All around me I see progression...now-adults that I knew as they were children who have come to that threshold of decision between doing what they LOVE and what may pay. Agreed this is a difficult place to be...but I found myself offering words of advice (albeit unsolicited) that I didn't quite understand when I was 19, but that i REALLY do now...Do What You LOVE.
As a student in college, I had a dear friend who's mother was a professional artist. She still is. She's remarkable. Some of the things that come from her hands is simply breathtaking...she has followed her ambition to be an artist all of her life...through thick and thin...and I find that admirable. This path has been difficult for her at times. Work ebbs and flows. With a family and responsibilities, I'm sure there were times when it would have been easier to find something more conventional...but she made art her trade, and as such, when there was a demand for creative means of raising capital, she taught these glass-mosaic techniques to others; students who wanted to learn. To this day, art is her practice.
I have another dear friend who through the course of his mission as a young man had decided that it would be more lucrative to pursue a business degree although his passion was in the arts. He graduated and entered the business world...unfortunately, after while he couldn't shake the feeling that he should have done something else...something that fulfilled him personally...something that gave him purpose...He went back to school to pursue film...and is now, doing what he loves.
The young man who was laden with my advice, in my point of view, is talented and competent. He could do anything that he wants and be great...it's just standing in our own shoes that perhaps the boundaries we see are of our own doing. At least that's how it's been for me. It's amazing to me that in reflecting on my life, I made my own decisions about future not necessarily based on passion...but an immediate opportunity. It's a hard line...especially because we can't see the future...and often times our circumstances demand measures that don't exactly match up with our own grand designs.
What I'm trying to say is that belief in oneself and an eye on an ultimate goal should be the foremost guiding light as we walk on our own paths. Do what you love, as it is said...the rest will fall into place.
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