(Image © racheljoyagatha)

Working as an artist, freelancer, writer or some other self-employed creative person extraordinaire is never easy. It’s hard to explain to family why your income varies so much, even though you’re constantly working. If you do breakdown and decide you need a second “real job” to help pay your rent filling out the job applications is painful. Having to answer questions about “gaps in your employment history” to someone who always has, and in all probability always will, worked directly for someone else is a daunting task. Regardless of how large your freelance checks have been, explaining to a normal person that you work as a writer, artist, freelancer, photographer (that does anything other than school portraits, weddings or fashion spreads in Vogue), designer, musician, etcetera makes you look like an unfortunate lost soul in many people’s eyes.

Though most of us were told as children that we can be whatever we want to be when we grow up, that message usually changes as we get older. Which is disheartening to those of us that refuse to believe that we can’t be comic book characters or artists when we “grow up.”

Normal people will never know the thrill of starting their own business. Of handing out a business card, with their name on it, that they designed. They’ll never have the joy of slaving over a painting for two weeks, hanging it in a gallery ten hours away from home and having someone purchase it while explaining to you that it’s the most amazing thing they’ve ever seen. They don’t know the joy of being elbows deep in a project at one in the morning, music blaring and teacup constantly being refreshed.

Of course, being an writer, artist, freelancer, photographer, designer, musician, etcetera is not always a glamorous way to live. There are many nights that you’ll be in the studio until three in the morning trying to finish a project. Then you’ll get a couple hours of sleep before heading out to your “it pays the rent” job at seven in the morning. You may never have galleries beating down your door in an attempt to put together a solo show featuring your work. You may never get to meet the people that love your work face to face. You may never get to live off of your creativity alone.

There will inevitably come a day in every creative person’s life when you will have to answer the question, “Is it worth it?” Is it worth the well meaning, but misinformed, phone calls from family and friends trying to convince you to get a state job or go to law school? Is it worth going into debt in an attempt to fund your dream business or career? Is it worth possibly alienating your close friends, family and significant others while you work from sunrise until long after sunset on your creative passion?

Everyone finds their own answer to this question. For some being creative will never be more than a hobby, something they bring out when creating gifts or playing with their children. Other welcome the challenge of starting from, sometimes literally, nothing in an attempt to build their own mini empire in the world.

Me? I am an artist, a writer, a wife, a friend, a business woman and determined as hell to not have a boring life. My answer is yes, it is worth it.