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

Adrian Narro

I knew I wanted the music field to be part of my future along my first years of self-teaching and learning to be a performer, to some degree. Read more>>

Stephen Dijoseph

I first new I wanted to pursue creative life when I was six years old. I mean that literally. I saw the Beatles perform on TV. I literally jumped out of my chair and exclaimed “I gotta do that… Read more>>

Archie Anderson

I always tell people I was born an artist. As early as I can remember I’ve always been extremely creative and naturally artistic, but having a career as a creative seemed out of reach to me growing up. Read more>>

Jen Matthews

I honestly can’t remember a time when I wasn’t drawing, painting or making weird characters out of Sculpey. However, I do remember in 3rd grade something clicked for me. Read more>>

Keiko Nabila Yamazaki

Since I was small, my dad never failed to bring me “omiyage” from his travels to Japan—snacks, cooking ingredients, cards, fabric, clothing, books, toys. All packaged beautifully. Read more>>

Courtney Simpson

I knew I wanted to pursue a career as an actor and writer when the ideas and dreams of what I wanted to do and become, wouldn’t leave me. Read more>>

Elena Mary Siff

I always knew I would be an artist as I grew up in a home full of art, books and music and was always encouraged to be creative. Read more>>

Emily Peacock

I was born and raised in Port Arthur, TX. I had never taken an art class when I went to college; I didn’t know much about art. Read more>>

Maya Boniek

I knew I wanted to get serious as an artist in 2021 after I took a trip up to Alaska to spend time with family and friends. At that point I hadn’t ever thought that I could be a professional artist. Read more>>

Jamal Hussain

There was no epiphany. It was a decision that took much longer to formulate than one might suspect. I settled on the decision after years of many thoughts, experiences, mental anguish, moments of true happiness, trials, and tribulations. Read more>>

Bao Pham

When I first came back from tripping in Europe I was fully convinced that I wanted to create something even if I didn’t go to art school. Read more>>

Mira Khaziran

When I learned you could get a bachelor’s degree in theatre. I grew up taking dance classes (ballet, tap, jazz) and got involved in theatre during high school. Read more>>

Travis Sanders

I knew I wanted to be in the entertainment industry after watching numerous behind the scenes footage of films like Jaws, Jurassic Park, and Star Wars. Read more>>

Emilija Pavlovska Pavlovska

I have heard a lot of people talk about performers always having that one first moment. Being applauded for the first time, playing your first lead in a show, doing your first concert. Read more>>

Cassie Hagen

I’ve always had a passion for photography even as a kid. I would fill rolls and rolls of film of friends, vacations, little details, big moments, literally anything and everything. Read more>>

Ashley Joyce

I went to school to pursue an art degree with a focus in photography and as I was completing my degree, several friends started asking me to photograph their engagements and weddings. Read more>>

Makena

I’ve known my whole like I wanted to do music. It started at the age of 4 being completely obsessed with Britney Spears, and begging my parents to take to me to karaoke nights to sing. Read more>>

Yoshiko Yamaguchi

I started my career in nail art a little later than most people. After graduating from college, I worked in an office for many years. Then, one day, I saw a TV program about a nail artist in Tokyo who ran her own salon and had her own nail school. Read more>>

Ariane Dray

Like most kids, I always loved drawing, but in retrospect I perhaps liked it more than most. At 10 years old, my fascination with Bob Ross and his calming voice led my parents to buy me an easel and painting kit. Read more>>

Reyna Noriega

I revisited art many times throughout my youth but it was really solidified in high school when I took a summer art internship at MoCA North Miami and also discovered film photography. Read more>>

Leland Mergillano

It all started when I was seven years old, when my mom asked my sister and I if we were interested in participating in a theatre camp. Read more>>

Julius Dunbar

I think I knew i wanted to pursue music professionally, when I got my first production placement with JR writer (Dipset/Diplomats) back in 2012. Read more>>

Keanu Daghost

Ive always wanted to be in the arts since I was a young kid. In 4th grade I found a book about stuntmen in the library and became almost obsessed with film making. Read more>>

Heather Tolleson

I was post-op from Johns Hopkins at the Ronald McDonald House in Baltimore, and the small library there had a book on Medieval and Renaissance Altarpieces. Read more>>

Bryon Anderson

I first knew when I got my first few action figures as a kid. I wouldn’t just play with toys in the generic manner but I would actually create full on movies with them. Read more>>

Whitney Stoddard

I think it’s so interesting the number of artists and creatives who have been told, from very early on, that art is a fun hobby, something to do in your free-time, but not necessarily something that can be fostered into a full-fledged career. Read more>>

Fang Sullivan

I knew I’d be on a creative path since early childhood. I was born into an artists’ family. Both of my parents were professional artists and taught at an art university in China. Read more>>

Victoria Sawal

My first conversation about pursuing a career in the arts and entertainment industry did not go well at all. At the age of 12, I was about to graduate from elementary school and I began looking into arts focused secondary schools like Etobicoke School of Arts because I was convinced my life would be exactly like ‘High School Musical’. Read more>>

