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

Ella Nicole

Since I was a child I have known that music was a path I wanted to pursue professionally, not only because its in my blood but because it just feels right for my soul. Music has always been a staple in my household, when I was a kid my mom would let me mess around with her equipment to make songs and my dad would blast my favorite song in the morning so I’d be in a good mood (I was not a morning person lol)! Music has always surrounded me in different ways and I’ve always loved the way music made me feel so naturally I began to want to share my music whenever I could. Read more>>

John Yurcaba

I think I always knew I wanted to be creative. From a very young age, I wanted to write and draw stories. I would watch my favorite cartoons, and then sit down and act like it was on me to come up with the next episode. To figure out what would happen, draw it out, and then pitch it to my parents, as if the next move was for them to hand it over to the animation studios. Read more>>

Mario Layne Fabrizio

There have been a few moments that really defined this for me. I remember being 15 or so at the Jazz House Kids program. There was a moment during practicing a couple songs of standard repertoire with the ensemble teacher Mike Lee who is such an encouraging and community based teacher which I’ve always appreciated. He’s always led jam sessions to have students play with professionals and have everyone just learn from each other. Anyway, there was a moment I had that felt a bit out of the ordinary but that was with such certainty and confidence which I didn’t feel much at that time. Read more>>

Mila Franco

Ever since I was a child, my parents were very supportive of my artistic pursuits. They turned one of our walls into a “gallery” of my art, which really made me feel proud, and encouraged me to try to fill up the whole wall. My dad is also an artisan and loves what he does, so when I was a kid I just thought that people chose jobs based on what they love to do. I eventually saw the reality show NY Ink, which is about tattoo artists. Watching those artists doing what they enjoyed and seeming to live nice lives, I thought, “If they can all have a nice life doing what they love, maybe I can too.” Read more>>

Phoebe Hatch

I realized I wanted to pursue art in high school, maybe around age 16 or 17. I was trying to decide what I wanted to do with my future after high school, as we all were. Earlier in high school I was thinking of going to a liberal arts college but the more I created the more I realized there was no way that this was something I could let go of. When covid hit I locked myself in my bedroom and transformed it into my painting studio, which was probably hazardous to be painting the same room I slept in. In the boredom of quarantine I really found my bliss and used that free time to slow down and do what I loved. I would say this was a transitional time for me. Read more>>

Sadie Fine

I started singing at the age of 3, but as a child I never thought of it as a career I could pursue until around 13 years old. At 13 I had just moved across the country from South Dakota to Tennessee, I was being heavily bullied and music felt like my only outlet. I began playing shows and releasing music and I realized it was my passion. I have been working my hardest to make it happen ever since! Read more>>

Jerome Clanton

Since I was 12 years old watching the late Tupac Shakur music video Brenda has a Baby that’s when I knew I wanted to perform write and create music. Didn’t know that would Lead me to acting directing writing doing media performing entrepreneurship and traveling all over the world. Read more>>

Aabidah Muhammad

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue an artistic path professionally was when I was just 9 years old. I dreamed of being a singer, a photographer, an actress, and so much more. I had so many visions—I just knew I wanted to be completely engulfed in the world of art, and healing others with it. I was fascinated by the idea of expressing my true self through endless creative possibilities. Thankfully, my mother nurtured my budding interests by enrolling me in acting classes, drawing, and photography. Each of these experiences helped me uncover the spark of creativity within me. Read more>>

John Keen

I always knew as a child there was something different about me. I danced for local dance studios, churches, participated in after school dance classes, musical theater productions, and whatever I could get my hands on. I knew this was what I was suppose to do for the rest of my life. I started traveling and danced throughout the US. However there was something missing that I couldn’t put my finger on but that was until I moved to New York. I had tunnel vision from very beginning when I was there. It was the best decision I could’ve made. Read more>>

