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.

Olivia Balogh

Being a creative requires work! Yes, so does every job, but being a freelancer means coming up with new ideas, growing my business, building a portfolio, and learning how to balance time. Read more>>

Courtney Simone

If I could switch this question around it would say, “Are you happy with your full-time job? Do sometimes you wonder what it would be like to be a full-time artist?” Read more>>

Monica Lopez

Yes, I finally feel I’m on the right path where I need to be. Even though majority of my experience has been in the creative field, becoming your own boss has been liberating. Read more>>

Pia Pownall

No I’m definitely not always happy being an artist. It’s a very volatile and uncertain career choice so if one has any practicality to them or any need for stability and security it is a terrible field to seek happiness in. Read more>>

Shannon Tillmann

This is one of my favorite questions because my education background is in chemical engineering and yet, here I am a full-time Calligrapher and Artist making money from what I love! Read more>>

Karen Hong

As an artist, I find lots of joy in being able to connect with others through my work. I use art to share my personal stories and my love for animals, and it’s such a fulfilling feeling when someone else finds joy in them too. Read more>>

Sara Patterson

Being an artist comes with personal challenges regarding fulfillment largely because of the way one defines success in conjunction with the world around them. Read more>> 

Remus Azoitei

Playing the violin from the age of 5 pretty much shapes your musical road from the very early stages, to the point where you wake up being 16-17 and there is nothing else you can do better than playing the violin. Read more>>

Xianglong Li

I find immense pleasure in the process of creating art. Often, once a piece is finished, it signals the completion of that particular phase for me. Read more>>

Juliane Gulla

I’ve had a career in healthcare for the past two decades. I’m currently still working as a nurse two days a week so I can pay the bills, but the rest of my time is now spent elevating my craft and artistry and working on my photo project for mental health awareness. Read more>>

Melissa Hart

I absolutely love working as a freelance magazine & newspaper journalist, and as a book author and public speaker. My brain is so active, and I’m curious about almost every topic and every person, Read more>>

Nicole Agostino

Being an artist vs working in your chosen industry vs making ends meet are three very different things. When directing a story I’ve written, there is nothing like it! I love brainstorming, bringing it all together, filming the project, and seeing it completed. Read more>>

Myriad Slits

I am happy as a creative & I do have a regular job. What I wish I obviously had more of is time & an abundance of money. So many great artists were able to become great artists because of those two things. Read more>>

Adena Helm

I love being an artist! I can’t imagine being anything else. Not matter what I am involved in, volunteering, serving on committee or involved in any project, I go about it as an creator would. Read more>>

Alejandra Belen

I am genuinely fulfilled in my role as an artist and creative. The joy and satisfaction that come from expressing oneself through various artistic mediums are unparalleled. Read more>>

Austin Woods

I’m happy to have a career that I absolutely love. I’m fortunate enough to have started work at a young age and found the value of a dollar as a kid. Read more>>

Ashli Hudson

I love making art that people are able to view and enjoy every single day, and it was certainly a huge decision to turn a hobby in a full fledged career path. Read more>>

Amy Corley

Overall yes I am very happy running my own schedule and accepting the clients I want to work with. It’s helped motivate me to be more involved with my community and too look into what my individual clients needs are for each project. Read more>>

Uncle Pooché

Happiness as a creative is something that we all strive to achieve but I feel is always misunderstood. Am I happy to earn a living as a creative? Short answer -Yes. I am always happy with my day job as a creative. Read more>>

Ofelia Montelongo

I quit my job about ten years ago to become a full-time writer. But I had no idea what that meant. Many things have happened since then, but I still don’t have a book out, and this is a question I get often: Read more>>

Amanda Kelly

When I finished my undergraduate degree in Art History and Museum Professions, I struggled to find a job in the museum field that I could live on. Read more>>

Alice Young

I absolutely love being a maker/designer. I’ve only been doing this for about four years now, and it has looked a variety of ways. Prior to starting my business, I was a middle school math teacher and high school art/art history teacher. Read more>>

Francesca Pecchi

The endless struggles that come with being a self-made artist in the most competitive city in the world doest get me thinking every now and then about whether this difficult journey actually makes me happy. Read more>>

Lori McNee

From a very young age, art has been a profound part of my identity, so much so that I joke I was born with a pencil in my hand! My parents, both entrepreneurs, instilled a strong business acumen in me. Read more>>