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.

Meghanne Storey

Singing and songwriting is in my DNA. I can’t not do it. Its my outlet, my safety, my zone, my self expression, my way of communicating. I never believed it would be a source of income for me. My parents always wanted me to have a day job because rockstar wasn’t realistic…but aI ALWAYS wanted to do this. As soon as I knew what it was i wanted it. However, as a young woman (15-23) I worked in a downtown Seattle Dennys by the freeway and my wrists collapsed. I went to school for years and tried to retrain myself and i ended up disabled. So, music was the only option i had left. Its like the universe said noooo you need to go this way. So here i am. 3yrs in and i have never been happier. The music business is hard but the music itself is solace. It balances itself out. I am so glad I made the decided and jumped. Best decision I ever made. It was hard. I had to come out of comfort zone. But im so glad i did it. Read more>>

Julian Brown

When I was a kid, I was always mesmerized with the fact that there were people who weren’t cartoons that would be highly praised by my family for the entertainment they provided for households from sports, to music, to movies, all of those specific categories did one thing in common which was entertain. One inspiration was Bow Wow. Seeing that he was a child and playing a big role in music history was one thing that made me a fan. Even as a child before my grandmother (bless her soul) had her daycare class join ballet. So as a kid I was already tasting the joy of being on stage not knowing that in the future that it would be something that I put my all into. Read more>>

Alexander McCarty

I always enjoyed writing ever since I was a kid. I excelled in English classes in elementary school and was a life long theatre kid, playing the staring role in my 6th grade Oliver Twist production. Once I reached middle school, I was excelling at most courses, minus math. I’d often finish assignments early and thus I had plenty of free time. Even back when i was an ovolactarian i have always been someone who loved and cared about animals, and this gave me a perspective that I loved to share with people. I was often bullied for protecting bugs at school or for not eating animal flesh. because of this I was very introverted. So around half-way through 7th grade I decided to do something with my free time. I decided to write! Read more>>

Juel Bergholm

From a very young age, I was always immersed in creativity—drawing, painting, and exploring different artistic mediums. Art was a natural part of my childhood. Despite this, my path to becoming a hairstylist and makeup artist wasn’t straightforward. Both my grandmother and mother were hairstylists, and my older sister also followed in their footsteps. Being the youngest and a bit of a rebel, I was determined not to follow the same path. I wanted to carve out my own identity, so I resisted the idea of working in beauty. Read more>>

Sophie Coran

When I was two years old, I asked my mom for a “pi-na-no.” Music has always been a huge part of my life, in fact, I’m not sure there’s ever been a period of time where music wasn’t a defining factor in my decisions. From piano lessons, to learning to write down the songs I heard in my head, to studying classical composition in college, I knew music would always be present in one way or another. I remember the day that my piano teacher helped me notate my first song on manuscript paper, and I was so excited! Eventually I studied classical composition and piano at the Manhattan School of Music, which helped me learn how to arrange my songs for strings, and other orchestral instruments. After graduating from MSM, I spent some time abroad, landing in London, and then back to Philly, where I am currently based. I’m in the process of releasing the first single, “love’s so insane” from this new batch of my music. Read more>>

Duncan Kinzie

I often think it wasn’t up to me. I discovered that I was a creative, and so I had no choice but to follow an artistic life. I think that’s true of all vocations. You have to follow what’s been inside you all along in order to find fulfillment. In practice, though, it was going to movies as a kid that most likely set me on my path. I’d go to the movies every weekend, and with divorced parents I’d often get to see them at least twice. It was a ritual for me – a call to something greater. I wanted so badly to be IN that world. My mom would say “you can do anything”, so I’d walk out of The Incredibles and for a week or two I was determined to train myself to run as fast as Dash. I’m a long way away from Usain Bolt, but I think that determination persisted, it just changed form. Read more>>

Megan Kasuyama

I was 18 & I had just graduated high school, it was summertime and I was about to go to university. I really wasn’t in the best living situation, wasn’t ready to take on debt and live the same way for another 4 years with the hopes to move out somehow in between all that. It felt impossible at the time. So I ended up leaving with my best friend Paul. We had nothing but backpacks, sleeping bags, a few clothes, & a small savings. We both played music but weren’t very good & didn’t take it seriously. We couch surfed for a bit & ended up living on a farm with this amazing mosaic artist named Elizabeth. She had built her whole property through believing in her dreams & pursuing her art. She had even left her home too when she was around our age & traveled across the country from Michigan to San Francisco just to be an artist. It was in that moment I realized I would never give up on my dream. I would rather give up everything material in the world before giving up on my dream of speaking & connecting through the power of music. Read more>>