Aaron Schondorf

So, this story requires some preamble. As a child, my first real passion was not music, films, games, or really anything related to the core of my role as a composer – it was the circus, which grew out of my being a gymnast and having a distaste for rules and competition. I thought that could be my career: living the dream of running away and joining the circus. After many years of training in juggling and acrobatics, I auditioned for and was invited to join Circus Smirkus, a professional youth touring circus, for five summers during high school. Read more>>

Maria Roberts

I always knew I wanted to be a creative artist, even as a child. I started dancing when I was 7, then explored other activities, but by the time I was 10, I fell in love with singing. A friend of mine mentioned she was attending a vocal studio, so I asked to go with her. That’s when I started taking vocal classes. Read more>>

Jade Wesley

There are two big moments I can remember when the spark was created. The first one, I was watching a Whitney Houston documentary with my parents. She sang her song “All the Man I Need” Live at HBO’s Welcome Home Heroes Concert Special in 1991. All the musicians were so in sync and fully in the moment. It was so wonderful to see. This was the point in Whitney’s career when she was basically at her peak. The way the audience looked at Whitney in complete awe was astonishing. And her voice, THE Voice. It was like the Holy Spirit was speaking through her vocal folds. Read more>>

Mary Morales

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative and artistic path professionally was a journey that took years to unfold, shaped by my passion for art, the challenges of pursuing it as a career, and an unexpected discovery during the pandemic. Read more>>

Manuel Lopez

At first, I didn’t know I wanted to be an artist; I just wanted to learn to play an instrument. At a local party, I saw a drummer playing with such joy that I wanted to do the same. I remember asking my mother to buy me a drum set, but at that time, we didn’t have the resources to afford one. So, I started playing on buckets with some sticks I found, spending many afternoons doing that. Eventually, my mother bought me my first pair of drumsticks, and even though it wasn’t a real drum set, it made me feel like a professional drummer. Read more>>

Derett Boyd Jr

My creative journey began unexpectedly in middle school when my seventh-grade writing teacher introduced our class to spoken word poetry. The moment I heard the artists perform, I was deeply moved and asked her if I could take that DVD home. That evening, I shared the DVD with my mom and sister, and we were all equally captivated. It was then that I truly understood the transformative power of words and their ability to touch people’s hearts. Read more>>

Lesleigh Meisenzahl

I can trace my decision to pursue a creative path professionally back to a pivotal moment in my childhood. Creativity was a constant presence in my life especially with my mom, her talent for crafting beautiful jewelry and her impeccable eye for fashion, and my dad, who painted both houses and canvases in his spare time, nurtured my artistic instincts from an early age. The seed was planted, but it wasn’t until I was about 7 years old, sitting at the workbench in the basement with my mom, that I felt the full pull of creativity. We were crafting together, and for the first time, I became completely immersed in the process. Time disappeared, and I discovered how powerful it felt to create something that came from within. Read more>>

Kevin Pinkerton

I first started to take art seriously when I was in High school. And I had the opportunity to take free classes on Saturday mornings at The School Of Visual Arts and the Parsons School Of Design,I did the for three years and I took drawing classes at The Art Students League. Read more>>

Gideon Siebert

I was in high school during the peak of what was referred to as Soundcloud Rap and I really enjoyed the angsty energy that usually accompanied it. Something about it though made me think to myself that it couldn’t be that difficult because the general idea of building a song just made sense to me. From the first time I made a song (one that won’t ever see the light of day) back in 2013, up until 2019, I focused heavily on rap and hip-hop and it was around this time that one of my songs accumulated 1 million streams. The 2013 version of me was naive yet confident and I think that sort of childlike wonder was what made me want to stick with music and overall artistic endeavors. Don’t give up! Read more>>

Ashley Nadine Lopez

I have always loved performing; I recently found a pre-school project that said I wanted to be a singer and dentist which is hilarious but it proved to me that I always wanted to perform and make a difference in people’s lives. I always found any opportunity I could to perform growing up and when I moved to a new state in middle school, there were even more opportunities to perform. It wasn’t until high school that I realized that this was a career that I not only wanted but that was possible. I decided I want to to study musical theatre in college; as a lower income student, I was given 3 college applications for free and so I applied to 2 in NYC and 1 in my home state of Pennsylvania. Read more>>

