My "why(s)" / Reason #2

I was told by many “you can’t make money in art”. 

I was asked by many “Why would you spend all of that money on an art degree, when you won’t get a job to pay your bills?”

I was encouraged by most “find a new degree/career path that will *actually* earn you a living”.

Well, those were the wrong things to say to a person like me. When someone tells me I can’t do something that I know I can do, it makes me want to do it even more so I can prove them wrong. Is that the only reason I went to art school? Heck no!

Truth be told, those voices got in my head enough to where I was “just going to go to JJC to get some sort of an associates degree and figure it out from there”. Thank God, God had a better plan for me. Long story short, I ended up going to the American Academy of Art in Chicago and getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts - with a Specialization in Watercolor Painting. 

Even after I graduated (with a job before I graduated- might I add to those nay sayers ;) ) I had people ask me “Do you regret it?” *thinking* they knew the answer would be “yes”. No. Not once. In fact, I would take the same exact path, given another opportunity.
 
So why did I do it, and why would I do it 2,854,409 times over? Because I wanted to be the exception. I wanted to prove it to myself and others- that I, in fact, CAN do it. I wanted to eliminate the idea that artists can’t survive on art alone. I wanted to be happy doing what I love for the rest of my life. And most importantly, because I needed to be true to myself. I would be miserable doing anything but what I do now. (I know because I’ve been there)

So. Here’s to kicking ass and loving life!

Don’t ever let anyone tell you you can’t do something.

The world is ours.

Thanks for stopping by!
​<3 Kristy
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