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.

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.

Yuyun(Lika) Su

I was born into a very traditional Chinese family. All my family members are engineers, so pursuing a career as an artist was quite an adventurous decision for me. I had a passion for drawing since I was a kid, and I was fortunate that my parents were very supportive of my hobby. In middle school, I had the opportunity to meet a wonderful teacher, Mr. Guoming Gin, a Chinese oil painter, who played a significant role in cultivating my initial awareness and interest in contemporary art. Read more>>

Tajae Keith

I was happy for a long time, I think, before a lot of different losses and blows to my creative ego made my inner-artist retreat into themselves. I think a lot our personal lives as humans affect our work – creative or not – but this effect can be especially disruptive or inspiring in creatives. Read more>>

Arielle Moire-Selvage

I am thrilled to be an artist and to create! It is life-giving, so rewarding and healing for me. While I do other work that supports my music, I do dream often about the day that I will be able to invest the majority of my time and energy into being an artist. Read more>>

Michele Granera

I am thrilled working as a creative. I worked at a “regular job” in a corporate, 9-5 setting off and on over the past 10 years and it was draining to me. I am the type of person who will do what is needed, and for that season in my life, working at a stable job with a corporation was what was needed. I did the job and I did it well! Read more>>

Naomi Castro

I try to always find a balance between working as a freelance illustrator anywhere from part to full-time, depending on my financial situation at the moment. I find that the balance I enjoy most is having a “regular” or “day” job that is at least somewhat fulfilling, that way I can have a stable income while also getting to work different art jobs without having to worry about overworking myself on the freelancing front just to make ends meet. Read more>>

Carlo Carere

As an artist, I spend every day committed to exploring the world and sharing what I have learned with others via story and craft. I’m committed and excited, and each day brings something new! That said, prior to being an artist, I had another unusual job: I was a Captain in the Carabinieri, which is the Italian National Police Force, somewhat similar to the FBI. Read more>>

Haji P.

I absolutely love being an artist. But sometimes it makes my brain hurt. In fact, most times it makes my brain hurt! Now that I’ve become a “professional” artist, creating feels a little more forced. I feel like I have to stick to the styles that get likes and sales. Which I know isn’t totally true, but I get trapped in my head about it, and it makes it messes with my ability to create freely sometimes. I keep telling myself that I’d rather just get a regular job, and do art on my free time – but I’m not built for that. Read more>>

Jezebel LaDoll

I am absolutely happy as a creative. I enjoy making contend. I’ve always had a fun and artsy side. I was scared to start making content, due to seeing content creators getting made fun of, or people simply just being mean. I got over my fear and now wish that I would have started sooner. I enjoy making people smile, laugh, and made to feel understood. I still work a traditional job in retail 3 days a week, in order to fight my agoraphobia. I have to make that effort, no matter how uncomfortable it is. Read more>>

Alyssa Allaire

I am extremely happy having a full-time job in the beauty community but I’m sure myself & others sometimes struggle with transitioning from working a regular 9-5pm job to creating your own hours/work days & becoming your own boss. My whole life I’ve worked under someone as an “employee” and never truly saw myself as someone who could be her own boss & make her own rules. My dad owns his own security company based out of Texas called Sunset Management Lake Patrol and living alongside him for years has made me realize that if you have the determination and motivation to create something for yourself- it’ll happen. When I lived in Fort Stockton, Texas right before I got into lashing I was working small jobs here and there to make ends meet and knew I wanted to find something I enjoy. Read more>>

Erica Recto

I am happy as an artist for sure. There are definitely ups and downs, and when your success is contingent upon other people accepting and embracing your work it can be super nerve wracking. Making art is such a personal endeavor, so it really asks you to put yourself on the line. I make ceramics, which fall in the funny grey area of “art” or “functional design”. Sometimes both. And, as such, sometimes my creations are aligned with what’s trending but not all the time. And so you’re constantly questioning the work. Read more>>

Buck Johnson

I love being an artist/musician! I’ve been fortunate to have a career now for almost 50 years starting when I was 6 years old singing with my Gospel music family throughout the South. I knew then that singing/performing was what I wanted to do the rest of my life. The edification from an audience when hearing you perform is an amazing, soul filling event that becomes an addiction. It’s never been about the money, but you got to eat. So It never was an easy path and I worked many day jobs in the early years to survive. But I never looked back and never wanted a “regular job”. Which doesn’t mean I don’t work very hard and way more than 40 hours a week. Read more>>

Pàppa D.

This question would bring artists nightmares most of the nights, but it’s all worth it in the end. There’s all sorts of people out there making art, for all sorts of reasons. Others do it cause it’s healing, others for fun, others cause it makes them happy, and others do it cause they can’t do anything else. For me it was very easy, cause i never wanted to do anything else. I simply have to do it. I found myself having the need to make music, dance, and create in all ways, and i could not imagine my life without it. Read more>>

Stephen Lind

I am really happy with my choice to pursue a creative career. My story is a bit unique in that I essentially got my start by being a web developer and graphic designer for creatives in the film industry. Those connections and that exposure helped me enter the world as somewhat of a “professional” as opposed to a “starving artist.” I think the fact that I continue to work within the web + graphic design realm allows me to be seen as an expert; and being seen as an expert in anyway grants you the freedom to play around in other areas. You’ve already shown you know how to be successful; so instead of it looking like a career change, it reads as you just diving into other creative outlets. Read more>>

Sirona Faeryn

Without a doubt, I can say that I am very happy as a creative professional. I’ve never really wondered what it would be like to have a ‘regular’ job, though I have held a few of them in the past. Drawing from that background, I can confidently say that I’m even happier with my decision to dedicate myself to a full-time pursuit of chaos…I mean, creativity. Read more>>

Peat Rains

I struggle with this one a lot. I think, in my 20’s, everyone saw my pursuit to do music full time as this romantic, valiant plunge. But, they usually always had the luxury of starting a promising career with health insurance and a mapped out battle plan for life. I always regurgitated the mantra of ‘I’d rather be a poor starving artist than a mindless drone stuck in an office.’ Now, I’m not so sure. Read more>>