Veronica Jackson

Prior to making art I collected art, which allowed me to cultivate generative relationships with established visual artists. During a memorable conversation with an artist-friend, I lightheartedly said, “I think I have a piece of art in me that wants to come out.” He wisely said, “Veronica you have more than one piece of art in you.” It was a profound statement that stayed with me and in some ways gave me the confidence to contemplate a “making” practice; because at that time, I did not believe I was worthy or talented enough to create and/or produce art. Read more>>

Nachelle Mac

My journey into modeling and acting has been shaped by my faith every step of the way. As a young girl, I participated in a church fashion show that I recall enjoying, but as a teenager, I became more cautious. I turned down opportunities that seemed to promise fame, like when talent scouts who approached me during a stage play and an offer to be on a CD cover, because I wasn’t comfortable with the attention or the image it might create. Read more>>

Erin Lacerra

As a child living in rural Pennsylvania, I shared with my parents my dream of becoming a professional artist. They advised that it would be a difficult path and encouraged me to pursue something more practical. I can’t blame them; we came from a family of farmers and laborers, and they didn’t know any folks with successful careers in the arts. So, I tucked away my dream, but maintained a consistent painting practice. Read more>>

Jo Giese

I graduated from the University of Texas-Austin with a degree in American Studies, which can prepare you for a future in academia but that wasn’t for me.

Since I’d been working hard writing my senior thesis, after I graduated I thought, Hmm, maybe I could work at a newspaper. I went to The Houston Post and interviewed. They guy said, We’ve never hired anyone who doesn’t have a Journalism degree but we’ll hire you. Read more>>

Ruby G

I’ve been singing since I was a child. I would regularly put on performances of The Lion King for my parents, but singing in public always terrified me. A former voice teacher once told me my voice was my achilles’ heel—not because I couldn’t sing, but because I was afraid to perform. We all have gifts, whether innate or ones we grow into, and it can be intimidating to share them with the world. Things clicked when I auditioned for The Voice. Although I didn’t get a chair turn (Why, John Legend, why?!), the experience was thrilling and transformative. I was proud of how far I’d come, and I knew that I needed to make music the priority in my life. Read more>>

Darrah Roberson-sapp

When I was in my undergrad years in college, I bounced around a lot. I couldn’t quite grasp what I wanted to do exactly from the beginning. I switch majors and even schools to try and follow my “passion” at those moments. I soon realized I liked a diverse group of things, but I was unsure on where I would want to settle long term. It wasn’t until my junior year of college that I realized Art should have been my main focus. Academic always came naturally to me but I’ve been a dancer and a lover of all things art for as long as I can remember. It never dawned on me that I could truly make a career out of art until I was in my third year of college. I took a leap of faith and finally switched my major to visual art, and my world become so much more meaningful. Read more>>

Tom Taylor

I was 24 when I first started pursuing music professionally. I had gone to see the band of some former bandmates of my brother Bill, with whom I had also jammed. They were playing a gig at the EMP (Experience Music Project) in Seattle, in their “Liquid Lounge.” Seeing their performance really gave me the bug to play music. I was unhappy at my job, so during a split shift, I drove to the local music store and put an ad on the bulletin board. I got a call from a band called Wormwood, and the rest is history! I was hired on as their bassist, and as a result, also met one of my best all-time friends, a seasoned former Nashville-based recording engineer, Tom Brown: an integral part of the Wormwood project as their co-producer, and engineer mastermind. Read more>>

Esmeralda Dalipi

I’ve loved drawing and painting since I was a child—I would often fill the pages of my schoolbooks with sketches. Before starting high school, my art professor noticed my talent for painting and encouraged me to pursue it further. That summer, I took a painting course, and it solidified my decision to attend an art-focused high school. After high school, my dream became a reality when I was accepted into the Albertina Academy of Fine Arts in Turin, Italy. That moment was a milestone in my creative journey, setting the foundation for everything I’ve accomplished since. Read more>>

