Artists and creatives face innumerable challenges given that their career path often doesn’t come with a playbook, a steady paycheck or any form of safety net. It’s definitely not easy and so we asked a few of the artists and creatives we admire to talk to us about why they chose to pursue an artistic or creative career.

Jaramiah Rios | Audio Engineer & Producer

Happiness. I didn’t wanna work a job that I had to dress up for and do the same thing everyday. I love that every day is a bit different. I might work with a major hip hop artist one day and record a church band the next. Read more>>

Sid Srinivasan | Musician – Singer/Guitarist/Songwriter

The answer to this question has changed over the years. It started off as an undying obsession with the guitar and all things music. It is this obsession that led me down the path of being a professional musician. Read more>>

Matt Orlando | Author Screenwriter Director

Pursuing a creative career? Why? That’s a difficult question to pinpoint. I don’t know all of the factors that lead one down a path to make a living off of what they create and present to the world. A path of self expression? For me it was a voice. It didn’t tell me what to do, only what not to do. Read more>>

Nathan Jerue | Drummer for Days of View

We were all starting to play music as we met, and we decided to play together because we wanted to make music together and try something new. As we got better as musicians we realized it was something we wanted to take seriously. When we started to be more serious more opportunities started to come and we established ourselves as an actual group. Read more>>

Johnny Metro | Theme Park Content Creator

I’ve always been drawn to creative pursuits my whole life and I really don’t feel fully fulfilled unless I’m out there giving something to the world. Making music and being a musician was a big part of my life for many years and still is but now I’m more focused on content creation from different perspectives. Its much harder to be the one that writes the song and also promote it — this stage of my creative life is more based in bringing people characters or media that they already love and putting my stamp on it. Read more>>

Molly Standley | Business owner

Initially Molly Moon Crafts started as something I did to help my mental health while going through a very difficult time. I was working two jobs and attending school full time dedicated to creating a better life for myself. Read more>>

Reid Biland | Writer & Artist

A life “in the arts” is something I’ve always expected of myself. While I was never fully convinced that I’m a creative individual, I’ve always felt a need to belong to the other half (as opposed to the 9-5 accountants or office workers). Read more>>

Vanessa Melendez | Wedding Photographer/Videographer

I’ve always been someone that had tons of ideas for concepts constantly brewing. If I had a job that wouldn’t let me express them or took too much of my free time away I would start to feel stagnant. I decided I would never be happy unless I was pursuing the career I wanted for myself. Photography came natural to me and always felt exciting! Read more>>

Jennifer Milligan | Clay Artist and Jewelry Maker

I have always been a creative soul and I still feel like I have to have a creative outlet. It’s therapeutic to me. Whether it be cooking, drawing, sewing, I’ve dabbled in many arts and crafts over the years. Growing up I loved drawing and painting. As I matured I became obsessed with makeup! I did freelance makeup for years actually. And now I’m making jewelry and I love it. Read more>>

Jennifer Kretchmer | Author, Performer, Game Designer, Producer, and Disability Consultant

I love storytelling in any medium. There is something endlessly compelling to me about the different ways that we try to expressed lived experience in art, and it was almost impossible for me to imagine having a career where I could explore those ideas, collaborate with other creatives, and hopefully create something that allows an audience to find points of connection, common humanity, and inspiration in the stories we tell. I love the unique chaos of creative collaboration and the thrill of imaginative discovery. There’s nothing like it. Read more>>