We asked some of the most creative folks we know to open up to us about why they chose a creative career path. Check out their responses below.

Marueny Alvarez | Business owner of Made By Mars <3

I graduated from Georgia State University with a degree in Computer Information Systems and Managerial Science, ready to embark on a corporate career. At the time, I viewed my business as nothing more than a “fun hobby.” However, I soon found myself juggling three roles: working as a server, managing a corporate job, and running my business. Despite the stress of balancing it all, I realized my business never felt like work—it was something I truly enjoyed. Before long, I discovered just how much I loved it, and to my surprise, it began to sustain me just as much as my corporate job. Read more>>

Tracey (caramel) Domond | Producer, Model, Actress

I chose to pursue an artistic / creative career because that’s what I’ve always saw myself doing. Anytime the opportunity came to perform I’ve always jumped at it and truly excelled. I’ve always been a performer whether it’s singing, dancing, now into modeling, acting, and an event producing. The type events I produce range all the way from birthday parties, night clubs, college events, even up to corporate events, fashion shows, and every type of event in between. I can’t stop here! It’s only the beginning… Read more>>

Rohini Rangari | Watercolor Artist

Art became a natural extension of my life’s journey. Though I studied engineering, life’s circumstances—frequent moves between the USA and India and family responsibilities—made it challenging to establish a career in that field. Amidst these transitions, I found art to be both a creative outlet and a source of stability. Read more>>

Toya Cheri Cleveland | Veteran | DIY & Home Design Content Creator | Mental Health Advocate

I pursued an artistic and creative career as a way to cope with my mental health challenges and find a sense of purpose. My journey began while I was on active duty in the U.S. Air Force, where I faced extreme occupational burnout and significant personal hardships, including my father’s battle with cancer and his subsequent suicide. These experiences took a toll on my mental health, leading me to seek a creative outlet for healing and expression. Read more>>

Unique Rutherford | Writer, Poet, Spoken Word Artist

Honestly speaking, i think the creative life pursued me. I started writing poetry as an outlet during a time where i was heavily unraveling my personal self and who i was, grieving, and depressed. So i wrote to save my own life. I performed for the first time on the grounds of just needing to scream, needing to hear myself say out loud that i was hurting. For about a year after that i would sporadically perform at open mics and this persistent haunting developed in my spirit that wanted to continue to engage with poetry and spoken word intentionally. I found my way to Atlanta and a few months later in April the ride really started. God has placed me on stage after stage after stage to share in art and humanity. All I do is write my feelings and maximize as a personal therapeutic outlet. That is why I say it pursued me. Read more>>

Colby Snow | Artist

I’ve always been drawn to art.

I started my artistic journey when I was younger and have been creating ever since. Truth be told, my artwork is almost like a journal for me… in which if you view all my past works in chronological order… you see growth… you see more attention to detail… even my color choices have changed. It is a reflection of me and it is my way of speaking without words. Read more>>

Peter Essick | Photographer

I took a photography class in high school and from the start I knew that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, even though I had no idea of how to make a living in photography. I ended up getting an undergraduate degree in business from the University of Southern California. My first job out of school was in the accounting department at Capitol Records. I lasted there less than a year before I quit to pursue a career in photography. I did it because I was very unhappy working in a traditional business environment. So it came down to me wanting to follow my passion by any means to work in a creative field as a photographer. Read more>>

Jordan Warlick | Rapper and Songwriter

I mainly started rapping cuz of the fact that I genuinely thought I could do it. I started writing raps 4 years because making music gave me more confidence to be able to express myself in ways I didn’t know how. The relationship I have with my craft became something helped me connect with myself and my feelings. I think it’s better to be truthful and intentional within my music because it’s what makes the art connect. My intentions is for my music to be able to connect with people in a way that my idols did for me and inspire the next change in the next generation of people who come after me. Read more>>

Shanna Miles | Author, Librarian, Diverse Book Advocate

I didn’t. I could be cheesy and say that the creative life chose me, but I have the privilege of having two jobs. My day job is as a school librarian. I promote books, share books and take care of books for children and teens. And then my second job is as an author where I get to be really targeted about the messages I want conveyed and the feelings I want to elicit. Read more>>

Bri Toria | Business Woman , Singer , Songwriter , Engineer , Spirtualist, Reiki healer, Shaman , clothing designer & Jack of all trades

It was imprinted in my brain for years and the more I ran from it out of fear the more it chased me down . Music and creating have always been healing for me and when I was a kid I always said if I had 1 super power it would be to heal the world so why not partake in all avenues to heal the world with my gifts from Divine. Why continue to run from it when it was handed to me ? This movement is bigger than me and I am enjoying the ride Read more>>

Sabrina Hernández A. | Photographer and Videographer

I grew up surrounded by art in all its forms. My grandmother, an art history and plastic arts teacher, and my grandfather, an English teacher with a deep love for music, immersed me in creativity from a young age. Music was a constant in my life—I sang with my cousins and aunt, and it brought us closer together. My mom, though an engineer, always made time to take me to art showings, theater performances, movies, and art fairs. These experiences shaped me, and I think, deep down, I wanted to hold onto those beautiful moments forever as tokens for the future. Read more>>