Allie Schnapp

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally was probably around my junior year in high school when I started thinking about where I wanted to go to college. I grew up in New England which is full of a lot of hardworking, pragmatic, salt-of-the-earth people and until it came time for me to start considering my future, it hadn’t really dawned on me that a lot of these traditional, everyday jobs were not something that I wanted for myself. As I searched through college pamphlets and looked at different majors and courses, I found myself feeling anxious that nothing really seemed all that interesting or a good fit for me. The more I looked, the more I worried that there was something wrong with me for not being able to confidently identify a major or a career path that I wanted for myself. Read more>>

Wei Wang

The first time I wanted to become an artist was during my master’s degree, when I felt that I had developed a clear personal artistic style Read more>>

Megan Sweet

I have always had an interest in comedy in any form: stand-up, improv, and sketch. As a young girl, I watched “Saturday Night Live” weekly and wrote and performed sketches for my family and stuffed animals. I am an only child and feel fortunate to have grown up pre-internet. I was often bored, and it led to my creativity. I also struggled with anxiety, depression, and ADHD since I was a child and did not realize, at the time, that comedy was my way of coping. I never considered that I could do anything professional with comedy. It wasn’t until my second son was born. I was diagnosed with Postpartum Mood Disorder, and I knew pursuing a career that utilizes comedy to take care of my mental health and empower others to use humor and social-emotional learning to take care of their mental health at the same time would be the best plan for me. Read more>>

Frank Juárez

Like many creatives, my interest in art began at an early age. I remember competing against my best friend, Ramón Alvarado at Oliver Wendell Holmes Elementary School to see who was the best drawer in class. The winner would be determined based on our classmates’ excitement, which was a tie. I engaged in the creative process throughout my middle and high school education. Although my interest was in art, my career aspiration was to become a doctor. As I took courses in college, I realized that my dream was not turning into my reality. This resulted in reassessing my career goal, ultimately leading me into the arts. Read more>>

Lee Newton

Since I was a child I have always loved to sing and perform. My Daddy, who was a cabdriver started teaching me how to play guitar when I was seven years old. He passed away when I was 11. In high school I turned to music as a healer and it made me feel closer to him. I went on to sing for the first time in front of a live audience when I was 14 and I was hooked. I knew there was nothing else I wanted to do in my life. I wanted to be a singer and entertainer. Read more>>

D Realz

The moment I knew I wanted to be an artist was when I was 8 years old. It hit me like a ton of bricks when I first heard the unmistakable beats of Juvenile and the Hot Boys. Their music, the swagger, the confidence- they were larger than life. I wanted to be like them when I grew up. I remember standing in front of the mirror, pretending I was on stage, imagining the crowd going wild. It wasn’t just about the fame or the spotlight; it was about the energy and the way their lyrics seemed to capture everything I was feeling at the time. As young boy, growing up and seeing artists like them who came from backgrounds that felt similar to mines made me feel and believe it was possible. That moment their music playing loud, I decided I wanted to be a rap superstar. It wasn’t just a dream. To me, it was a calling. The rhythm of their words became the rhythm of my aspirations. I knew then that I wanted to channel my creativity into something that had that same power to inspire. Read more>>

Ric’key Pageot

I found out in high school while deciding my major for college. I knew already I wanted to become an internationally known touring musician. Those are the exact words I told my dad when he asked what did I want to do. Read more>>

Alyssa Nicole

Similar to many other creatives’ stories, I knew that art was going to be an important part of my life at a very young age. Between cartoons, video games, graphic novels and all the other mediums of visual storytelling, the motivation to create worlds and characters that were interesting and captivating was very strong. Of course, all of my interests in drawing were a bit scattered at a young age, but one moment sticks out in my mind as a pivotal moment in my art focus. I distinctly remember being age 7 and my teacher giving me a “How to draw Sonic” book during freetime at school. I became obsessed with that book. I did everything I could in class to earn more freetime and draw more. Every ‘how to draw book’ that entered the classroom would quickly enter my rotation. At home, I would fill memo pads and printer paper with practices and doodles I learned from the day. Read more>>