Asia Turner

Growing up, I was always obsessed with fashion and designers. I grew up reading InStyle, TeenVogue, Vogue & Seventeen basically the minute I could read. I would rip out my favorite pages and ask for certain clothing items when my mom would take me shopping. I loved the Olsen twins growing up, they were my main inspiration. I always knew I wanted a fashion based career. Freshman year of high school I was able to interview an alumnus from my school about her fashion career in New York. I never knew if I wanted to design or style or what exactly until I was maybe 16,17 but my mom didn’t agree so I tabled my goals for a bit but this year I applied for my fashion styling certificate with FIT and I am currently working on it! I was scared but ultimately I am proud of myself for following my dreams. Read more>>

Smokey Hendrixx

I first knew I wanted to pursue a career in music when I was listening to Tay Keith and his musical run with BlockBoy JB and then I knew how easy it was to be creative. I already had a musical background and started playing the saxophone from 5th-12th grade. I also had a small rap career in high school with a group named “New Generation”. I was almost forced into taking time to work on music because of COVID and it canceled my plans on becoming a sports agent. Read more>>

Jackson Buckley

I knew I wanted to pursue an artistic path from a really young age. I wrote a few books when I was 5 years old, and started shooting little short films in the back yard with my cousins when I was 9. Creativity has always been a part of me and as I’ve grown up it’s just continued to get stronger and stronger. When I was 13 or so I was involved with a company called Youth Digital that taught kids how to make games and animate, and while I’d been making games with them for a while, I started to discover I really cared about the storytelling aspect and that’s when I made the switch to film. Now I’m working on my second animated feature. Read more>>

Karolina Domaszewicz

I first felt it during the initial photo shoot I conducted for my portfolio. Several years in the industry shaped me and helped me choose a specific direction, which they became fashion styling, photography, and PR activities that later evolved into a talent management role. When I internally felt ready to make a career decision, the idea of starting a modeling agency came to mind, and I put it on all my experience into a company I was very proud of at that time. I still am, though my work now looks a bit different than it did a few years ago. Read more>>

Elle Caldwell

I knew I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally during the height of COVID in 2020. Travel had always been a part of my life, but navigating the new challenges of traveling with children during a pandemic pushed me to look at it differently. After taking a trip to Disneyland with my 4-year-old daughter and my parents, I started sharing detailed itineraries and hosting Q&A sessions to help others plan their own trips. Read more>>

Craig Holland

It was something I realized three days shy of my 15th birthday.

It was a surprisingly warm Sunday morning in March. My dad opted to go out for a run. A short while later, while I was watching TV, we got a call on our landline phone. She wasn’t on the phone for very long, but rushed out of the house. As we didn’t have cell phones at the time, my mom would call every few hours with updates. It turns out someone wasn’t paying attention on the road, veered over the double yellow lines, and struck my dad on the side of the road. Read more>>

Ausar Stephens

The moment I knew I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally wasn’t glamorous or triumphant—it was raw. I was in my mom’s basement, back in my hometown after trying to build a life in Atlanta. The weight of failure was crushing. I had watched my friends step into careers they were proud of while I floundered, my degree in visual arts feeling like a dead end. I sat there, alone, replaying every decision that led me to that basement, every moment I had quit on something I once believed in. I wondered if this time would be any different. Read more>>

Nova Novais

During 2022 – 2023 I was going down bad financially.
Wanting to fund my music career, I started educating myself on new ways to make money on my own , having a small car detailing company , cleaning houses , putting together marketing campaigns, assisting those in buisness , and composing music for others while obtaining a 9-5. Read more>>

Miracle Pelayo

I pursued acting because I felt like performing for me was the greatest outlet I could ever have. I have dreamt of being an actor since I was a little girl and I just felt it in my heart it was something I had to do for the rest of my life. In grade school, when we would read the question WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP… It was always the same answer for me: I “want to be an actor and performer.” I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Read more>>