Falling in love with your art

When I went to college, I didn’t want to go to college. I wanted to stay in my hometown and play music with my rock band.

My parents strongly encouraged me to go to college, and I reluctantly heeded their advice. When I got there, I was skeptical. I made friends and learned a few things, but I had a hard time justifying the amount of money being spent on something I wasn’t excited about. Halfway through my second semester, I told my parents I was done. They cut me a deal. If I stuck out the remainder of the semester, we could talk, and they would let me drop out. 

That’s when I took my first course in public speaking.

Throughout college, I sat in the back row. I wasn’t a bad student, I just didn’t want to get called on. But as I took this public speaking course, something interesting happened. I started sitting closer to the front row. I started asking questions. Volunteering answers. Getting involved. By the end of my second semester at school, I was fascinated by my communication courses, and I wanted to keep learning. 

As I look back, I find this progression interesting. It mirrors my progression with writing. When I started writing, I didn’t necessarily want to be a writer. I only wanted to so some content marketing to grow my business. I wanted to grow my email lists so I could make money. But somewhere along the way of writing consistently, I fell in love with it. 

Our motives to create aren’t always pure. People get into videography, or music, or photography to become famous. They get into design to make money. They get into painting to retreat into themselves. These are just examples, of course, and I was the same way with writing.

Here’s what’s interesting: the longer you engage with art, your relationship with it can only grow. Like a budding romantic relationship, eventually, you’ll reach a fork in the road. “So…what are we?” You either need to become a huge nerd about it, or move on to something else. If you don’t become a big nerd about it, you won’t last.