Growing up, I had big dreams. At the age of five, I decided I wanted to be an actress on Broadway, despite having two left feet and the rhythm of a newborn calf. My mom thought it was cute and my teachers would smile and laugh when I would talk about my aspirations, but it wasn't until I reached the tender age of ten that I was faced with the cold, hard truth.
It all started at a "junior achievements" seminar in elementary school. My small class of 20 fifth-graders were taken to a computer lab and individually placed in front of small, metal Dell laptops (before the age of the Apple Macbook, a moment of silence, please). A preloaded webpage, filled with tons of survey questions (way too complicated for the average 10-year-old, by the way), blinked in front of me as I waited for further instruction. According to our teacher, this was the website that was about to map out our future. Fill out the questions, click done, and voila! Jobs well suited to our interests would be matched appropriately with our answers.
I remember one question in specific that has literally haunted me my entire teenage life. "What is an annual salary you would be comfortable with in the future?" Of course, as I wanted unlimited Webkinz in my life at the time, I clicked on the $100-300k range, hoping to find "actress" as an option under careers. To my dismay, as I clicked done, the jobs that I began to scroll through had nothing to do with acting. Actually, they had nothing to do with anything suited for right-brainers like myself. Doctor, engineer, research scientist, oh my! That was the moment I decided I just had to become a dermatologist if I ever wanted to buy the worlds largest supply of Webkinz. Out the window went the idea of actress, and in through the door came the idea of math, sciences, and of course, a stable life cushioned by money.
Up until this point in my life, I have struggled so hard with the idea of who I am as a person because of the emphasis placed on earning a lucrative income in the future. My mom, someone who has raised a child by herself and on a teacher's salary, has warned me my entire life of the struggles money can cause. Of course, she pushed me to continue pursuing the idea of medicine in order to have a comfortable future, but here is what people don't understand.
Just because you're someone who enjoys reading books over crunching numbers, or writing for fun over solving puzzles, that does not mean you cannot make a life for yourself in the future. On the contrary, the world needs creative and artistic people to make it spin on its axis. Personally, I would love to be the person effortlessly amazing at math, or the person who doesn't have to study for an anatomy test. But I'm not. I am a person that adores writing, eats books alive, and thinks with emotion before logic. While I love my left-brained people, I have to tell people that are like me this: do not be scared.
Wherever you are, may it be high school, elementary school, freshman orientation, I don't care. My point to you is don't let the system squash your ideas and dreams. You do not need to become a doctor or an engineer to have a good life in the future. While money drives people (who would have a different job otherwise) to choose a career not well-suited for them, there are people out there who embrace their creativity, and as a result are making their dreams become a reality.
It can be confusing growing up and having your brain muddled by the idea of certain jobs making "no money." Do not let this confuse you about who you are. At the end of the day, it is your life, not capitalism's. Accept with open arms the way your brain works, and realize that money does not equal happiness.
And anyway, the earth without art is just "eh," am I right?
