Have you ever experienced fear-based reactions to your creative career choices?
How are you successfully overcoming these reactions?
The short answer to this is definitely, but I'll elaborate. I often have mini panic attacks. Usually it's because I start to think negative thoughts about the future or I become overwhelmed with too many tasks at once. I also feel like there's a pressure to succeed in my family because I'd be the first to graduate from a University. Then there's the added pressure of being an art major. My parents accept my career choice, but they definitely tried to dissuade me when I initially told them.
I recently decided to stay at school longer and complete a second major. Many of my friends who have graduated with animation degrees are working in coffee shops and retail stores. I found this terrifying. I thought, what was the point of them spending so much money on tuition if they were working at places they could have been hired at straight out of high school? What's even more frightening is that these people are incredibly talented! I feel fortunate that my school has many excellent professors. But even in the best universities, there are always some that aren't so great. I was supposed to graduate soon and I began to panic. I began to research art schools and I even visited one. The work the students were producing was amazing and the hire rate of the graduates was downright intimidating. The price of admission was also intimidating. I left feeling depressed. I couldn't afford to go there for grad school and I wasn't ready to graduate so soon. I made an emergency appointment with my advisor and told her I needed to add a second major. I had toyed with the idea of double majoring many times throughout my college career and in this moment of panic, I finally made it so.
While I did panic about going out into the world as an artist, I did not abandon my career choice. I instead compromised. If I'm going to have a difficult time finding an animation job right away, then I will at least have a backup. Since I'll be at school longer, I'll be able to get in some internships in the meantime!
I know that I love art (I have been drawing for as long as I can remember). What keeps me going is that I know that I am talented and that I know I am not the first person who has struggled with the decision to be an artist. When I feel like I'm having a difficult time, I remember that even Walt Disney and John Lasseter had to fight to become important figures in the animation world.
descriptor collection
sanguine: hopeful or optimistic. can also be used to describe bloody colors
ludicrous: absurd and laughable
condescending: a patronizing manner
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