I was ten years old when I stood in front of my mother explaining to her that I had chosen a different career path. I was so nervous to tell her that I didn’t want to be a doctor, I know said it when I was eight years old but that was because I didn’t know what I wanted then. I was eight! I mustered up the courage to finally tell her that I wanted to be a fashion designer. She didn’t react the way I expected, she didn’t scream, yell, or tell me that I’m a disappointment. She simply smiled and told me “whatever happened to your dream of becoming a doctor? Well in whatever you do always remember that I support you but don’t forget that you need to have a plan B because you’re a black girl and the fashion industry is white dominated.” I was excited to have her full support but I had no idea that there were darker days ahead. Although my mother supported me even though she didn’t understand why I wanted to throw my tuition away becoming a tailor as she would say. My grandparents however didn’t. My family is known for being scholars and well educated folks, my ancestors are the backbone of Liberia’s educational system. So I have big shoes to fill and here I am talking about something as petty as fashion. So my grandparents didn’t understand, and quite frankly I didn’t want them to understand because I planned on showing them all the shmonies I was gonna make following my passion. And basically I have become the black sheep of the family but what really bothers me is why people think creative careers are lesser than your average job?
There are so many avenues of making money from being creative. I have seen people make millions from Instagram, yeah the same Instagram where you post pictures of your dogs and get 2 likes. There’s a lot of marketing, promoting, strategic, modeling and financing that goes into it. Although you can’t get a degree for that but it takes a lot of head work and so does your average office job. And don’t get me started on bloggers that are literally making millions every year while traveling the world and doing what they love. That profession doesn’t require a degree but yet somehow they making more than degree holders. Again there’s a lot of marketing, selling, writing and sleepless nights invested… like your average job! The only thing different is that it takes years to get a break, but when you do all your hard work pays off.
What are your thoughts on creative careers? Are they less work than your average job? Let’s chat.
That’s all for now, until next time stay fabu-lous!
Peace, love and happy shopping
