Dig In Kids!

Why I'm not trying to be an artist, for now.

“Advertising and Public Relations with a business general minor, emphasis in advertising”. This is my response when people ask me what I’m studying. Sometimes people dig a bit deeper and ask why I’m pursuing ad/pr. I have a canned answer for this question too. I want to use my creativity in a financially stable career. In middle school I was the kid who had a natural artistic ability and loved art class. In high school I didn’t prioritize growing my skills and didn’t take a single art class. Looking back though, I think it shows what I believe about art. Only a select few artists ‘make it’ and many renowned artists died broke. One of, if not the biggest goal in my life is to provide for my future family. Going into the arts is like gambling on yourself, but I’m not just risking my future wellbeing, I’m risking my kids growing up hungry and basically fatherless due to long hours. So I’m pursuing advertising/public relations. However I’m hoping that I’ll be able to branch out into an even more creative position. I find the entertainment industry to be very appealing. When I’ve needed to create videos for school I loved the vision realization that came with directing. Becoming a movie director is a lofty dream of mine. A more realistic goal of mine is to become an intellectual property creator for companies. Designing logos, writing catch phrases, and similar projects are the types of things that I’d like to do. Graphic design and copywriting are very different educational paths however and I’ve followed the copywriting course so far.

I’ve taken great comfort in the idea that careers are fluid. Being a social media manager isn’t where I want to be in ten years, but everyone needs to start somewhere. There are a ton of creative roles in the job market and I’m willing to put my all into many different positions. I just need somebody to do what I wasn’t willing to do… take a gamble on me.