Choosing to be an Artist

Choosing to be an Artist

When your degree is in a field that doesn’t have a clear career path – it is so easy to get lost and off track. Especially right after graduation. Graduates in fields like education, accounting, and engineering seem to have full careers at the ready as soon as they graduate. But when you graduate with a degree in the arts – where do you apply to be a full time artist? Who do you send your resume to that will offer you a full time job comparable to your non-artist friends? You don’t. There is so much more work and learning to do now that you have completed what you thought was extensive training in your field. Work is not always easy to come by and it certainly won’t pay the bills. If you want a job as an artist, you have to choose to be an artist every day. At the end of the day, you have to choose to take a chance on yourself – because if you can’t give yourself a chance – who will?

Feeling Like I’m Failing

Since graduation, I had been working myself very hard to get jobs in the costume industry and make a name for myself in Houston. Some of my jobs I loved and some of them were a struggle to stay at (I mean you can’t give your all all of the time). Over the course of the year, I had lots of questions thrown at me:

• So when are you getting a job that provides health insurance?
• How much money can you put in savings to buy a house?
• Where is this job leading? Will you ever be full time?
• That sounds great – what’s it pay?

All of these questions are important things to think about, yes. But when they were asked of me multiple times every week, I grew tired and resentful of the career I was trying to break into. I started thinking about the practicality and logistics of my career and decided that it was no longer a logical idea to be a theatre artist. In May, I was ready to give up my dream and find a more practical job in another field. I just had one thing I had to do before I threw in the towel…

Finding My Fire

When I decided I should probably just give up on my dreams – I had already signed a contract to work in California for the summer. I was excited to hold a leadership role at this company, but I was really nervous and not super looking forward to working a job in a career I had decided I was quitting. When I arrived in California, everything changed. I was surrounded by so many talented, and passionate people who believed in me and made me see potential in myself again. I stopped over analyzing and questioning what was next for me and how I would get there. I learned to accept myself where I’m at and believe that there will be a future.

Making the Choice

Stepping away from my life in Houston for a couple of months gave me clarity and confidence. I generally felt more at ease and content with my life. I felt like I had a purpose in this industry again, and I could see a future for myself. I made a choice to move to LA more permanently. And guys, when I say everything fell into place – everything fell into place. I found amazing roommates and almost instantly, we found an apartment in the neighborhood we wanted with all the amenities we desired, in our price range, AND I started getting job offers. Soooo to conclude this little episode – I moved to LA! I live in Koreatown with some fantastic artists, and we are following our dreams. This journey hasn’t and isn’t always easy – but it is so worth it.

If you do one thing today, make a choice to follow your dreams. Even in a small way. You are in charge of your future.