Im an 18 yr old artist who just graduated from high school in june 2014, living under the care of my sister/ guardian and her boyfriend, along with their kids and his parents in a big apartment in bellflower, california. Im in my second semester of community college and im taking 4 classes, one of which im gonna receive either a D or F in. My sister wants me to go to college because 1.) An education will get you a better job which will give you a better future, 2.) Im not contributing to the household because i dont have a job so therefore i must go to college, 3.) To her, im the smartest one in the family, so for me to say i dont want to go to college after she worked so hard to get me where i am now would make all her efforts pointless.
I question the purpose of both life and college because ive been a life long artist with some existential concerns. I just want to be happy and do something i like in my future and have enough money to afford an okay life, but most of all i want to experience things and have fun. Im a pen and paper artist who loves to draw, dress up in costumes, laugh, and entertain crowds and make people happy. Being an artist makes me wonder why do i need college if it doesnt make any direct promises for success and if a lot of jobs today that require degrees only want the degree for its title and not the education behind it.
I have gained some good friends in college and have even had vague discussions of owning an apartment with them, because i know i cant live with my sister for several more years,and that seems more reliant on having a job than going to college. In fact, college would make living with friends difficult due to time nand money constraints.
I mean, what else does an artist need besides connections, skill, and lots of experience? I know general ed stuff always sucks and the stuff after them is fun but whats really the point of it all if im just gonna be an artist? Ive been to a school counselor/ therapist who says i need to start making my own decisions and do what i want and not have my sister choose things for me, but i tell her thats hard when im living under her paycheck and thus, her rules.
So what do you guys think? Am i having a legitimate personal crisis and posing reasonable concerns? Or am i just a young, overdramatic and lazy freeloader that needs to ditch the kid stuff and listen to my sister so i can earn a decent living?
I don’t know for sure if this will help, but let me explain the situation of my best friend, and maybe her thought process will help you.
Like you, she desires to pursue art. She has amazing skill, and has been praised by all of her professors and teachers not only for her art skills but her intelligence. However, she’s also learned enough art history to know that art usually isn’t the most lucrative career. She doesn’t want a palace, but she wants to eat regularly. In addition, she also feels college is quite a pointless endeavor and wishes she didn’t have to go (her parents are making her and funding it, so who is she to reject them?).
However, she realized that she should consider something conducive to her love of art as a secondary career option. Because she loves spreading her love of art, she chose Education as a second major. Her plan is to graduate, get a grad school diploma if necessary, and teach art, while focusing on her own work in her spare time. If her work takes off and launches a great art career, fantastic! She’ll quit, shrug off the wasted college years, and move on. But if it doesn’t, she won’t be in the poorhouse.
Another thing to think about is that your costumes/pens/paper don’t buy themselves. Until they can support you, you need to have another job to support them, preferably a non-minimum wage job.
Unless one is independently wealthy (or has rich parents), creative artists have to have day jobs. They have to work to pay their rent, utilities, food, etc. That’s been the rule of thumb… forever, and as an aspiring artist, you’re in the same boat as millions of other aspiring creatives of all stripes.
The sad reality nowadays is: if you don’t get at least a bachelor’s degree, you will severely limit your job prospects and salary earning potential. I’m talking the difference between making sub-minimum wage/living on the poverty line and living above the poverty line… or way above and becoming solidly and comfortably middle class, if you get lucky. Nothing kills creative energy more than stress, and what’s more stressful than not being able to afford rent (or only being able to afford shady-as-eff neighborhoods where you live in constant fear for your safety)/not being able to eat/having to work a hellish job for shitty pay? I’m a writer, so I understand, but I have an advantage you don’t–my “art supplies” don’t cost much. Writing is free. Actual art supplies for actual artists are not… so you need some income so you can pay for supplies. I have a bachelor’s degree and a day job that keeps me comfortably in the lower middle class bracket, so I can live relatively stress free (don’t have to worry about rent, utilities or food) and write in all my spare time. It’s a long road to success if you’re a creative, and you can’t live for free. And the reality for most creative types: we will toil away for a long, long, long time before anyone wants to pay us for our art. Some people never make. The majority of aspiring creative types, actually. But if you’re going to be part of the 1% that makes it… you have to put in a lot of hard work and somehow support yourself while doing it. A college degree will get you a steady job with a decent paycheck, at least more likely than not having one will.
Get your gen-ed credits as quickly as you can–and you’ll have to cure that D/F–and apply to your closest CSU. You can major in art or graphic design, or something similar. Then you can find an art-adjacent paying job, or even a mindless day job like being an assistant or answering phones, so you get a steady paycheck but don’t have to think much about your job, so you can be creative in your spare time. But there ARE day jobs where you can get paid to be an artist, but none of them will be available to you without a degree. Also, college is fun! You might enjoy it, especially if you like dressing up and performing… you can join the drama club!
No matter what anyone tells you or what pops up into your mind, don’t doubt the benefits of a bachelor’s degree.