Ever since I was a little girl I have wanted to pursue the arts. I was always told “They don’t earn good money” “Thats dumb, how are you supposed to survive in the real world”. They always thought it was a waste of time and that it wasn’t worth anyone’s time. They tried steering my path towards other careers like nursing, teacher, surgeon, or basically any of the science majors. They would’ve all just been happy with me pursing something I wasn’t happy in. None of those careers interested me. They weren’t me. My brother was the only one who was happy for me when I told him that I wanted a career in the arts. For a moment I felt accepted and it made me happy to at least have one person to support me. Having everyone trying to steer me into another career hasn’t been easy. It makes me feel unaccepted, like I’m the one that’s missing something. Not being able to make everyone happy made me feel so much pressure to find another career that would make them happy. In my mind it was like they thought I didn’t have what it takes to be an artist. Art has always been a great way for me to be me. It allowed me to express myself in ways I didn’t know I could. Till this day I’m still learning about new ways that I can create. Art was always an outlet for me. It allowed me to see the world through a new lens and take in its beauty, it’s true beauty. Having somewhere to be able to step away to when I’m hurting, confused, or just tired has been great, it’s allowed me to create many wonderful things that not just I get to see. I share my art with others and they seem to be able to find a connection to it too and I love that we’re able to share an experience through an art piece even if it wasn’t the same event. Art comes in so many didn’t forms and so many of them have been a part of my life. Art truly has made me a better person. I’m not someone who looks like they would create art so when I do mention that I do this as a hobby that is what they think and nothing more. They think I’m not good and that I have to prove to them just how good I am. For some time it did feel like I needed to do that because I was always trying to prove to my family that it was the right choice for me but after some time I stopped and I allowed my work to do the talking for me.