Tony King | Photographer

I wouldn’t know what else to pursue other than an artistic career. I can’t remember a point in my life that didn’t somehow have cameras involved, whether it was my parents filming home videos, or me starting to film sketches in my bedroom when I was only 7 or 8. Eventually that graduated to working on more serious video/documentary projects in high school and majoring in film production in college. No matter what I cycled through when it came to “what do you want to be when you grow up?” there was not only a camera involved, but a story to be told. Now one of my primary creative outlets is photography, which I have a strong personal connection to through my family. My focus is to document and tell the story of the world I see around me. Read more>>

Honey Bryant | Professional Model & Entertainer

From an early age, creativity and passion were my driving forces. I was always involved in various activities—sports like softball and basketball sparked my competitive spirit, but I yearned for a deeper outlet. The artistic realm felt like the perfect fit, where I could truly express myself. Read more>>

Meshanda King

I pursued a creative career because I’ve always been drawn to outlets of self-expression. For me, creating is more than making something beautiful; it’s an act of meditation and self-discovery that supports mental wellness and healing. Through DualityClique, I’ve found that making jewelry is a way to channel emotions, tell stories, and embrace the balance of life’s dualities—chaos and calm, and the seen and unseen. Read more>>

Mixed By Aj

we believe the pursuit is inevitable if you’re born with a gift in arts. at a young age of about 12 or 13 you find yourself idolizing bigger artist and you watch them until one day you realize, that’s going to be me some day. to keep it simple we pursued a passion for music because we either had a strong support system or we had something to prove. Read more>>

Kayla Eloise | Multidisciplinary Artist

I didn’t always have the confidence to pursue a career as an artist. When my friends and family encouraged me to offer creative services I dragged my feet, thinking I wasn’t experienced enough. Imposter syndrome settled in quickly. I had no background in finance or running a business, so I was quite intimidated and sorely discouraged. But after a while, I realized that there are so many people doing what I do with no experience at all and profiting from it. So why couldn’t I? For as long as I can recall, I have always had a passion for all things art. The people around me could see that and saw enough value and appreciation for what I could do to ultimately entrust me to bring their ideas to life. From paint to poetry and DIY to graphic design, my life has always been full of creations. It’s a part of who I am so it just felt right, I just had to believe in myself and my talent the way other people already had. Read more>>

Bunny Lewis | Jr Stylist, Tattoo Apprentice, Social Media Manager, Event Planner

I pursued an artistic career to truly keep in touch with my roots and be true to myself. My atoms gravitate towards art and feelings, deep emotions. As a punk kid growing up in the 2000s, your friend is the Internet. Tumblr ruled my world, and Facebook was hot with all my friends and their mothers (literally). I remember being a child and having creativity constantly seem to get in my way. I was forlorn, and felt lifeless. But my friends online never had a problem with me. I’d see my buddies bleach their own hair, and next thing you know the bathroom is covered in pink ManicPanic and scattered makeup trailed behind me. The color in my hair against my all black clothes made my soul glow, and my heart burst into my chest. I believe it was in that moment the power of hair, makeup, and individuality all made sense at once. I wanted to bottle this feeling up and give it to every person I loved, and that eventually came to me realizing I longed to serve people hospitality, and kindness. School dampened my spirit, and I almost gave up. I started looking at other options. My heart ached for creativity, but perhaps justice was what I was put here for. I toyed with the idea of being a Threat Assessor, but my heart kept yearning for connection rather than conviction. As I was in this space between two worlds, I realized hair wasn’t the only art I could excel at. Tattooing, graphic design, and crafting jewelry was all that held me up. Once I truly got behind the chair at Honeybee, my light began to glow. My first client was a cancer survivor. She had a unique cancer, and had been a Homeland Security Attourney. She was asking for a mohawk after leaving her job of over a decade to become a Rockstar. I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face. I buzzed off her hair while we reminisced and shared stories. She left feeling like a new woman, and I felt it emanating off of her when she hugged me goodbye. Another defining moment for me- Art had once again breathed life into a precious human just as it had done unto me so long ago. Not to mention I now work at an incredible, beautiful salon that is fully inclusive. It has served as a safe space to ALL, they encourage my creativity in every way it seems to manifest, which both had been a huge fight for me in my search for a home in my career. Since then I have been a huge part of important days! Weddings, Graduations, Breakups, New beginnings… As I look back on my life, there are so many instances where this is true. It warms my heart. Read more>>

Chloe Barksdale | Author, Blogger & Mother

I’ve been a creative spirit for as long as I can remember. Having grown up in a very violent home where my parents fought like Ike and Tina, dreaming and escaping reality by writing stories began in elementary school. I won the county-wide writing contest, for which I received an award at my 7th-grade graduation. Although I have always loved to read, often reading anything that I could get my hands on, from shampoo bottle ingredients to the back of cereal boxes to rushing to read Brenda Starr in the comics, it was not until black authors like E. Lynn Harris, Terry McMillion, Eric Jerome Dickey, Omar Tyree, Vickie Stringer, Teri Woods, and Sister Souljah came on the scene that I truly believed there was a place for me in some capacity with the gift God has so graciously blessed me with. Read more>>

Micah Crée | Emerging rising new artist

Born on December 31, 1998, in Saint Louis, Missouri, I embarked on my musical journey at the age of three. Music has always felt like a natural part of my life, a rhythm that resonated with me from an early age. Growing up in Saint Louis, a city rich with history, culture, and a dynamic arts scene, I was surrounded by an inspiring mix of sounds and artistic expressions that continually fueled my passion. I had the privilege of attending Grand Center Arts Academy, where I found a community that fostered and deepened my connection to music and creativity. Read more>>