We asked some insanely talented artists, creatives and makers to tell us about when they know they were going to pursue a creative career.

Diego Taormina

I first realized I wanted to try being a radio DJ when I decided to go back to college for broadcasting at the age of 24. I grew up thinking I wanted to be a defense lawyer but it never really fit me or gave me any passion to pursue. When I got my first internship with an FM rock station in Nashville, I was hooked. Read more>>

Dashia / Justin Drayton/ Stanley

While in graduate school at USC Columbia, Dashia D. discovered her love of podcasts. From the witty gem drops from Amanda Seales’ “Small Doses”, the relationship advice of Yvette and Glen Henry of “How Married Are You?”, and the hilarity of “Righteous and Ratchet” with KevOnStage and DoBoy. Dashia shared funny yet insightful episodes with friends. Read more>>

Loida Wexler

As a child in a house full of people (I came from a huge family), I always preferred to retreat to somewhere quiet and doodle/contemplate. The constant chatter from family members was not appealing. Lol. I got myself in a lot of trouble for that. From that small start, an interest in creative arts was burgeoning. I was fortunate to have had some detectable talent. Read more>>

Todd Ciepluch

I probably had this realization when I was about 16. I was always fascinated and drawn to music. When I saw my first live concert I knew that was it. Read more

Noah Meister

I remember hopping around a lot when deciding “what to be” as a kid. The first thing I remember really wanting to be was a comic book artist, or any sort of visual artist, like a painter. But I would bounce back and forth depending on the week, I would be a comic book artist one week, an architect the next, a Beatle the next, but nothing really held my attention for very long and kept me captivated to learn more deeply about the subject itself.  Read more>>

They Love Indy

I knew since I was a little girl. I already knew what I would be doing as a little girl I dreamed of doing what I’m doing now, I still have ways to go but where I am now is just a blessing and I’m proud of this moment because I’m living in my answered prayers. I also been a visionary and a creative so it just kinda came naturally to me. Read more>>

Tashasa Colton

Honestly, it all started when I was a little girl. I’d say around first or second grade is when I really started exploring my creative abilities, anything I could get my hands on I somehow found ways to create something out of nothing. I began taking my craft seriously once I started high school in’09 when I took AP art classes to expand my knowledge of different areas in fine arts. Read more>>

Brandi Brooks

During my first creative internship, I recall having no technical visual background or training. I didn’t have the connections within the field or the networking capacity that most in the company did. Yet, I outperformed a great number of coworkers who had been in the field for years, even the CEO. Read more>>

Molly Rose English

I have always enjoyed being creative from a young age, I have had various craft hobbies and studied Fashion design and merchandising but it wasn’t until the pandemic started that I decided to take the leap into starting a creative small business. Read more>>

J Hunter

As a childhood I was never shy to dance in front of a crowd since a early age. I would always Mimic Micheal Jackson dance moves and loved the center of attention. Also wanted to be on television, did talent show growing up at my school and win everyone of them. Read more>>

Arron Lloyd

I initially wanted to be a doctor and developed a love for music at an early age. My grandparents would introduce me to people like James Brown, Earth Wind & Fire, Louis Armstrong, Etta James etc so I started learning instruments. One year one of my music teachers Ms. Patterson let the class know we would be putting up a Thanksgiving play. She asked “who wants to play the lead?” I looked left, I looked right and no one was volunteering and so I did. It started as just having fun, not having to go home and do homework right away to really enjoying it. Read more>>

Christopher Paul Meyer

The glib answer is that I’m the third generation of theater folk in my family so if I hadn’t run away to join the military, the actor’s life was kind of my default setting growing up. The longer answer is that I never took the arts all that seriously growing up because I knew I’d probably end up there. Read more>>

RICCARDO GALDIERO

I take a lot of time to realize what I really want to do and how! I had a lot of nice jobs that didn’t give to me any true happiness, so during the Covid I start studying what really is my dream, comic & illustration. I always drew since I was a kid, growing up I continue to draw and sometimes study to improve some skill, but I never trust to much in my self in the Art World. Read more>>

Brandon Russell

The first time I knew for sure that I was made and born to rap and create music was at my 5th grade talent show (a long time ago lol). I started with a deep love for reading and writing poetry. Then I began adding my words to the music from when we used to rap/freestyle in the school cafeteria at lunch or on the bus. Read more>>

