother was huge influence on me. Once she passed I lost my way. I held on to that hurt for over 20 years and still wasn’t confident in sharing my joy of singing with others. It wasn’t until COVID, when I realized my voice had a purpose. A purpose to bring light to those in need and to speak a kind word to those who are weary. Once I realized that, I knew it was time to take the next step and pursue a singing career. Read more>>

Ambrely Barrett

It all started with a three-year-old, a tutu, a bag, and “ballerina shoes” and has been a part of my life since. As I grew, so did my love and passion for dance. I loved everything about it from the creative freedom, to the specific technical training. It was at the age of twelve that I knew that I wanted to pursue the art of dance professionally. I wanted to perform on stage, teach, choreograph, and one day open my own studio. Read more>>

Regina Tanujaya

The piano has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I started taking piano lessons when I was four years old. Since then, practicing piano is like a daily habit. I might have a day off here and there, but it is an essential part of my daily life growing up. I love playing music so much that later on I took lessons in violin, drums, guitar, and voice, but piano took my heart and I went through with it! Read more>>

Daniel Rhyder

I started acting when I was very young, I think I signed with my first agent when I was around 10. I was lucky because I’m a Los Angels native so the opportunities to professionally act were very real and felt tangible. I didn’t have to wait until I was older and move away from my home and family to pursue my dreams for which I’ve always been very grateful. The summer before I got signed, I would watch old reruns of the TV show “Alice” and the theme song just stuck with me. “There’s a new girl in town, and she’s looking good! A fresh freckled face (which I had a lot of) in the neighborhood.” I would sing it to myself in the bathroom mirror, the same way I would lip synch to the Go’s-Go’s “We got the Beat”. Read more>>

Omri (stage name: DE SOFFER) Soffer

It all started somewhere almost 20 years ago. I was just a 10-year-old boy and my older brother had just brought home his first professional DJ equipment. Ever since then I have had a love affair with technology and I remember looking at it – it looked like something from the future. That’s just how it was. I remember looking forward to the first night when my brother left the house to meet his friends and then I actually remember opening up the equipment and starting to touch the buttons and teach myself what to do by feel. since then I just embraced evenings full of music that dragged me into this world. Read more>>

Diane Michelin

I was around 4 year old. My dad was sitting in his comfy rotating chair, listening music on tv. He loved TELE DOMINICA, with Italian singers. I was sitting on the carpet, with a sheet of white paper and coloured pencils. I must say that I was lucky to have school supplies at my disposition, because dad was working for Montreal Catholic School board. Seeing me drawing, he took my paper and a black coloured pencil and just mesmerized, I saw miracle appearing: in just few minutes the head of a lion started to be traced, with exactitude and precision. Read more>>

Yui Tsutsumi

I grew up in Japan, always wanting to be a veterinarian. I love animals and biology, and making sick animals feel better sounded the right calling. I was passionate enough to migrate to Australia to pursue the profession when I was 18. Once I became qualified, I devoted all my time to work and thought being a veterinarian was my ‘Ikigai’! In 2016 I went to the U.K. for two years to work, trying to increase my veterinary knowledge and skills. There I had some ups and downs. I got burned out doing what I used to love, to the point I didn’t even want to see any animal on TV because it reminded me of work. Read more>>

Erica Manson

From a young age, my goal was to be a successful, criminal lawyer. I grew up watching The Cosby Show and A Different World so I knew I would go to an HBCU, become a lawyer, wife and mother all before I turned 30 years old. However, soon after I graduated from college, VSU, life changed and that vision I had for myself changed quickly. I planned to take a year off from school so I could work and save a good chunk of money before heading to law school. Interestingly enough, I ended up getting hired and working for the legislative branch of state government. This institution has a very, conservative culture based in traditions stemming from the late 1960’s. Read more>>

Cathy Weiss

I grew up with very strong women who didn’t take no for an answer. My mom made all my clothes growing up, she was very creative and artistic. My grandmother was also a colorful person. She was always singing, telling stories , had a restaurant and the first cooking show on TV. My father was a poet at heart and our home was filled with music, books, and artistic endeavors, all their friends were creatives. When I was about 9, my brother, who is 12 years older than me, had a girlfriend who was an artist and incredibly talented. The two of them would take me to look at art. She taught me to draw. Ever since then I wanted to be an artist. It just made sense. Later I found out my birth mother was an artist. That was how she met my birth father because she was studying at the Art Students League of New York. It’s both nurture and nature that I became an artist. It was always in me and then it was nurtured by my family. Read more>>

Rosegold Shay

I always dreamt of being an artist on big stages as child and as life happened the dream faded. I slowly stepped back into being a creative when I started my crystal business as a hobby. The support was overwhelming and it was a freeing way of self expression. Through crystal meditation and unpacking what halted my childhood dream I was able to regain my confidence in music. The first song I wrote in that process was stuck on a loop in my brain while I was on a call at my 9-5. It was something in the pit of my stomach telling me that I was at a fork in the road and had to make a big decision. The options were to focus 100% on my corporate career and find ways to advance or pour all of my time and energy into what 7 year old Rosegold Shay wanted. Read more>>

Nyron Waite

I first knew I wanted to do music professionally when I got the reaction to my first songs I released in High school. I made a song about a high school basketball player who got all the love and admiration from his friends and peers. And I really wanted to be cool like that. When I got the reaction from my friends of how cool it was, I knew I had something special I can share with the world with my music. I knew I could relate! Read more>>

Andrew Antonucci

I’ve known ever since I was 11 years old. I had music in my life from a young age because my father was a drummer, but I never really paid much attention until I became a bit older. What really did it for me was my discovery of bands like Green Day, My Chemical Romance and Avenged Sevenfold. The latter being the reason I play guitar. I originally was thinking about being a bass player because I was so interested in Mike Dirnt from Green Day and his style, power, just the way he played in general. However, not long after that I heard Avenged Sevenfold for the first time and knew I wanted to play guitar and be a musician. Read more>>