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June 8, 2010
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Torn

Tue Jun 8, 2010, 6:10 AM





You have probably experienced the same issue at least once when you stand on your pathway of life and all of a sudden you are in front of a fork with three turnoffs and each turnoff opens different big doors for your future yet only one of them will lead you to fulfill your dream but it's hard and you know it's not really feasible because:

I'm torn between decisions of what I can do with my life or how I will go on. One is for sure, all the pathways I have to choose from will lead me to a different ending yet they all have the same in common, namely arts. I want to progress, want to do bigger things, want to jump out of the box in which I am stuck in right now. The world is such a large place with so many possibilities opened for me yet I somehow can't reach them as there is always something that stands in between my dreams and the resulting plans to fulfill those.

Since longer than a year, I simply jumped off all formalities and supports from the state and made myself become a fulltime freelance artist. It's a very hard job for very less money and I only can go on with this as long as my current lifestyle doesn't deviate and throws me out back into the real hard life where every penny needs to be turned three times before the decision to spend it can be made. I can't afford a health insurance as they are way too overpriced for freelancers and independent people and even though I always promise myself to get this problem fixed, I always have to step back in fear because of all the enormous costs that would rip me open. I wish there was a better solution in Germany for being insured for a cheap price because everyone should be able and also willing to have one.

The work I am doing for my commissioners are part of my passion and part of my survival. I love doing them and always try depicting your characters and ideas the best I can yet I tear my butt open not to fear that my account gets emptier until I have nothing left.
I have also become a fulltime workaholic, always thinking, always planning, organizing, being able to be creative at the push of a button and being able to kick my butt when muse and inspiration is overwhelming me to do other things than commissions for example doing personal artworks.

The only thing which I absolutely appreciate and love with this lifestyle is that I can plan myself free days off whenever something is up or when an event is going to take place somewhere. I can also work whereever I want. Some commissions have been painted underneath a tree on a mossy forest ground with some little bites to eat and music, for example.

This pathway would be the one going straight on. If I would simply walk straight on this pathway, who knows when I will find the next fork with open possibilities again?

One of the turnoffs looks very pleasant and smooth yet I would have to do what I actually despise: for that plan, I would need to try getting support money from the state to finance myself a flat in a city and get my portfolio and application done for next year's University course of Communication Design as applying at that school takes many steps and several months until the decision has been made to take me for an entrance test. This pathway is connected with losing my current lifestyle and many other risks.
I don't want to become a puppet of the state, don't want to be bound yet I want to go on somehow.
A good thing is that I will be able to have my own flat together with my mate and we both would study. I would partially have back my complete independence by giving away what I'm doing here right now.


The last turnoff is very broad, extremely long and shows me many large walls which need to be overmastered before I can be able to walk on the very brittly and sharp ground. There is a door which opens up the fulfillment of my dream. Entertainment Design.
You probably wouldn't believe this when you had a short peek into my gallery but my very hidden dream, which I'm trying to oppress because of the near impossibility, is to work for the game industry, film industry and overall entertainment. That turnoff leads to America, which is very extremely far away. Other than my other possibilities, this one is the very hardest yet the one which offers everything I wanted to do, ever. That would be a journey that needs to be planned thoroughly and well to make the last steps, going to the one school of which I am talking about, a lot smoother.
Of course, as everything, this is connected to a hell of a lot of money which people would only be able to afford if they either have a scholarship, a student loan or very rich parents.

Not only that I stand in front of a big wall marked with a massive Dollar symbol, I would need to leave really everything behind, if worst, my mate because he probably wouldn't be up for this or wouldn't be able to come along. My inspiration and my muse is just healthy when my heart really is happy, too, which it is right now. Yet I know that I might miss a wonderful opportunity to make a dream come true, to make something out of my art and to give me the feeling I actually can reach something big in my life.


I feel like I stand in that turnoff and look back to my current patway and sometimes peek over the other one. Yet whenever I'm trying to take a step forwards, I go one back. My head is filled and heavy. I always have a high feeling of enthusiasm followed by a deep feeling of doubt.

This is why I feel torn and I have to decide quick as there is nobody who can stop the time.
Maybe when I came to a better plan which might be feasible for me, I won't feel that way anymore.

Until the decision has been made, I will stay and enjoy what I usually do.

Dwelling and drawing.

