if it's not what you love - don't do it

Time is precious. Life is short. Why waste it doing anything but what makes you happy. 

​My dear dudettes, I know, the struggle is real. The pressure to make loads of money, get a respectable job with benefits, while tending to life’s responsibilities is completely relevant and understandable. Of course, it is! You want to make your parents and family proud (I sure do) and give them everything they gave you, maintain healthy relationships with everyone you hold dear, and all the while be able to support yourself and that splurging habit you simply cannot part with. But my friends, who’s to say you can’t do that all in your own way? If you’re an artist, especially. 

You don’t need to go into the medical field, work in a major corporation, learn code and become a software engineer, or an astrophysicist for all that matter (unless that’s your jam, then do you), to be “successful.” 

If it doesn’t make you happy, if you’re not passionate about it, if it brings you to the point of stress stomach aches - it’s pretty obvious it’s probably not what you should be doing with the rest of your life. Time is so insanely limited - it’s not worth wasting something that precious on a life that you’re not making the most of for you and only you. 

I understand meeting expectations from those you love, those opinions matter, but it’ll be the best of both worlds when you prove to them you can get there by doing what you enjoy most. 

Passion drives success and happiness. That’s always my motto. 

No matter what you want to be or what you want to do, whether you make jewelry dishes, yodel beyond the hilltops, raise rabbits for the circus, or are this weird traveling artist like me - the world needs what you do, and it needs to be done by you. 

Don’t let the idea that it’s already been done or the fear of being unliked stop you from doing anything. No one can do anything like you can. Always remember that. You’re so fudging special, and no one can take that away from you. If you have a gift (or several) it can hardly be considered one if you don’t share it! I mean think about it - It’d be like getting your mom this incredible trip to Scotland for her birthday but deciding not to give it to her in the end because you were scared she wouldn’t like it.

True, it’s much easier said than done, but isn’t it worth trying compared to imagining what your life as a star on Broadway could have been like? If you let money or expectation other than your own rule where your path leads, you’re never going to get where you want to go or be happy about it. I assure you. Your heart knows what it wants, and if that’s not what everyone around you wants - I want to tell you that, that’s okay. If you’re working at the local coffee shop or driving Uber - you’re building enough income to support yourself and enough time to support your dreams in the meantime before they become full-time. Balance is sensational, essential, and necessary. 

Balance is the key to getting to where you want to faster (regardless of how unglamorous the road there may be). You need time and you need money - if you have too little of either, chances are you’re going to be unhappy - especially if you’re hating what you’re currently doing. So, I’ll leave you with this.

Find the thing you love, a hobby, and the thing you’re incredible at. For me, I love traveling and know a lot about it from first-hand experience. On top of that, I have spent the last four years of my life in Los Angeles immersed in the entertainment industry, and have become particularly skilled at writing and as hobbies, photography, and singing. After you choose these, think up a way of how it could benefit the world around you - for me, that was female artists who need/want inspiration and guidance. When you discover this -think of a way you can monetize the experience using all three (what you love, your hobby, and your skill). For me, this is traveling the world, creating art wherever I go and writing my stories (books, screenplays, and blogs) based off of my experiences, to sell. It’s really that simple - you just need to give this venture the time it needs to flourish.

Now, please, go forth without hesitation. I know it’s scary and can be hard to make the first step, but this life is yours - and it’s going to be beautiful!