At career day in kindergarten, you see all sorts of jobs floating around the classroom. Astronauts, singers, athletes, and doctors wrestle for toys and run around the playground with stars in their eyes and dreams in their hearts. Flash forward to high school, where kids are blasted left and right with adults asking questions about what school they are interested in and which career path they are going to choose, and the answers fall short of creativity compared to the innocent kindergarteners. The few, brave high schoolers whose answers to these burning questions consist of the arts, are typically responded to with laughter and one question, "So what's your back up plan?" I am here to say that this question is unappreciated. A job in the arts is possible, and if your passion lies in your creativity, don't give up because of others' ignorance.
The creative minds of the youth of our nation are often under appreciated. High school programs all over the country are taking money away from the arts, when the arts is what needs it the most. Due to budget cuts in schools all over, decisions are being made every day which area they need to cut back on. The choice often ends up being between the fine arts and athletics, and it's not often sports are truly under the chopping block.
Athletics do create an outlet for teenagers who need a break, but the fact that it is so often seen as superior to the fine arts is irritating. Teenagers' love for the arts is just as important and healthy as a love for physical activity. It clears the mind and gives them a break from their busy lives as high school students with too much homework.
Because teenagers are growing up in an era where fine art electives are seen as unnecessary, when a courageous soul decides that their life ambition revolves around the artistic mind, they are laughed at and not taken seriously. The amount of work ethic and difficulty it takes to have a career where your imagination is a fundamental part of your everyday profession takes fearlessness.
I used to think like everybody else and believed that most jobs based in the arts weren't "real" jobs. The more I looked into it though, the more obtainable it became to make a living in the arts. I have seen local photographers blow up with opportunities, local musicians play for larger and larger crowds, local artists go to colleges where they can make animations for big-name companies -- the list goes on and on. If your heart lies in your creativity, don't let anything hold you back. The world is large, and the opportunities are endless.
Next time you ask someone their interest for their job when they grow up, recognize that a dream of a career in the arts is a valid choice. We need to applaud kids for their ambition instead of tearing them down and filling them with unnecessary doubt. "Power to the local dreamer."
"I'd rather die of passion than of boredom" -Vincent Van Gogh
