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.

Kirsten Heibert

I am much happier as an artist. My career has been developing for quite some time, and I actually took about 6 months off last year to see what it would be like to just work a regular job. Some extenuating circumstances in my personal life left me in a bad spot and I decided to shift my focus. Bartending and book selling became my career, and I stopped performing. This was the first time in my life I had ever taken a break. I moved from NYC back to my hometown and felt completely defeated. Read more>>

David Wayne Fox

I can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t being creative in some way. As I grew up in the suburbs of several Texas cities, I began by taking pen and crayons and copying the pictures in my childhood storybooks, particularly L. Frank Baum’s Oz books. At the same time I was always putting on puppet shows, sitting down to my mother’s piano and plunking out the latest melody I’d heard, or just singing along with my (very musical) family. Read more>>

Bercem Ipekbayrak

Having a luxury retail background, i can’t help but think where i would’ve been right now if i hadn’t left that path. There are definitely some parts that i miss being in corporate world. Especially the line of work i was in had lots of perks like the travels, structure, social life and of course the safety we all feel having a stable income. I honestly attempted going back a few times when i struggled running a creative business because with freedom comes lots of responsibilities to keep up with and i felt really overwhelmed juggling in between creativity and administrative works i had to accomplish 24/7. Read more>>

Samantha Barnhart

I’ve found my freedom through being a creative. When I was younger, I was always picking up a new craft hobby. Usually I’d get disinterested by the time I’d acquired the materials to properly do that hobby. Music has always remained constant through that time, through highs and lows and everywhere in between. Somewhere in college, I was taught how to mix by my friend Mitch, and things started clicking together. Read more>>

Vanessa Williams

Yes, I am happy as an artist. It is so easy to say but the truth is that “yes” is equivalent to the “it’s complicated” in relationships. I have had my moments of self-doubt where I thought having a regular job would make my life so easy. I could travel without having to take my self-tape gear with me, I could dye my hair without having to get new headshots, I could save the money I would usually spend on acting classes and privates, the list could go on and on. Read more>>

Tammy Thomas

I think of artistry and creativity as a lifeline for one another. Neither is more important or better than the other. An artist is naturaly a creative force, and I am a Creative Artist, without limitations to where I alow my imagination to explore. Read more>>

Lin Gallagher

Being a free-lancer in any industry has it’s upside and downside. A voiceover artist is no different. The incredible “high’ when I audition, book, then perform a job that I am proud of, feels amazing… and pays bills…….for a while…. Read more>>

Darcie Olley

Being an illustrator truly makes me happy. Having worked in a number of different jobs before, and alongside what I do now, I can attest to this. Don’t get me wrong, there are so many benefits to being in full time employment, (secure income and paid holidays, obviously!). Plus lots of people thrive in a busy, fast-paced work environment with lots of hustle and bustle, but being quite introverted myself, I’m happy in my own company. Any other job I’ve worked in, I’ve always suffered from some sort of anxiety, sometimes in small and manageable amounts, Read more>>

Tiffany Nicole

I believe I am happiest when I’m creating. Being a creative is like the easiest hardest job because it comes so naturally when your in tune with yourself. Making something of quality comes so easily it feels more like your a vessel for something meant to be made, rather than making something up from scratch. I say it’s the hardest because YOU are the vessel so when my music doesn’t perform well I criticize no one but myself. Read more>>

Sheri Simmons

I am very happy as an artist and creative. It’s the freedom to create anyway and just express myself in a way I couldn’t growing up. At times I do wish for a regular job because with a regular job, I feel you can leave and come back at your scheduled time. I can’t do that as a creative. First of all, as a creative, it’s hard to shut off my creativity. I always am thinking of a new idea, project etc. Secondly, my social media platforms are so active. Read more>>

Casandra Rodriguez

I am happy being a creative and expressing myself through music because it’s helped me with my self esteem as well as my outlook on things. I’ve never been able to properly express myself through conversation but for whatever reason that’s not the case when I write to beats. Being artistic has allowed me to feel more confident within myself because i’ve gotten to know myself more compared to when I have a regular job, I don’t get to be myself, not physically nor emotionally. I rather take the chance to be true to what I want right now than to regret it in the future. Read more>>

Tyler Wolf

Being happy as a creative is ongoing and dynamic. There are times that I feel like things are going smoothly, I hit a stride and I feel very fulfilled. But I would say that often I don’t feel happy as a creative. There’s a lot of frustrating aspects to trying to make a living as an artist. I think about having a regular job every day. And what it would be like to have that steady income. I am very blessed and have a very supportive family. But it gets hard to feel happy when my client list is very small at the moment. Read more>>

Xuemeng Zhang

It’s difficult to simply answer yes or no to this question. Working as an artist, like every other job, is a challenging yet rewarding experience. When art becomes a career instead of a hobby, the artist needs to pick up many skills. For instance, being able to research, present materials, and promote oneself are required by most jobs in creative fields. Another challenge that most creative individuals have on a regular basis is managing feedback, not only from people in the industry, but from the general public. Read more>>

Dara Brewton

I am the happiest when using my brain for creative work, but as anyone who is a freelancer/performer/artist can attest, the constant hustle can be draining. Being self-employed means you spend a lot of your time looking for gigs or tracking down unpaid invoices. It also means learning a different way of budgeting and bookkeeping. Sometimes, it can be a bit overwhelming, and the thought of just clocking in somewhere and cashing a paycheck has a certain allure — especially when talks of recession are in the air. Read more>>

Tiffany Spataro

There is no doubt I am passionate about dance and all things that encompass dance. It is the only art form where you have to be 100% artist and 100% athlete in order to be successful. Your JOB is to not let people in as to how hard it its. Your body is the instrument, the paint brush, the voice that tells the story. Do you want to know why dancers have such respect for what they do? Because LITERALLY blood, sweat, tears, injuries, rejection, criticism is what has to be overcome to get them where they need to be. Why endure all that? Read more>>

Catherine Hooker

I started my business in December 2016. I had only been dyeing yarn for three months when it became apparent that I had a knack for it. I had no idea what an Indie Yarn Dyer was. I never even owned real Indie Dyed Yarn up to that point, except for a couple of skeins I bought from a yarn store online. I thought it was a commercial brand. It turned out to be from a woman, who ended up being my virtual yarn dyer instructor months later. Fate? So fast forward to Spring 2017, my business was growing. Read more>>