It takes a lot for someone to find a passion in something. One of my mentors in college told me once "You have to find the one thing that you like, that people will pay you for, and that there is a need for enough for you to find and keep a job." I came to college having no idea what I wanted to do for a career, and that thought made me extremely uneasy.

At first, I thought I wanted to be an architect, get a degree in architecture and a degree in business management, and open up my own architecture firm. I had taken classes in high school on drafting, and enjoyed it a lot, and figured that was a solid plan for me to both do something I enjoyed and make a hefty amount of money while doing it. However, a few things that happened that made me rethink my original decision, after all, we all know it's difficult making a choice on what to do for the rest of your life, especially at the age of 18.

The first thing that changed my decision was the fact that I had not applied to the architecture program at the school I was attending, which would've set my graduation back at least a year, which was something I wanted to avoid (but later would end up doing anyway). Another thing that deterred my decision from becoming an architect was the math courses and competitiveness in the architecture program. I knew that I would need to take math courses for architecture from what I learned in high school; what I didn't know was how much and to what degree of difficulty.At that point, I thought maybe I should stick with business until something better comes along, so I enrolled in my first business class for my first semester of college. On my first day of class, my professor was explaining the syllabus and going over the expectations of the semester, and I knew immediately after the class was over that this wasn't what I wanted to do based on two words: public speaking. I hated public speaking, and still to this day am not a big fan, so I knew that I needed to spend my first semester of college trying to find out what I wanted to do, so I enrolled in freshman seminar.

Freshman seminar was the first step in finding what it was that I liked to to that I could also get paid for. In freshman seminar, you are required to take a placement test to find what career field you are best suited for. Overall, the test told me that I should work in the creative field, and that if I did anything else, I would be miserable. So from there I took the first steps in making my choice on what I wanted to do: what jobs are available and in demand, and how do I get a degree for them. My first choice was art therapy, mainly because it combined two parts of myself that I find to be part of my core being: helping others and visual art. However, art therapy requires both a Fine Arts degree as well as a psychology degree, which would tack on another 2 years to my already 5-year degree in progress, so I chose to seek other options.

I spoke with the adviser to the art program at UNCC, and she told me that if I wanted a degree in any art field, it would be in my best interest to apply to the art program as soon as possible. The main reason for this was there was a portfolio required to apply, and the deadline was approaching, and had I not applied, it would have pushed my graduation date back even further. Additionally, even if I didn't know what exactly it was I wanted to do, during the first two years, all art students are required to take general education and foundation art courses, so I had time to decide what specifically I wanted to do. So I applied and got accepted to the art program, and began my career as an art student.

When the time came to declare my concentration, I had high dreams and aspirations for myself. Some would say they were unrealistic, but I still don't regret the choices I made. I decided at that point I wanted to be an illustrator, creating drawings for people and businesses, having my work featured on movie posters and magazines, and be proud of what I created. What I didn't consider was 1. Being an illustrator is a contract position, meaning there is no job security, which is something I wanted very much and 2. People only want illustrators who have experience, which is something I do not have.

I still ended up graduating with a degree in Fine Arts with an Illustration concentration and an Art History minor, but after school I found it impossible to find illustration work, even freelance. I would get an art commission here and there, but not enough to make a living off of. So I realized I had to do some thinking and consider the long term wants and needs of my life: paying off student loans, buying a house, getting married and starting a family. These were all things that weren't going to happen if I didn't try to think more realistically and find the "need for enough for you to find and keep a job" part of the formula my professor had told me in school. So I thought back to what I know, and why I feel the way I do about the things I like so much.

I grew up the son of a teacher, and that is something that has followed me everywhere. It's why I love helping people, and why I wanted to become an art therapist initially. I love art for many reasons, one of them being how it helps people relate to each other and the world around us. So I decided to move into combining helping people and making art without a psychology degree: I became an art counselor for children at the YMCA.

Now, I hope to further my career by building a resume counseling and advising in art to children, and eventually move into becoming an art teacher for elementary school children. Although I still do some freelance illustration work on the side here and there, and eventually I would like to design and sell my own line of clothing, but I'm not putting all my eggs in that basket.

The moral of the story is do what you love, don't worry about not being able to find what that is right away, and make sure you can still build a happy life doing what it is that you love.