Niayuku

I’ve always loved music and dance—they’ve been constants in my life. I grew up taking classes in classical ballet, jazz, tap, and ballet folklórico. I also spent much of my childhood in a city bustling with music. Riding public transportation in Acapulco felt like being in a mini nightclub, with flashing lights and bass that made the seats and your heart rattle. It was actually on those buses, in 2nd grade, that I first started thinking about song choices and imagining what I would play if I had a sound system like that. It was the peak of 90s dance music, Crystal Waters, Faithless, La Bouche, and I just couldn’t wait to go to a club one day. At 15, I finally went to my first nightclub, El Alebrije in Acapulco — and from then on, I knew I wanted to be a DJ. Read more>>

Natalie Jean

Growing up I didn’t know what I wanted to be or what profession I was going to get into. I worked ALOT of dead end jobs before realizing that my true purpose in life was to make others happy and feel beautiful by being a hairstylist. I knew early on that my passions came from creating, doing artistic projects.  I’ve been doing hair for almost 10 years and I have fulfilled so many dreams of mine that I never thought I would achieve.  Read more>>

Shamar Binns

Growing up, I was always known for my explosive personality and boundless energy. My imagination ran wild, constantly transporting me to different worlds and stories, where I often pictured myself as the hero in fantasy settings. One of my favorite childhood memories is of my twin sister and me putting on stage plays for our mother, where we would method act and bring those imaginary worlds to life. It was pure fun, and those moments fueled my passion for storytelling. Read more>>

Amaris Sachs

Initially I saw how the practice of photography began to open up my world. It made me curious and built a beautiful foundation for how I live life presently. Backstory: In 2016, my life as I knew it until 18 years old came to a halt. I was a ballet dancer and had to quit. Years of trauma and pain came to the surface at once and I had to make the choice to begin myself over again. I had moved away to spread my wings and soon I found myself back at square one. Choosing to restart my life when it was only supposed to be beginning was the hardest thing i’ve ever done. It is an ongoing process of joy and difficulty. Like all things that matter in life. Art gave me an avenue through which to express my emotions by connecting with others and giving purpose to my art. It also allowed me to express my C-PTSD experience.  Read more>>

Braeden Meyer

I have always been fascinated by the intersection between arts, culture, and the scientific realm of understanding the world around us. My whole life has been driven by exploring these facets of creative and research-based intrigue. Artwork and photography were some of my hobbies and interests during school growing up but I quickly realized how fascinating science can be for all ages! I decided I would pursue some way to blend these interests moving forward and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Biological Sciences (fisheries & wildlife ecology & Mgmt. concentration) in Spring 2020 from Montana State University – Bozeman. During this degree I worked a multitude of scientific research/conservation seasonal technician positions with federal, state, and private level conservation entities throughout MT and WY. Read more>>

Jennifer Dixon

I always had a passion for writing from a very young age. I didn’t fully grasp the term “creative” or see myself in that light until recently. Writing became a safe space where I could explore my thoughts and feelings freely. Music also played a significant role in my life; it had a unique ability to heal and instill courage. As a woman living with cerebral palsy, music often uplifted me and provided the strength I needed to persevere. The pivotal moment that set me on a professional artistic path occurred in the summer of 2014 when I first listened to “State of Emergency” by Zie’l. The lyrics resonated deeply, awakening something within my soul and filling me with happiness. At that moment, God gave me a vision—give back to the countless of artists whose music had brought me encouragement. Read more>>

Chas Hyman

I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. At my grandparents’ house, I gravitated towards printer paper, eager to unleash this new thing called “creativity” that I was discovering as a child. Putting pencil to paper felt so natural, like I was unlocking something within myself. In elementary school, when teachers asked what we wanted to be when we grew up, I never said I wanted to be an artist. The option wasn’t there. You could be a doctor, scientist, firefighter, farmer, or mail carrier—but an artist? That felt like a mystical career, reserved for the greats of the past like those who painted the Mona Lisa or Starry Night. On top of that, the pressures of capitalist ideas also made art seem impractical, so I never thought of it as a serious pursuit. Read more>>

