Art ain't a career?

In most households, the youth faces difficulties with choosing a career field that will satisfy their parents and bring in the money. Most of these careers are not art related because majority of our older generation, specifically our parents or immediate family, believe that art won't get us anywhere, it has no money and often see it as a hobby rather than something you can fully pursue. This then results to the lack of support from home to pursue a career in the art/entertainment industry and I quote: "...demographics are changing due to varsity dropouts who can't cope or enjoy university".

They believe that degrees like medicine, law, accounting or engineering etc will guarantee you a job as soon as you graduate but then again you look at the unemployment rate, most are sitting at home with their qualifications. It has become a norm in black households, specifically, where one needs to study what their father, or mother or anyone else in the family studied because it brings in the money and you are "following their footsteps" which they believe, will make you successful. Here's how I feel about this issue.

I personally feel like one needs to understand art in order to accept and respect it. What i mean is, art is very broad and is not restricted to painting or drawing. There's so many jobs/career fields one can enter. We need to really take into consideration that varsity isn't child's play and studying something you forced to study doesn't make it any easier which then ,as mentioned in the opening paragraph, results to stress, depression and dropping out.

First of all, the world is changing, DRASTICALLY. Yes, sure doctors, lawyers and engineers are needed but our current generation is born into technology and theoretical courses are disregarded in a way and we want to do more practicals and explore. The entertainment industry has grew and most of us are interested to be in more creative spaces rather than uniformed or "controlled" spaces. We are the generation that is very inquisitive, curious and innovative. Times have changed, we think differently. Art as a whole has always been and still is seen as something that is not beneficial or important. People think it's just about drawing or painting however it's much more complex than that.

Art offers so much more and it's broad. Art also includes: dance, poetry, singing, rapping, writing, film production, fashion, events planning, design, infrastructure, marketing, branding and so much more. What I'm trying to say is...without art, the world would just be plain, dull and boring. Everyone holds that creative "nature" within them which we embrace in different ways and fields and that's facts!

My advice to us, the youth, is to do whatever makes you happy and feel good. You gotta love what you do and that for me personally, that's your success. At the end of the day, it's not about what people want. They not going to be getting up every morning, going to class for you, writing tests or exams for you, they won't be called on the day of graduation and definitely not get a job and do it for you.

Do you. Be the best you that you could ever be! It's your future, your empire - build it the way YOU envision it. If you feel like medicine or law is your thing, go ahead, but if you feel like art is your thing, DO IT. No one is more successful than a person who loves and enjoys what they doing to be honest.

I know it ain't that easy to just do what you want but maybe choose a career field that aligns with your vision.

Yes, you might not always get the support you need from your family but at the end, trust me, they will see your achievements, your drive, your successes and all that fuss and stress will pay off. It's okay to be self-full (selfish), just keep going, keep growing and keep soaring.

Let's create, share, connect and inspire. Send me emails or comment down below.