  • Mood: Questionable
Add a Comment:
 
:iconcantabile-reaper:
!cantabile-reaper Jun 8, 2010  Hobbyist Digital Artist
lol It's okay. I'm 16, too. Sure, this is no Depression. Not quite yet.
Reply
:icondrakhanlord:
*DrakhanLord Jun 8, 2010  Student Digital Artist
Agreed in that the situation here isn't nearly as bad as people make it out to be. It does indeed have it's negative impacts, but ultimately, it's really not that much more problematic than it has been it years prior. The trouble is more in finding a job rather than maintaining it, which really just comes down to good timing.
Reply
:iconkobbie3:
~kobbie3 Jun 8, 2010  Professional Interface Designer
This may or may not be very helpful, but many video game companies are opening up satellites across Europe. Sweden, England, and Spain are three of the biggest places getting new companies.
You should try looking at Gamasutra.com, you can find a lot of companies that would hire you without moving the the USA. A lot of companies will even help fund your move. So, don't feel like your dream is impossible or requires extreme life changes to reach. If you are a little clever, you can find a solution that supports all your desires in life.
Reply
:iconrarrum:
*Rarrum Jun 8, 2010  Hobbyist General Artist
At the school I went to (specializes in game development, has a programming degree and an art degree, both very intense), probably a majority of people attended on student loans. Most didn't make it through, after realizing the work involved. While I personally hate the idea of being in debt, sometimes a loan is a necessary evil. If you're going to a school for something like that, expect that school work to basically become your life for several years. It's very very time intensive. The game industry can be a rough place too. While it does vary from place to place, near crunch times work will basically become life for (usually) a short while. You don't always get to work on what you want to work on. On occasion you may even be stuck working on something for a project that you dislike but really needs done. Things you love and maybe have already put a lot of work into might be cut from a project due to time constraints. That all said, I wouldn't go anywhere else, for it is my calling.

I moved halfway across the country for it all, and stayed here after school to work. That's nowhere near as bad as moving to the other side of the world though. It's not like you necessarily "leave everything behind"; you can still visit. But you're right, in that it would be a huge shock/change of lifestyle. At the end of the day, you have to decide whether the losses are worth the gains.
Reply
:iconxdragon777x:
~xDragon777x Jun 8, 2010  Student Traditional Artist
Best of luck to yah! :)
and please never stop doing art along the way :dummy:
Reply
:iconkarfunkelstone:
~Karfunkelstone Jun 8, 2010  Hobbyist Traditional Artist
Ein Glück kann ich in Deutsch schreiben. ^^ So eine schwierige Frage würde ich mir in Englisch nicht zutrauen zu beantworten.

Es ist echt hart, sich zwischen seinem alten Leben, den Freunden und seiner Finaziellen Zukunft entscheiden zu müssen.
Ich kann aus eigener Errahrung nur sagen, dass es sehr wichtig ist, eine Ausbildung, bzw. etwas zu haben, dass einem einen sicheren Stand im Leben bietet.
Denn man weiß nie was kommt.
Von daher wäre diese staatlich unterstütze Ausbildung nicht schlecht.
Es bedeutet zwar in gewisser Weise Abhängigkeit... aber eben auch eine gewisse Sicherheit.

Das mit Amerika klingt natürlich auch sehr geil! Wenn ich die Möglichkeit hätte, ich würde wohl jede Gelegenheit nutzen um andere Länder zu sehen und meine Möglichkeiten dort nutzen.
Da ist eben die Frage, was dir wichtiger ist. Deine Freunde hier, oder die weite Welt. ^^

Wenn ich deinen Bericht richt verstanden habe, bist du momentan ziemlich ausgelaugt von deiner Arbeit. Es macht dir zwar Spaß und du kannst deinen Tag selbst einteilen, aber du musst eben immer darauf achten, dass es für's Leben reicht.

Wenn du meine Meinung hören willst, dann würde ich das mit der Universität machen, und sobald du deinen Abschluss hast, kannst du dich ja wieder selbstsändig machen und immer noch ins Ausland oder woaders hin.

Aber letztendlich musst du deinem Herzen folgen, so blöd das auch klingt.
Und wenn du dir unsicher bist, dann mach es ganz einfach.
Nimm einen Würfel und gibt den drei Entschidungen jewals zahlen und würfel es auch.
Spätestens dann wirst du spüren, ob du mit dem Wurf einverstanden bist oder nicht. ^^

Ich wünsche dir auf jeden Fall viel Glück und dass du die wrichtige Wahl triffst!
Reply
:iconmalowanczyk:
You should watch Randy Pausch last lecture ([link]). Maybe it can give some help about achieving what you want. Though he speaks of childhood dreams, it can still be related to dreams in general. The only problem is that it takes over one hour to see, but it's still a great lecture
Reply
:iconbeihuining:
=BeiHuiNing Jun 8, 2010  Student Traditional Artist
I would go with the game industry because it seems like if that doesn't work out for some reason, you could go back to another option easily. They all sound like great options though and I'm only 15 so don't listen to me. :)
Reply
:iconanuojat:
~AnuOjat Jun 8, 2010  Hobbyist General Artist
I would suggest not turning Art which you so much seem to love into a life support. Art should about expression, freedom of that expression and ect. Do what you want but if you make your life constant state of survival youll regret it in the end... :S
Reply
:iconmewball:
=Mewball Jun 8, 2010  Student Digital Artist
Maybe you should try to talk to :icontrenchmaker:
Reply
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