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.

Dreadlock Dave McDougald

It was very early in my life I realized I wanted to be on stage and entertain people. I was drawn to the lights! My family was a direct influence on me as they were very musical. My Dad has sung in barbershop quartets for over 60 years so I heard a lot of 4-part harmony and saw a lot of those stage performances growing up! My senior yearbook photo description said something like “I Will Rock The World Or Join The Circus…” Read more>>

Carli Storms

When I was in first grade, there was a music class at my school. One day, we learned the song, ‘If I Had A Hammer’ by: Peter, Paul, and Mary. I really enjoyed singing it, so I asked my mom if I could perform the song for her when I got home that day. That was the moment my mom and I discovered I had a gift. From then on, I took voice lessons and was heavily involved in musical theater and choirs. Up until middle school, I thought I wanted to pursue a career on Broadway. But then, my ears were blessed with Lady GaGa’s hit single, ‘Just Dance’. My whole world changed in that moment, and I was inspired to pursue a career as an artist. Read more>>

Beyonca Goodson

As a young girl I was always involved in artistic activities. I danced (with schools/dance companies) from the age of four to the age of twenty. I sang on church choir and school choir. I participated in beauty pageants. I did a lot of drawing and painting as a kid and I still do as an adult. I feel that my involvement with the arts as a child ultimately led me to an artistic profession. Read more>>

Julia Mejia

I grew up with a love for all things creative and would often accompany my mother in her photo studio. She was a stay-at-home mom but attended an adult-education photography class at night and on weekends. My siblings and I would occasionally model for her and help out around the studio. I remember watching her direct shoots and develop film. I thought it was the coolest thing. This was also my only access to anything art related at the time. I think observing her do her thing inspired me to want a creative career one day. Read more>>

Alison Ogden

The second I learned to speak, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career as a recording artist. Of course, most little girls say they want to grow up to either be a princess or a pop star, but with me it stuck. My mom enrolled me in dancing, acting, and singing lessons at the Triple Threat Theater Studio at three and I was extremely devoted to growing there, eventually working up to attending classes/rehearsals sometimes 30 hours a week. As I got into high school and started applying to arts colleges, the classic “What’s your backup plan” questions came from every single adult in my life, and I was always sort of dumbfounded by that mindset. Read more>>

Jaylyn Desean

I knew I wanted to pursue a social media presence when people would literally message me asking when my next video was coming out, some even demanding me to post. I never officially “started” making content, I would just post funny things that I would do, not expecting much attention from anyone other than the people around me, which then turned Into the amazing community I’ve grown today. I don’t make content for the money or fame, I do It because It not only makes me happy, but for the people who enjoy my content as well, best feeling ever. Read more>>

Ronan Colfer

From a very early age. I was always into creative writing, but I didn’t really have anywhere to go and pursue acting, so once I reached a certain age I moved to Dublin to pursue it. It was quite nerve wracking of course at first and the complete lack of experience didn’t help but I stuck to it regardless; mostly because I just enjoyed it and felt a lot of growth from it, not because I particularly felt I was any good at it, quite the opposite actually. Read more>>

Ivana Tattoo Art

I grew up in a small village in Slovakia during communism. We did not have the ability to express ourselves like the rest of the world, but I always did through art. One day, a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to try to tattoo, and I jumped on the opportunity. As soon as I touched the machine to her skin, I was hooked and fell in love with the form of self-expression. I have never worked another job since then. I was 18 years old. Read more>>

Monica Bethelwood

It actually wasn’t until the fall of 2022 that I finally decided to pursue being an artist full time. I’ve made art my whole life, as well as studying as a dancer for years and being a singer/songwriter. For some reason I had it in my head that being creative was a hobby of mine, and invested a lot of energy into “making it” in a senior role at a non-profit. Once I got there though, with the title, the salary and so on, it dawned on me that I wasn’t actually happy. Pushing around emails all day at a desk when I had this massive creative fire in me wanting to be expressed was tortuous. In retrospect I can really see that the combination of marriage, motherhood, and career focus led to me stifling more and more of my authentic self…I felt a lot of inward pressure to be typically successful and not the wild, multi-faceted soul I really am. Read more>>

Anni

I realized I wanted to go into a creative field when I was told to do what you love. I loved music and singing and I also loved building community. Those paths aligned in a way creating Saturdays at Seven and my own artist project ‘Anni’. Read more>>

