Do you ever wonder what life would have been like had you chosen a more standard path? Does everyone have these doubts sometimes? We wanted to find out and so we asked as many talented artists and creatives as we could and have shared highlights below.

Liliya Colston

I teach art to children ages 6 and up. My program is called Art Time Party and my students are kids of different ages who register for afterschool classes at local schools or morning classes if they are homeschooled. Some of the sessions are six weeks and some of them are twelve weeks. Also I hold Art & Science camps in summer. Read more>>

Frankie K. Laguna

I couldn’t imagine my life without art in it. Everything I do, seeps creativity. Whether it’s tattooing, fine art, music, or even my spiritual practices; there will always be art. I knew from a very young age that I was destined to do something creative. I spent a lot of years going back and forth; marine biology, Air Force/Navy, chef, botanist. Read more>>

Melanie Morris

I’m extremely happy working full-time as an artist and don’t wonder about having a regular job because I took that route first. I’ve loved art since I was a child but being an artist full-time didn’t seem practical. Instead I worked all sort of jobs from a pharmaceutical sales representative calling on physicians in a rural Louisiana territory to an advertising account director working with one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. to a moderator leading medical education meetings. Read more>>

Aparna Shewakramani

As someone who considers herself a “recovering attorney”, I’m overall happier as a creative. I am very transparent that it is a much more difficult path for me personally since it comes with a lot of instability and no clear pathway to success. As a lawyer, I was very used to paychecks being deposited every two weeks and the routine of going to an office five-days a week at basically the same time every day (8am-6pm or so). Read more>>

Jodie Vickers

I recently experienced a major life change as my last child went to school full time. What was I going to do? How was I going to justify not having a “real job”….. Justify not having a “real job”. This was the real dilemma. A real job created boundaries I wasn’t sure I could be happy with, a schedule I wouldn’t be able to manipulate, tasks that would become mundane and draining. Read more>>

Becca Cook

I think the idea that artists do not have a “regular” job is an unfortunate misnomer. So many things we experience everyday are created by someone, from the clothes we wear, the homes we live in, the media we consume, it is all around us. I challenge the readers to take a look around, wherever you are, and see what you can find that someone has created. Read more>>

Lauren Smith

The last time I really asked myself if I should have a “regular job” was this past summer. I was feeling like I had reached a dead end in both photography and dance, even though I had just graduated college a year before. When I first moved to Chicago after graduating, my plan was to purse a career as a photographer and professional dancer. Read more>>

Aquerrah Cannon

I would have to say I’m happy as BOTH! I don’t believe I have to chose. Creativity is the foundation on which my Artistry stands! I can’t have one without the other. I’ve had several regular jobs (as I’m only 22). However ever since I was able to “work”, I always felt like there was so much more to life than just being an employee. Read more>>

Jhazzy Wolf

Even though sometimes it can be tough as an independent artist I am happy . I know exactly what it’s like to have a regular job and it’s just not for me. It was like I would be stuck in a writers block whenever I was working for somebody. Read more>>