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.

Kato DeStefan

The make-up bug was first put into my head to do from watching Star Trek (The Original Series) and Planet of the Apes films as a kid. Seeing the way the make-up artists changed these actors was really intriguing. I started gathering whatever books and magazines on character and prosthetic make-up I could find. In 1982, when I saw John Carpenter’s film, The Thing, that was the final push that I needed. Rob Bottin’s crowded such groundbreaking work on the film that it still holds up today. Read more>>

Minhua Fang

The idea of becoming a creator first emerged in primary school when Japanese animation of the 2000s gained popularity in China. I was exposed to many outstanding anime works at that time, such as “Fullmetal Alchemist,” “Yu Yu Hakusho,” “Dragon Ball,” “Akira,” and “Evangelion.” Growing up surrounded by excellent animated works, it felt natural for me to aspire to become a manga artist when I grew up. Read more>>

Brian Goddard

I have been around music most of my life due to my brother having his own recording studio at my grandmom garage. He showed me audio engineering when I was a teenager. When I graduated from high school, I went to New York City and took my education to NYU where I fined-tune my craft to record and mix at the highest level possible. Read more>>

Sophie Changhui Shi

When I came to Los Angeles in the summer of 2016 to attend summer school at UCLA Anderson, I saw how big this industry is and how professional people work in this industry are. I knew that I can find myself a position here. That’s when I first know I want to pursue a creative path professionally. Read more>>

Sammi Sammi

It was senior year of high school. Mid-january. 30a Songwriters Festival. Read more>>

Kort Blu

My single mother would sing around the house, growing up or she’d blast the radio dancing like a mad woman. People would compare her to Barbra Streisand. She introduced me to broadway shows in NYC, such as “Wicked”, “Jersey Boys”, “The Lion King”, “The Adams Family”, “Miss Saigon”, and plenty more. An icon that I loved most was Britney Spears and I bought all of her albums on CD. I always pictured myself being that star “idol”, that the world adores. Read more>>

Janice Brown

At the age of 15 my sparks were ignited for the fashion and art industry. By the time I was 15 was starting to see my own clothes. I drew constantly for hours at a time. It a was my solace and therapy. I knew I wanted to either attend FIT or Parsons Achool of Design. Read more>>

Michael Kruzich

I knew when I was in High School in rural Iowa. I was a Star Wars geek and was convinced I wanted to be a special effects animator and work for George Lucas at ILM. Somewhere along the way while studying animation I dipped my toe into the world of classical ballet and was launched into another direction for the next 30 years! Read more>>

Ro Rowan

I can remember listening to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” in my bedroom on cassette tape when I was about 4 or 5. I remember thinking, “I want to be a performer. That sounds so fun. Ugh, that also sounds terrifying.” I was a closet performer. You know: in the privacy of my bedroom, in the bathroom mirror, in the backseat while mom ran errands. I loved to imagine being on stage. I also was painfully shy. Read more>>

Dani Weiss

I knew when I was in high school that I didn’t fit into the “normal” career path. I was always creative and pursued my passion in high school, that led to art school in college and a lifelong career as a photographer. Read more>>

Sarah Cleveland

I always knew that I wanted to be an actor, however it never seemed like an actual option for me. When I was younger, I wanted to be a singer and a performer, so when I did my first school musical, I thought I would go for it. But, living in smaller town, as well as not having had any family or acquaintances in the arts, I felt it was so far out of reach. Read more>>

Daveed Alvarado

Very early. Right after High School I moved to LA from NOLA to try to make that happen. I had a day job up until one day in 2007 I was fired, and that same afternoon I got a call from a movie production that I had worked with 6 months prior. They asked me to write a song for the movie that ended up not being used. Read more>>

Reagan Bentke

I began teaching myself guitar at the age of 6 and formed my first band in 5th grade. My passion for audio production ignited in 2009, and ever since starting my first band, I’ve aspired to pursue a career in playing and/or audio production. Read more>>

Gabe Sokoloff

The closest thing I had to a formative period in that regard occurred the summer after my junior year of college. Music was still just a hobby at that point, but I had applied for an artist-in-residency with the National Park Service. I thought it’d be a dreamy way to spend the summer, holed up in a cabin making music inspired by the surrounding natural beauty. Read more>>

Lanyi Gao

In 1989, Chinese feminist artist Xiao Lu fired two shots at her installation, ‘Dialogue,’ at the National Art Museum of China, challenging toxic Chinese masculinity and feudal society. It took 29 years for those shots to impact me, awakening a dormant passion to become a Chinese feminist artist. Read more>>

Vincent Acevedo

There were so many hints as time went by, I had always loved laughing but I truly enjoyed being able to make friends and family laugh even more so. It was always very addictive to hear laughs and want them to keep going. It wasn’t until I was finally forced to perform at an open mic that I truly realized what it was like to get complete strangers to laugh. Having a moment to know that it was just you, the microphone and the crowd meant there was no one to protect you. Read more>>