KriSean Woods

I first knew I wanted an artistic path at a very young age, 7 when I use to always want to put on shows for my family. Professionally I didn’t start creating my own lane until late year 2020. Read more>>

Dani Brown

Back in 2019 I had a yearning to pick up my old, dusty (literally 10+ year old) Canon Rebel camera and start pursuing photography again. In high school, my parents gifted me a Canon Rebel to pursue my photography hobby. Read more>>

Chaz Md

Growing up in Macon, Georgia, as a kid, I listened to my dad play old school music every night through the midnight hour which peaked my interest in music. Being told that I had family that were famous in the music industry, but was never given the full story, made it a mystery setting me on a journey to discover where my roots originated. Read more>>

Robert Schoolfield

I have always wanted to do something interesting. When I was young I remember thinking about what I wanted to do when I was older, but I was clueless on that answer – I just knew I didn’t want to work in an office setting. I related to creative outlets, such as writing, art, and music, so I started to go in that direction. Read more>>

Larry Mayes

I Had band class in my 7th grade year I played the saxophone so I was always into some form of music. But rap came while cleaning my house as a kid every Saturday morning I blasted music all day until I would rap songs to myself and after awhile I just wanted to do it. It looked so cool on tv the cars the clothes the houses lol. It’s much different now though Read more>>

Yana Slutskaya

Since I can remember, I have gravitated towards an artistic path. I started early in my childhood taking art and music classes, learning ballet, and doing self-made theatrical plays with my school friends. After high school, Read more>>

Alice Hong

Growing up, I was a pretty shy kid. I felt uncomfortable and inherently out of place in any group of people, and I would go whole days of school without speaking to anyone. I had always loved music – apparently I would kick to the beat of my mom’s Walkman before I was born! – and I spent many hours of my day playing piano and, eventually, the violin as well. Read more>>

Grant Ray

I’ll tell ya, it was a typical dark, melancholy night in my home as a 5 year old child living in a violent broken household and music was my escape. I was listening to the radio and this song “RYTHM OF THE NIGHT” came on. I’ll never forget how addicted to the song and the soulful vocals I was. Read more>>

Patrick Notaro

I had just completed my first year of college not really knowing what I wanted to major in. I went to NYC and saw West Side Story. This was 1980. The moment I saw the Jets, I knew that is what I was meant to do. From that moment I pursued dance training. Read more>>

Al Merlot

From a small child to my senior year in high school, music and poetry have been a part of this quiet dream that I held close to me. When I was in class, I’d get called out all the time because I was caught writing lyrics while I’m in the middle of a math class or my Parents would have me doing sound or playing music in church so my mind stayed busy outside of sports. Read more>>

Amy Lawrence

I have an interesting backstory of how I ended up food blogging and becoming a #1 best selling author. Originally I was a business owner and owned a tea room/tea shop. Everything was going well but in 2014 I tore my vertebral artery from a pilate’s accident and it caused a stroke. Read more>>

Michael Alexander

I really didn’t consider a path as an actor or performer before 2015. Kind of crazy how I got my first invitation into acting! Im a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt since 2015 and on ranking day, the day I received my black belt, there is a tradition at the school I trained at that when you received a new belt you had to go a round (to submission) with everyone in the room. Read more>>

Alesia Lani

I always knew music was my path because it just seemed to play such a big part of my life in all ways imagined . Thinking back, the way I slowing learned and dissected the craft of songwriting, delivery , performance & etc . I took the most interest in music weather I was singing or dancing. Read more>>

Adanna Holmes

I did not know I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally until I dropped out of college mid-sophomore year. After dropping out for the next 2-3 years I was hopping from job to job, wandering aimlessly just living without any real direction or passion. In March of 2020, the worldwide lockdown took place. Read more>>

Nia G

Here’s a backstory: I grew up below the poverty line, I struggled a lot with accepting myself and not comparing myself to my peers. I had a lot of anger and aggression as a kid & got myself in a lot of trouble. Music was always my grounding space. I was able to come home and put on my headphones and zone out making beats. It was a rare form of expression for me. Read more>>

