I want you to forget everything you’ve ever been told by society, because most likely it’s a group think persuasiveness that will trick you out of true success and happiness. You’ll most likely hear in grade school get ‘good’ grades so you can get into a ‘good’ school, and then you can get a ‘good’ job (but only one with a ‘good’ market outlook). WRONG. We’ve been blinded by the expectations of society and misinterpretation of success. The answer is for you to TRULY follow your dreams, because you WILL achieve them, you just have to want them enough. You need to forget to eat, and then you need to forget to sleep, then you will almost be there. Remember, “The people that think they can change the world actually do.”

Everybody is here for a certain reason, and we are each writing our own story. We are the main character and the author. Sometimes we forget the power we hold as the author of our own story. We are in control and can change things. If the next chapter is not looking good, we can revise it. Go ahead, edit your life.

I believe there’s a stigma against creative professions, regarding higher education. Tell somebody you’re going to 40k a year school for art, they will probably cringe on the inside, thinking, “How will you make a living off of that?” They might be nice and say, “That sounds neat. I hope that works out for you,” or maybe they’ll be honest and say, “Is there really a market for that? How will you get by?” It’s these exact worries about ‘making it,’ that holds everybody back and pushes them into jobs and life situations they do not want, and this correlates directly with your happiness and life satisfaction.

I’m telling you to stop listening to these people. They either don’t understand you or weren’t willing to work hard enough for what they want. Study people in your industry, people like you. Those are the people that will tell you what you need to hear. Surround yourself by people like yourself, because inevitably you will become the average of those around you.

For me, I just want to leave the biggest dent possible on this world, leaving it for the better. Yeah, I’ve had jobs I hated and went to school because, “It’s what you do,” and yeah I learned a lot along the way, but now I’ve had time to reflect and realize I had the ability to do anything this whole time, it just took me til now to figure it out. I haven’t got to where I want yet, but at least I know I’m on the right path. Follow your passions and nothing can stop you, only yourself.

So I say again, the only thing that matters is YOU doing something that YOU truly love and enjoy. Forget everything else. It doesn’t matter.