Robin Senour

I didn’t. just fell into it. My husband submitted my name for a license on Telegraph Avenue and I was accepted. That’s where I started. Read more>>

Lisset Cuevas

My love for the makeup industry didn’t develop until I was in my 20’s. Don’t get me wrong, I had always liked playing with makeup, but I never imagined it would become a passion of mine, let alone make it my career. Read more>>

Robin McWilliams

As long as i can remember, i have always loved the arts and being part of it as a career. Starting as an actress and hair stylist for film and television. Read more>>

Thaddaeus Arvie

I have been knowing I wanted to be an artist since I can reply to the question “What do you want to be when you grow up”. But I did not know exactly what kind of artist. Read more>>

Zarina Akhmetzhan

As I sat in the cozy corner of my room, flipping through the pages of my childhood album, a wave of nostalgia washed over me. Read more>>

Cody Lawhorn

I knew I wanted to become a filmmaker from a very young age. I attribute my love of film to my grandmother who had an adventurous spirit and a love of action films. Read more>>

Alexandra Uzarraga

I was never a “smart” student under the academic standards or perception – except for the art class. As soon as I ended high school, I took a few years off school because I couldn’t see myself going back to this structure/system not really knowing what I wanted to pursue until I met a friend who was studying art – specifically photography in central Mexico, Read more>>

Dominic Clay

My mother was an artist. Not in its traditional or scholarly context but in the most beautiful and freeing of ways; creating beautiful things. Read more>>

Teja Gerken

I pretty much knew as a child that I wanted to play guitar, but I was never accomplished enough to follow a traditional path toward being a professional musician. Read more>>

Nancy Gunther

From the age of six, I dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. I spent countless hours sketching designs and creating clothes for my dolls with the help of my grandmother, mother, and aunt, who taught me valuable sewing skills. Read more>>

Jiaan Shen

At the year of 2018 the Tik Tok Chinese version Douyin first came out, when I was scrolling the videos, I had the feeling that I could make better contents than those but that was just a thought as I was a business major person preparing for entrepreneurship in business field. Read more>>

Kelynn Alder

When I was 9-years-old I drew a portrait of my Schnauzer, Schultzie and submitted it to the “Junior Artist’s Contest” in our local newspaper in Rochester, NY. Read more>>

Vincent James

On 2/1/21, I launched “Coffee, Pizza, and Wine” on Instagram and gradually expanded outward to other social media platforms. I named my imprint “Coffee, Pizza, and Wine” after my three favorite things– I am a coffee aficionado, a foodie who loves pizza, and a lover of fine wine. Read more>>

Jenn Maksymiak

I’ve always been a creative person. I loved coloring, drawing, and painting when I was a child and took as many art classes as I could throughout my schooling. Read more>>

Valerie Burkes

I’ve been creative all my life but I didn’t take it seriously until 2008. At the time I was working at a telecommunications company and met other creative people who worked there as well so we decided to put together a creative showcase to feature all of our talents: Read more>>

Raiyn Fautheree

Ever since I could remember I used art as a creative outlet in my life— and through this I have found deep rooted healing and direction over my life. Read more>>

Casey Booth

I’ve wanted to be a full time artist for as long as I can remember. I was always drawing as a child, and the curiosity of how to make art has led me on a fun and challenging journey of designing and illustrating for a living. Read more>>

Luna Bae

I really love this question…it literally defines my life. The best I can answer this is as long as I can remember. Even though my artistic career has taken different forms from rythmic gymnastics, to dance, modeling, content creation and now acting it’s clear that as soon as I learned to walk I knew I wanted to be an artist. Read more>>

Miyuki Rutledge

Drawing was something I’ve always been passionate about growing up. In grade school, I used to draw model figures and cut out outfits with patterned papers. Read more>>

Alex Menzor

Pretty early on, I’d say around 7th or 8th grade I knew I wanted to pursue a creative career. Art is the only thing that’s ever made complete sense to me. Read more>>

Amanda Azous

I dabbled in art in high school and early university. I had a piece in a show. I married a talented artist, but we later divorced. Couldn’t make a living at art. My return to art has been circuitous. Read more>>

Sarah Beth Elkins

I always knew I’d have to do something creative, but after college I didn’t know what that looked like career wise. I decided to go the teaching route and taught High School Ceramics & art courses for 7 years. Read more>>

Christie Becker

I began training in the violin earlier than most of my peers. When I was 5 years old I was watching a VHS tape where the various string instruments were being demonstrated, and I was immediately captivated by the violin. Read more>>

Michael Aslan

I saw my first magician in a school assembly. Fell in love with magic but had no way of finding out more. Only one book in the school library, ” The Amateur Magicians Handbook “. Read more>>

Nick & Ebony Mitchell

When we became parents of our 4 daughters and wanted to be involved in their daily lives and we wanted to raise them not the world. Read more>>