Are artists born or made? To help answer this question, we asked some of the most artistic folks we know to tell us about how they knew they were going to pursue an artistic or creative path. We’ve shared highlights below. 

Kitten A. Round

I knew I wanted to pursue a creative and artistic path professionally from the time I was very young. As far back as I can remember, I loved to sing, dance, act, and perform in every way possible. I loved being onstage. Read More>>

Kevin Winstead

It was at a very young age. Maybe 8 or 9? I was always bored with mundane activities, like schoolwork, or chores. So, just thinking about “jobs” makes you want to bury yourself alive. If it isn’t fun, it isn’t worth it! Read More>>

Alexander Crowley

I knew from a young age that I wanted to become a professional wrestler. I first began training at 19, but where I lived, it wasn’t a sustainable option to continue. Read More>>

william downs

It wasn’t a single, cinematic moment so much as a slow recognition that never really left me. Early on, I noticed that drawing wasn’t just something I enjoyed it was how I made sense of the world and a form of communication. I kept returning to the line as both a tool and a question, something that could describe reality while also undoing it. Read More>>

Diego Diaz-Cooper

Throughout my upbringing, I’ve always had a passion for expression and creation. A deep passion for expression and creation through different means present to contribute toward building up communities, sharing my personality, and spreading information & advice to put “good” out into the world. Read More>>

Cristela Carrizales

I have a photo of myself at about three years old, standing in front of an entertainment center, holding a jump rope like it’s a microphone. That’s the earliest evidence I have of my lifelong desire to perform. As an only child who grew up feeling largely unseen, I spent a lot of time in my bedroom playing make-believe. Read More>>

Mechanical Woman

The second I was capable of processing a career path, whenever that young time was, is when I knew I was going to do this forever. I distinctly remember being Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. I was in eighth grade (I was required to be in the play at the school I attended). Read More>>

Jordan McDaniel

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally was when I was twenty years old. I remember I was talking to my mom at our house and she was telling me that I need to get a degree in accounting. Read More>>

Erin Lally

I’ve known from my earliest memory that I wanted to be two things when I grew up: a dancer and a teacher. From the very beginning, I was creating dances at home, teaching them to my younger sister and neighborhood kids, and putting on performances for anyone who would watch. Read More>>

Ivy Blacke

When I was little, I loved having stories read to me. When I was older I started to love reading then in school I started developing a love for writing. Originally it started as book reports, then onward to creative writing and short stories. I’ve been writing pretty much since I was in middle school. Read More>>

Hannah Stirling

I can’t think of a time where I didn’t consider pursuing a creative path. My dad and grandma introduced me to the arts and humanities early in life, taking me to museums before I was old enough to fully understand what I was seeing — a gift I’ve carried with me. Film was part of that early education too. Read More>>

Johnny Payne

Acting was my thing in high school and that is what I was going to do. I went to England to see if I wanted to go to drama school there, I wasn’t sure. I decided to go backpacking around Europe first. Read More>>

Dylan Mooney

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative life was as a kid, sitting in front of the television watching Michael Jackson perform. I didn’t fully understand what I was watching at the time, but I felt it. There was something about his presence, the movement, the energy, the command he had over the audience—it completely pulled me in. Read More>>

Mila Moon

Since I was in middle school, I couldn’t imagine myself going to college. I, in fact, couldn’t imagine myself even turning 20. I am now 20 years old, looking back at 12 year old me thinking that she would be proud of 20 year old Mila. I grew up a tomboy in middle school, I broke every dress code I possibly could in highschool. Read More>>

Angelica Sotiriou

I was a very shy child. However, that shyness gave me the opportunity to be an astute observer. As an empath, I could spend hours out in our back lawn, looking up at the clouds and being awed by the glorious, continual moving shapes of the cumulous formations. Read More>>

Elaine St Louis

I’ve been drawn to interpreting what I see visually for my entire life, starting with drawing, painting and experimenting with many media. As a child and young adult, we’re encouraged to express ourselves creatively and then seemingly overnight, we are asked to decide how we plan to make a living and get serious about life. Read More>>

James Hurley

For me, it all started from when I was really young, where I would begin by performing in stage plays and musicals to help initially get me started on my path to acting in film or television. Read More>>