Anqi Qiao

I have been an animal lover since I was small. I have countless happy memories of animals from my childhood: when my grandparents took me on their bicycles to the petting zoo to feed carrots to the sika deer and millet to the parrots; when I sat on my dad’s shoulders to watch the giraffes and elephants; when my grandpa made cricket cages out of bamboo to keep crickets, and I watched them chewing on cucumbers and listened to their chirping; and when I pressed my face against the huge fish tank, watching the tropical fish swimming around and eating fish food on the water’s surface. Read more>>

Jaqueline Burgess

I was always creative, always drawing, painting and creating from an early age. I worked in other fields, childcare, and teaching art at a boys’ school in London to name a few, unsure of how to turn my artistic abilities into a career. It was only when I had my second baby, one year into her life that I hit a bump in the road, feeling disconnected from my true essence, my purpose. After many tears and feeling like I had fallen into a pit of despair, the grace of God/universe I realised I was more than just a mother and a wife. I realised that I was blessed with the talent to create art, of any kind. I had recently met an Artist who became a good friend, he had recently quit his job and started supporting his whole family. If he could turn his art into a career, why couldn’t I do the same? Read more>>

Zhongbo Ren

I grew up immersed in traditional art, training in sketching, oil, and gouache painting from an early age. So I had a passion to express my life, experience and imagination by using those skills. Especially, the dramatic landscape that I saw or a memorial moment that I wanted to record. Those internal passion like a seed growing in my entire childhood. I was always wondering if there is a way that I could express my imagination not only by drawing on a two dimensional canvas, but also more dramatic, more depth, more storytelling way. At the end, I have found out that the entire movie actually made of countless dramatic pictures, which is exactly what I want to do. Therefore, at that moment, I want to be a designer in the film industry, which is the production designer that I’m currently doing. Read more>>

Jennifer Messina

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally was during one of the lowest points in my life. I had just come out of my first serious queer relationship, and I was a mess—mentally and emotionally. I had been through so much self-hatred, self-harm, and this constant feeling of not being worthy of love or happiness. I was stuck in a cycle of relapsing into old behaviors and couldn’t figure out who I was anymore. I remember sitting alone, feeling like I had nothing left to give, and that’s when I turned to music. I started writing down everything I was feeling—the heartbreak, the guilt, the anger—and it was like something clicked. Music had always been there, but this was different. This wasn’t just a hobby or an outlet anymore; it was my way of surviving. I realized I had to do this for real, professionally, because it was the only thing that made me feel alive and gave me a purpose. That moment, pouring my soul into the lyrics, was when I knew I wasn’t just going to dabble in music—I was going to turn all my pain into something powerful and make it my life’s work. Read more>>

Alison Albrecht

Music has always been at the center of my life. I started performing at open mic nights when I was in 3rd grade, singing Taylor Swift and Coldplay covers to crowds of midwest baristas in the evenings after school. Soon thereafter, I traveled to larger music cities and performed at the Birdland Jazz Club in New York City and the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, still before I was even a teenager. I started booking my own regular gigs the summer after 6th grade by searching “Live Music Detroit Area” on Yelp and emailing a bio and performance footage to nearly every restaurant or festival I could find. Only one place responded to me at the start, but from there I began working as a musician. Read more>>

Antonio Harrison

Growing up in a small town, I never imagined I would one day work alongside one of the greatest producers of all time or help grow an entertainment company with platinum artists and producers like Blac Youngsta, 42 Dugg, Tahj Money, Hitman Audio, and SS Money. My journey actually began in the military—I had dreams of a 20-year career serving my country. However, after an injury forced me to reconsider that path, I found myself at a crossroads. In that moment of uncertainty, I prayed and asked God for direction. I vividly remember the clarity of His answer—it was as if He was telling me directly to pursue a career in music. That was the turning point for me, where I let go of one dream and embraced a new one, trusting that this was the path I was meant to follow. Read more>>

Lauren Kong

I grew up an only kid with two extremely busy parents, so I grew up playing a lot of pretend and watching a lot of cartoons/movies. The most influential one was Batman: The Animated Series, where I first learned about voice acting. I fell in love with Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill’s expressive and immersive performance as Batman and Joker, leading me down a rabbit hole of just how much goes into voice acting and how it works. The idea of playing pretend every day with characters that could be either similar or different to me really inspired me to pursue the art. Read more>>

Emmanuel Carré

I knew that I wanted to be in the entertainment industry when I was a kid , I loved when I was the center of attention. At family dinners, events at school or just with my friends. Read more>>