02/20/2024
I've been thinking about this journey I've been on, on what I'd like to do next. When I was really young, I was quite good at STEM, I probably would have had a really promising career in it, but felt it was hard to see myself there, how to actually do it. I felt I wasn't good at problem solving, that I was gullible to what the science pages would post, and didn't know how to scrutinize the information to find the truth. I started making jewelry as it was hard finding fun pieces to wear with my nickel allergy, and it inspired me to study art to see if I could shore up those weaknesses in that path. And you know what? I feel that it did! By the time I graduated with my bachelor's in Fine Art, even just by the time I had my associates degree in Studio Art, I became a much better problem solver, and I learned valuable research and rhetoric skills that have helped me be much better at discerning truth from the articles and things people say. Someone recently told me that that couldn't see themselves pursuing art because when they pictured an artist, they just pictured galleries and commissions and it didn't sound very fun, but honestly, that doesn't even need to be what an artists path looks like to be an artist. I have a colleague that often says "engineers solve problems, artist create problems" and I've been adoring this saying as it reminds me that being an artist means anything I need it to be in that moment, the problem can be anything. I know I said I learned to be a better problem solver through studying art, but I think part of that is from being on the other side of problems. Creating them helps understand how they are made, which makes it easier to imagine how to solve them! It's helped me remember that the path for the rest of my life doesn't have to be solving problems, it can be creating beautiful problems that can help inspire other people solve the big ones. I believe art and creativity are important parts of each humans' existence, that the gift of being human is the drive to express ourselves! If your not sure what do next, what you want to do with your life, I found that studying art really helped me learn to turn the problem upside-down 💖
