Is it natural to wonder what life would have been like had you chosen a different path? Is it common? We asked many artists and creatives from all over the country if they’ve ever wondered about whether they should have pursued a more standard career path to see what we could learn from their stories.

Gabby Hemmer

I make my living doing multiple creative jobs. I’m an event florist, so my weeks are filled with floral design work and my weekends are saved for being on-site at events installing. I run a bakery out of my house, so if I have an order to fill, I squeeze in baking after or before work at the florist. I also paint and make rugs. I take commissions and sometimes sell at local craft markets. I often feel like I end up working harder and for more hours than I would be if I was employed at a 9-5 office job. Read more>>

Brina Kay

Being an artist is tough. That is an understatement. The highs are amazing but the lows make you question everything. I have been a swinging pendulum ever since I decided to move to Nashville. The longest I’ve been able to keep a day job is a year. Throw a pandemic in the mix and lose out on your early 20s and you can feel all the more behind. I look online and see people I went to high school with buying houses and having babies, meanwhile I’m selling off my furniture just to make rent this month. Read more>>

Laura Thurston

My short answer is YES! I am happier as an artist. That does not mean that I don’t float the idea around in having a regular job. Having benefits and a steady paycheck is very enticing, especially when things get tight. Fundraising in the arts is difficult. It involves hours of time in grant writing, funding campaigns, planning fundraisers, and tirelessly asking for contributions. I donate my time to run the administration of the company. This can all be incredibly defeating. Sometimes I think, life could be SO much easier with a regular paying job. Read more>>

Meredith Hines

This may surprise those still working a “day job” but I think about what it would be like to have a that “regular” job just about every day. Don’t get me wrong, I am happiest when I am creating and I have always been an artist, but there is something about the ability to leave your work “at work.” It’s been well over a year since I created something just for the fun of it. I have done freelance projects on the side for years, but have been full time for the last 2. Read more>>

Lars Pruitt

Being a full time “artist” or “creative” is a heavy thing. The highs are really high, and the lows can be very very low. At the low points, I am envious of my peers who seem to have jobs that don’t cause them to have existential crises every 6 months. It can be quite grueling to feel as if your financial success is tied to your own ability to be inspiring to others. If there isn’t a lot of money coming in, you can start to feel worthless. When things go well, it can be tempting to think that means the ground you walk on is holy. I’ve come to realize that neither of those extremes are really true. Read more>>

Jess Johnsen

As a happy creative artist I am extremely grateful to never have to wonder what a regular job would be like. I spent my childhood letting curiosity guide me through numerous artistic endeavors only to be told not to pursue it as a means of income. So I dug into my love of nature and natural green thumb. I studied plant & environmental sciences and sustainable agriculture in college. During my sophomore year my world changed with these words, “You have colitis & gastroparesis. Read more>>

Corey Lawson

Honestly, I have the thought enter my mind quite often about getting a “regular job”. Anytime finances get low, work gets a little lean, or I just feel down for whatever reason, that thought appears. Like “man wouldn’t it be nice to have a steady paycheck and health and retirement benefits?” And that thought lingers over me.. Especially for me because my wife is also self-employed, so we have to be extra thorough with our money management and invest in retirement/future. Read more>>

Josee McGee.

I’ve been a musical performer for 19 years- hard to believe since I’m only 24. But really, I’ve been performing for audiences since age five with my family. Being creative is the most fulfilling career path I could have chosen, It’s the only thing I’ve been able to picture myself doing and found happiness in doing. Having gone full-time in music, I get so much joy in earning a living through my passion and having the freedom to create a schedule that allows time for creativity, fellowship, and recreation. It does put me to the test, though. Read more>>

Likha Jae

I believe that I am exactly where I need to be in my life at this moment. As an artist and creative, I am constantly learning, growing, experimenting, experiencing, and imagining all things available to me. For the first time in my life, I have been able to ground myself in joy, and I feel that was made possible through the arts. Even when I am meeting growing edges or experiencing difficult times, Read more>>

Ellyn Bache

I have always felt genuinely lucky to have the time to do creative work as well as whatever other demands were being made on my time. I started out doing feature stories for newspapers when my four children were young — short pieces I could sometimes put together with a phone interview while the children were napping, followed by an hour or two at the computer after dinner or between household errands. Read more>>

Renee Dominguez

I truly am happier being a creative artist. I get to tell stories through pictures and videos and I get paid to do it. I would do it for free and I did do it for free for a long time when I was starting out, but I love that I was able to turn what I am passionate about into a career and way to support myself. However, with the creative process comes moments of doubt. I am a huge over thinker and I often wonder if what I am doing is enough. Read more>>

Cassie Jones

It took me until long into my career to feel comfortable self identifying as an artist. I have been self sustaining my life, pets, hobbies, and interests comfortably for over 10 years. It wasn’t until this year that I felt comfortable calling myself an artist. The turning point came with being awarded my very first creative grant. I’ve heard of other people receiving grant funding to create works of art but I never felt that I was someone who should be striving for that same grant funding. Read more>>

Ray Shaffer

I’d say yes. There are times when I wonder if I’d never picked up an instru

Derek Van Barham

I am so happy as a creative. I am also happy as a queer person. I mention both because I hold them so close together in the way I identify and create. I see both as gifts, opportunities to see the world in a different way. Being creative and being queer have influenced so much of my process and the way I engage, making me more grateful, more motivated and more unique. I’m at my happiest when creating, but that doesn’t mean I always get to spend my time in the creative sphere. Read more>>

Annell Livingston

As an artist, a painter, I could not be happy doing anything else. An artist is all that I have ever wanted, even as a small child, when asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” My answer, “an artist.” I have been practicing for over 60 years, and just the other day, I was thinking, “What a journey!! Each painting an investigation, an exploration, discovering new territory. Never boring, “Art, is something you impossible to get, always reaching for what is just beyond, always just out of reach. We remain, a work in progress.” Read more>>