Theo Francocci

I always knew I would follow an artistic career path. When I was a kid, I had a piano in my house that my sister would seldom play. When not played, I would go and improvise music on it. I would also watch films and TV shows and be in awe so much so that I would reenact parts of those movies by memory or perform the choreographies of films such as Mary Poppins. Read more>>

Austin Highsmith Garces

I’ve known since I was 7 years old that I wanted to be an actor. I watched Coal Miner’s Daughter and Mystic Pizza and I was blown away by Sissy Spacek and Julia Roberts and wanted to know how they did what they did and how I could do that too. But it wasn’t until just before my senior year in college that I admitted to myself and others that I wanted to be an actor professionally. Read more>>

Amari Ms.Diva Browne

I’ve known since a child that I loved performing! I can say elementary school plays started that for me, whenever I got on the stage it was a feeling of it didn’t matter what was happening in the audience I was on stage and I wanted to always give a good show! Growing up I realized early on that I was funny and the things I would say would make the adults laugh then when I was school I could make my friends laugh it made me happy to make others happy. I knew from then I could do this for the rest of my life. Nothing brings me more joy than entertainment. Read more>>

Paul Ramirez

Prior to the pandemic, I’ve worked as a Physical Therapist Assistant since 2005. I enjoyed the work, and my employer, until I didn’t. I started songwriting roughly 10 years ago, and released my first album in 2018 with The Bannermen, Chicago’s nerdiest band. Music has been a part of my life for a long time, and from writing my first song and forming the band, I knew then and know now, that it would be my future. Read more>>

Heather Buzzell

I was at the end of my rope with the job I was at. The environment was toxic at times. It seemed like if you were a hard worker, dedicated, motivated, passionate you were granted the opportunity for advancement but they wouldn’t let you go too far (in my case maybe I was too powerful and they were scared of me) and they didn’t pay well. People were known to be sh*tty employees and if they threatened to leave they were asked to stay with better compensation. Read more>>

Tina Tara

I always knew I wanted to become a singer, stand on a stage and connect with the audience on a sheer emotional level. I felt flooded with emotions and excitement when I listened to Whitney Houstons first album when I was 8 years old. It sure took a few months for the idea to form that I wanted to do that too, but I was mesmerized with the possibility to be able to create such energy by just opening your mouth to sing. It fascinated me and simultaneously I had the feeling in my gut that I was supposed to do that too. Read more>>

Chris Tait (Tayt Modern)

I always new it. I excelled within visual arts in High School and attended Emily Carr pre college arts courses. By the time I had graduated, I became somewhat cynical about visual art and found myself playing music. I had many adventures gigging around London and the West Coast of Canada and the US, until I found myself at a real crossroads… there was a serious collapse within my life and I had no idea where I was headed. I picked up the paint brush and a familiar voice spoke “Yes, this is where you belong. This is where you’ve always belonged. Paint. Trust me”. I was home at last. Read more>>

Chia Chen

It’s surprisingly not the moment I fell in love with the art/performing. But it was afterwards that I just cannot bare the idea of never five it a try or pursue it. Coming from a traditional Asian family and values, being in the field of art and performing is not an obvious choice or a choice at all. It took a lot of conviction and communication before I embark on the journey. Read more>>

Molly Vaughan

After a 12 year career in school settings, it was clear that I was as bored of sitting at a desk as my students. I kept crawling my way into non-traditional education jobs to stave off my boredom from teaching. Nothing was working. Some joy came from coaching sports teams, but sports are limiting to those predisposed with athletic ability. Read more>>

Aaliyah Lang

The turning point in my life came when my artwork started getting noticed and appreciated by those around me. I was creating flyers, business cards, and even developed my own website for my first business in clothing/beauty. My friends and family were not just complimenting my work, but also asking if I had ever considered pursuing design professionally. Honestly, the thought hadn’t really struck me until 2022, when the idea of design began to resonate deeply within me. Read more>>

Rayquan Blake

My earliest memory of wanting to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally was in high school. I enrolled in a magnet school, Miami Lakes Educational Center where I studied Television Production/Film for those four years. In my freshman year I had the opportunity to write and direct my first short film, and that was such a test drive experience. Read more>>

Diane Kelber

When I was about 6 years old, I wanted to *be* Hayley Mills, after being enthralled with her performances in Disney movies. And a few years later, my mom started taking us to all the shows at the Music Center in L.A. and I secretly wanted to be one of those dancers on stage. I just didn’t know that meant I wanted to actually become an actor/dancer/singer! I finally started studying dance at age 16 and got my first professional job at 21 and kept dancing in contemporary repertory dance companies from L.A. to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Read more>>

Kaleisha Walker

Since I was a child, I’ve always dreamed of being a creative/actress/being in the entertainment industry, but it wasn’t until two years ago when I relocated to Tennessee that this dream came to fruition. Prior to moving to Tennessee, I kind of suppressed my acting dream. There weren’t really any acting opportunities in my hometown. My move here has proven that my dream is still possible. Read more>>