Tim Bennett

In the 4th Grade I realized I could get a laugh from fellow students, but age 10 me had no roadmap for going from class clown to esteemed expert in the comedy arts. Fortuitously, there was a sketch troupe at the state university I attended–in fact, it’s (arguably) the longest-running college comedy troupe in the world, although now the kids exclusively perform improv, I believe. My friend Paul served as director and producer, running each week’s show as a (semi)-professional endeavor, with individual writers and writing teams coming up with material on Saturdays, a Sunday meeting to pitch those sketch ideas and collaborate, a Monday rehearsal to determine which sketches had legs, a Wednesday rehearsal to fine-tune, re-tool and/or cut bits that weren’t working, a Thursday night speed-through, and the live show Friday at noon for an audience of 400 adoring fans (with nothing better to do between classes.) Not only did putting together this weekly show 13-weeks a semester cement the notion that this could be a career, it also monopolized my time. Read more>>

Sam “Samwyse” Girardot

When I was a kid, I would always make up little songs and sing them around the house. Even as I grew up, I would turn things that I’m saying or doing into a song, and that kind of expression I knew I could never stop. It’s almost an obsession where if I don’t create, my soul hurts. When I was younger I also played music in Church, and seeing how music would touch people’s spirit in that setting always confirmed for me how powerful music can be for people in their lives. Read more>>

Shawn Carter Peterson

I’ve always known I wanted to be a professional artist. I started playing piano at the age of 4 so I have very few memories of not working on my artistry. Of course, I didn’t know then what being an artist actually was. I did, however, know that I liked performing. My first public performance was around 6 or 7 and I was hooked from then on. Over the years, my performances began to include musicals, choral recitals, straight plays as well as dance performances in college. I knew that I wanted to be a well rounded artist so I continued to explore all aspects of my performance persona. Read more>>

Troy Farmer

That was a twisting path for me, personally and professionally. I served in the US Peace Corps after college, moving to Poland after graduation and working with other volunteers and locals in various facets of environmental education. After returning to the States, I found myself pulled to the non-profit world, working both with environmental and land conservation groups as well as those promoting animal advocacy and providing services for the unhoused. Read more>>

Theodore Ramirez

This thought came in just a few years after I started to perform professionally. I play drums and earned a degree in performance mid-2012. I knew I loved backing up different artists and playing with bands quite a bit. I thought that was my ultimate calling. I had enjoyed writing different songs/beats on an old version of Fruity Loops in the meantime and something eventually got sparked. I wanted to do more. I felt as though this was something I wanted to dive deeper into because I genuinely loved writing music. I felt a love for bringing forth my emotions and it reminded me of how certain film scores would effect me. Read more>>

Zuma Quintero

When I first decided to drop out of school due to lack of interest and money I really had no idea what I really wanted to do for a long time. I spent a lot of time bartending in nightclubs and eventually found myself liking the dj aspect but had no way of learning or any connections. I did meet up with a producer that pretty much inspire me to become a producer and then next came the djing . Read more>>

Zehui Zhang

I think a lot of creators begin their interests by drawing on the walls. My parents still occasionally tell me that the strange figures and shapes I drew confused them for a long time. Art has always been my main hobby. I spent almost all of my break time drawing and reading comics, but I hardly ever thought about becoming an illustrator. My father had a very clear plan for my college and career. He expected me to become a highly educated psychologist or engineer. Even though I wasn’t particularly interested in either of those careers, I didn’t object. I feel incredible now recalling these experiences. How could anyone not care about their major? Read more>>

Johnny La

While I was in college, I took a drama class that changed my perspective. One day, after performing a heartfelt scene, I noticed some people in the audience were actually crying. That powerful reaction showed me the impact of storytelling and kindled a love for acting inside me. However, the real push to follow this dream came a bit later, in 2014. I was stuck in a routine office job, spending my days behind a computer, and I knew it wasn’t for me. I wanted more. So, with a blend of passion and a desire for change, I decided to fully embrace acting and moved to Los Angeles. Read more>>

Misha Crosby

I must have been around 5 years old. My dad used to play in the orchestra for West End Musicals so I would get to go along and sit in the orchestra pit. Sometimes I’d be in the audience watching the shows. The focused energy was fascinating to me. When I connected with the actors up on stage and their ability to collectively have the audience feel different things, I knew that’s what I wanted to pursue. Read more>>

Julian Morales

I first knew that I wanted to be a filmmaker when I saw the film “Blade Runner” for the first time with my father when I was in film school. The film put the fire in me, to want to tell stories that were complex and cinematic, and after that I made a short film that was very inspired by “Blade Runner” and my passion for filmmaking grew. Then with each short film I made, and watching more films from other countries and eras, my life became fully committed to this career path of being a Writer/Director. Read more>>