I'm making a HUGE decision in my life ... I am switching my major from Business to Art!
And Steemit helped me get here. I would rather be a starving artist than be sitting at a cubicle in a pantsuit making 100 grand a year.
I am a 34 year old single mom. All my life I have been told to do the sensible thing, to take the stable road in life. Now my child is 15 and will be out of the house soon, and I am questioning my journey in life. Well I am done being told what to do. I am done following the "rules".
I am ready to stand up for myself and go against the stigma of what a single mom has been labeled as in this country.
I've already made a huge decision to go back to school, that in itself was difficult! Getting funding, making sure I can make ends meet, and then CHOOSING A MAJOR. Ugh! The bane of my existence. I am half way through my schooling and have finished all of my general ed, so I must choose a major now, no more being wishy washy.
The hardest part for me has always been choosing a major, as the sensible left-brain battles with my creative right-brain (I am left handed after all, so right-brain usually wins).
I decided that the practical choice would be to major in business marketing. It's a degree that is in demand, and I could make a good living granted I find a job after graduating. I have experience in the business field so it is rational to expand on my existing career skills.
But something just hasn't been feeling right about the decision. As I look over my future classes, I cringe a little bit. Microeconomics, macroeconomics, statistics, management. All big scary words that just don't seem to fit me. My head was telling me business but my heart has been screaming, "NO!"
Alas, I had an epiphany and discovered that I have been suppressing what truly makes me happy in life and what I am good at; Steemit helped me discover this. The support I've had on my explorations and photography has given me the confidence that I can do this! I can live my dream!
So I have decided to change my major from Business to Art ...... wallah!
After all, I am an explorer, an adventurer, an artist, and a photographer. I am a lover of freedom and of discovering beauty where it is least expected. I also am a writer and creator of many things like jewelry and sculpture.
Everything I do is surrounded by freedom and creativity. So why should I suppress who I am any longer? Why should I still give into the messaging that has been ingrained in me my entire adult life? Would wearing a pantsuit in a cubicle make me happy? No way!
I am ditching what people think I should do and am embracing what is in my heart and what I know I must do! I will embrace my passions and success will follow.
I know this journey will not be an easy one, I know I could finish up school with a Bachelor's in Art and be waiting tables, I see, feel, and hear all of the risks, just as I have lived those risks of scantily being able to make ends meet as a single mom for the past 15 years.
But I am ready for it. I am weather-worn, tough as nails, and have been stuffed into a box for too long. It's time to open that box.
I am Queen Mountain.
If you need school to art.. You are doing it wrong.
Stick with the business degree. At least it will put food on the table.
If you want to art, by all means art. But this line of decision making you will only learn to regret.
-Former Starving Artist
Former starving artist, well firstly the reason to art in college would be to increase my technical skills by leaps and bounds, I don't see getting schooled for art as doing it for the wrong reasons. Anywho, I do have one semester left of prerequisites before I make any final decisions, which will hopefully give me some insight one way or another. My existing credits are so old that I have to "refresh" them by going back to school this year or I lose all 70 of them! So, I am wading in this conundrum of "what the hell do I do?" I have a decent job, and getting a bachelor's of business does not guarantee me crap other than a lot of stressful tests and boring classes. So might as well go for something that I am more passionate about, right? Ugh!
I'm glad your being upvoted because you're gunna need that money.
Lololol yep I agree.
You should do what you like or something "related " enough . My motto is that whatever you do, some days you will hate it. Doing something you like make you go back faster on your passion and the reason you are doing it. Good luck
Thanks!
I wish you success, but not sure everyone can make a living as being an artists. i hope steem proves me wrong...
we live in world where people sitting in a cubicle are needed
I agree that being a straight-up artist is probably not realistic or even reliable. But its how I will apply the skill that will lead to success. My plan is reaching beyond the notion of being just a plain ol artist, I have some cool ideas swirling around in my head.
So my plan I am culminating is to start a non-profit to help disabled veterans suffering from PTSD. There is a personal reason behind all this which in itself warrants another story. I want to somehow tie creating artwork into fundraising for these veterans. I ideally want to start like an outdoors program or retreat for vets out here in Montana with the money I raise. Oh boy, this idea might be growing too big for its britches!
Luckily, I have a lot of career experience and have been self-employed (I owned a computer repair biz for a couple of years). I specialize in business marketing, mainly online reputation management, social media management, content creation, web design, and SEO. So I am thinking with my existing career skills, my entrepreneur experience, and with building technical art skills, I can pull off something super awesome.
Worst case scenario I graduate with a degree and keep doing what I am doing, lol.
Thanks for all of your support!
You only get one life (as far as I know) so you should do what YOU want with it.
I fist bump that.