Jules Koreman

I first knew I wanted to pursue a career as a studio artist when I was 19. Before then, I was always interested in art, but I was pursuing a career in chemistry and material engineering. My art professor encouraged me to apply for the New York Arts Program, a study away program that granted credit for working as an artist assistant in New York. Read more>>

Lettie Jane Rennekamp

It took me a long, long time to take myself seriously as an artist. Read more>>

Margaret Dukeman

Like many artists I knew at a pretty young age that I had an affinity for art and the creative side of things. While in school many art awards and opportunities came my way with not much effort. As I entered high school, art remained a favorite subject and I knew then that I wanted to pursue a career in something that allowed me to use this talent that I had been given. My eyes were on the fine arts and painting, however, I felt a need to have a degree in something that would support this passion as well. Read more>>

Nicole Brice

In college, I was working as on-air talent and a production director for my college radio station, 90.9 FM KSLU. It was at this time that I knew I wanted a career where I could create, but I wasn’t quite sure as to how I could achieve that. After college, I began working in Marketing for the corporate sector from 2006-2019 and after that career came to an abrupt halt, I knew I wanted to finally pursue my dreams. In 2021, I became a published author for the first time after contributing to the bestselling book, “My Labor Pains Were Worse Than Yours”. Read more>>

Katherine Jelte

I vividly recall the precise moment when the allure of a creative career struck me. It was a time when I accompanied my dad to the Dollar Theatre for a movie night. We arrived early, catching the pre-show interviews where directors discussed their upcoming projects. I can’t quite recollect the name, but one director mentioned that their film was inspired by their children’s beloved bedtime story. Read more>>

Lori Mirabelli

Graduating from university in 2007, my path seemingly veered into the mundane. It was not until 2008 that I began to notice the whispering call of an alternative life; it was a year of nurturing my innate love for creativity, when I first dipped my toes into the vast, vibrant ocean of abstract art. As I explored this unchartered territory, I found myself magnetized towards art’s expressive freedom. Read more>>

Maria Wurtz

I first knew that I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally when I was in High School. I was so deeply in love with photography, and had been for many years prior, but when everyone was figuring out their careers and choosing college, I knew that I had to follow my dreams. The inner urge to create overcame any desire for the 9-5 day job and a successful freelancing career was my ultimate goal. With the support of my high school photo teacher, Mark Booth, my friends, and my family, I pursued photography and I cannot imagine doing anything else! Read more>>

Tanya Jones

That’s indeed a challenging question because, for the majority of my life, I never saw myself as a creative or an artist. The concept of being an artist seemed reserved for those with exceptional talents showcased in museums or on grand stages – an exclusive club to which I believed I didn’t belong. Little did I realize that my creative journey had quietly woven itself into the fabric of my existence. Read more>>

Jeremy Labib

I knew once I realized nothing else felt right. My enthusiasm and life blood lives in art, wether it be in its creation, its observation or its discussion. Read more>>

Geneva Casebolt

I knew I wanted to pursue a creative path when I was 16 and started doing Musical Theatre. I loved being other people and found apart of myself in playing those characters. I also started doing Pole Dance as a hobby when I was 18 and it’s something I’ve always done. Although I didn’t truly add it to my future goals until I was about 20. Read more>>

Shala Jenkins

I have always had a passion for music and the arts from a very young age. Growing up, I found myself drawn to various forms of artistic expression, whether it was painting, crafting, sewing, or music. As I navigated through different experiences and opportunities in life, I gradually realized that my true fulfillment came from engaging in music. It was during my time with the Americolor Opera Alliance in high school that I had a moment of clarity, realizing that I wanted to turn my passion into a profession. Read more>>

Meranda Brodowski

I have been interested in art for as long as I can remember. I started drawing more intensely when I was 12 and I became the kid that carried around a sketchbook everywhere I went throughout junior high and high school. At the time I was mostly drawing the juvenile things I was interested in: lots of cartoons and fan-art. Read more>>

Brandt Parke

I first knew I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic career when I was 13, and first picked up the guitar. I’ve always been fascinated with music, and have been a collector since I was about 9. Growing up listening to Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and so many other greats, I wanted to do what they were doing with their guitars because I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I thought, “if listening to music fires me up this much, I wonder what playing music would be like!” Read more>>

Bryan Greenberg

I realized I wanted to pursue my career pretty early on luckily. Read more>>

Nick Potters

Ever since I was young, there was no doubt in my mind that music is what I was meant to pursue. I lived and breathed it my entire upbringing, and that lasted throughout all of my formative years. When it came time to think about college & careers, I was pretty unwavering in my desire to follow my passion. By high school I was already in a few bands, teaching private lessons, and immersing myself in the local scene as much as possible. Read more>>