Anami Hayes

Originally, I’ve always wanted to be a scientist or work somewhere in the medical field. It was always a huge interest of mine, especially physics and figuring out how things worked. However, I’ve always had a passion for helping others when I was very young my grandmother suffered from Alzheimer’s which is a form of dementia. Read more>>

Joan Marie

At age 19 I was awestruck by Michelangelo’s Sistine Ceiling. Profoundly inspired by the spiritual energy from this powerful art, my life’s purpose to add positive energy to the world through art, became a burning passion.!! After drinking in this profound spiritual energy, from both Leonardo DaVinci’s and Michelangelo’s inspiring expressions, I said: “If art can be that powerful, I have to be a part of it.” Read more>>

Jaylen Pigford

Ever since I was a young chid, I have always had a dream to pursue a career as an artist. Over time, that dream became more and more of a possibility as I got more involved in the art world. I have always created and always been fascinated with art but just as a personal hobby. Read more>>

Jess Wojo

I don’t know that there was one defining moment where I decided I wanted to pursue music professionally. I’ve wanted to be a performing musician for as long as I can remember. When I was around four years old my Dad was taking me to rehearsals for Jesus Christ Superstar at the Lancaster Opera House. Both he and my Mom were singers and instrumentalists for our Church’s worship team. Read more>>

Dana Sikkila

I guess I don’t have a specific event to where I knew I wanted to work in the creative field. Its been a mixture of growing into the field, having a passion for it, and really feeling I’m not good at anything else…. I need to be successful because I don’t know what else my hands would want to do or could do. Read more>>

Kristin J. Thompson

I knew I was an artist as soon as I gained a sense of self. Both of my parents are artists, and at the time, I was surrounded by art, literature, and philosophy. My artistic journey is much like breathing. I do not exist without it. Read more>>

Wyatt Coleman

When I was three years old, my family took a trip to Jamaica. On the plane I was given a CD player to keep quiet (little did they know). the song that was playing was Foghat’s Slow Ride and even at three years old I was on the plane singing every word out loud! Classic! I guess it all really started there… Read more>>

Toby Lightman

I was classically trained on the violin when I was 6 simply because my mother thought it would be a good idea. She could see that I had rhythm, but that was about it. I enjoyed it as much as any 6 year old could; getting frustrated with having to practice and wanting to quit a lot of the time. However, that skill trained my ear to hear pitch. Read more>>

Loveleen Saxena

Can you recall a moment that set your future in a COMPLETELY different direction?  So much so, that you look back and think, WOW if it wasn’t for that moment, my life would be something else today. Read more>>

Sami Jacq

Growing up, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do with my life. It changed on such a consistent basis. In my junior year of high school, I had decided to buy a van and drive around the country recording people’s stories and exploring different states. Then senior year came around and I discovered that I have synesthesia, a condition where senses are mixed up and sound reveals itself as color. Read more>>

Maya Pegues

I think a part of me always knew I wanted to be an artist, but didn’t believe that I could because it just wasn’t talked about. I went to a high school that focused in academics and sports, so I assumed art wasn’t really an option for a career. However, once I made the choice to go to art school, it changed everything for me. My once narrow horizon, broadened and I no longer thought an art career was impossible. I knew then that this was what I was supposed to do and what my brain was made for. Read more>>

Brooke Robertson

For years I struggled with my purpose. I was in the music scene for a couple of years at the time and just felt like I wasn’t good enough. I had just signed to a record label in Nashville in 2018 and released my first project. I went on a nationwide tour and yet still felt like I was struggling with my purpose and place. I prayed for direction and guidance. Read more>>

Nicole Springer

My whole life I’ve wanted to be a singer but it wasn’t until late 2019 that I was ready to take the leap into a professional music career. When I started music as a side gig back in 2011, I was also working a 40-50 hours a week office job. It was a balance I was more than willing to find to pursue my musical aspirations but after some years the packed schedule and exhaustion took its toll. Read more>>

L’wren

As a kid, maybe around 8 or 9 years old, I had an older cousin who made music. He gave me his cd that had two songs on it and I listened to that cd EVERY DAY and wanted to be just like him. I would write lyrics on any piece of paper that I could find and mimic him with his style. Read more>>