Hello, hello, hello, everyone! I hope your day is going splendidly- thank you for coming back to read my musings again! :)
Now, let's address the first thing that I'm sure is on everyone's minds: yes, I know, I've failed in my quest already. I didn't post anything last Friday. Whoops. I'm sorry about that! Changing habits is hard, friends, and life has been oddly busy lately. But, hey, because of that, I'm attempting to publish two posts this week, so that's double the me, double the serving of my thoughts (it's up to you to decide if that's a good thing ;) )! So, without further ado, let's jump into this one.
This is a topic I've been wanting to address for quite awhile. With me moving back to New York City to finish my degree (if you're not friends with me on Facebook or haven't seen that update yet, surprise!), this question has reared its head with much more constancy than usual. It always comes from well-meaning people, with the best of intentions; it comes from people who genuinely care about my well-being and my success, which I of course appreciate. It's something every student of the arts--performance, visual, musical, what have you--I know has been asked: "So, what's your backup plan?"
I get what they're trying to communicate: how much they care, their want for the individual's future success, and all that jazz. It's impossible to hate anyone for that; I'm not angry at anyone for asking the question. Unfortunately, it doesn't come across as what the questioner intends. To arts students, it sounds more like, "I don't think you can do it. I mean, come on, that's probably not gonna work. What are you actually going to do instead?"
You would never hear the same thing said to a law student (when only around 11% of lawyers are actively employed upon graduation at the moment) or a medical student (currently, the medical industry is predicted to shoot to about a 75% unemployment rate within the next 20 years), so why do we ask this of our artistically inclined students? The arts are growing every day, rapidly so, as we add streaming and podcasting, voiceover and mo-cap work in the gaming industry, and increasing theatre and film communities in places like Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, and Toronto. It's just as viable of a career opportunity as any other, and we chase it with the passion of a med student or a law student. We work just as hard as any other, though our work appears different (believe me, the question, "So, do you have any real classes?" has come up before), and we probably pull just as many, if not more, late nights as the people studying more academic pursuits. Yes, artistic industries can be brutal and volatile, but they're also integral, rewarding, poignant, educational, expansive, and ever-present. There are risks, of course, but that's with anything. Why would we need a back-up plan?
So, here's my answer to that well-intentioned question: I don't have a back-up plan. I never have. To be honest, I don't really believe in them. Survival plans, yes. It's imperative that you know how to take care of yourself and your loved ones as you chase after a passion, usually meaning survival jobs or material sacrifices. That is important; that, I have a plan for. But I don't have a back-up plan, and I never want to have one.
Why? Because I see far too many people give up to pursue the supposed "back-up plan" instead of the initial one. It seems that, instead of using back-ups for survival, too many use them as an easy excuse. They're relied upon, dropped into when life gets too hard. They're an out when a roadblock gets in your way, like pretending that your mom needed you at home to get out of whatever middle school social event you wanted to avoid: it's easy. But life isn't easy, and, usually, the things worth having aren't easily come by. Passion and love can be found rather quickly; it is the dedication to them, the drive, the fight, the care you put into maintaining them that is hard. Back-up plans let you avoid that, let you give up and get stuck, and, frankly, I don't want to.
I know this road won't be easy. I know that life, in general, has hiccups and accidents and dead ends and mountains; I know that being an artist will have moments that exacerbate that. I know that the pursuit of the arts is difficult...but so is being a lawyer, or a doctor, or a teacher. They aren't being asked to have back-up plans, so why should I? Why should we?
I'll stick with my passion. To be frank with you, I can't think of anything else I would enjoy doing, or even be good at. This is my way of making the world a better place. It's my way of helping the greater good, of fulfilling my own self-worth, of showing my love to the people I care about. My art is me, and it brings me so much joy, catharsis, and worth. Whether it be community theatre or Broadway, indie literary magazine or mammoth publisher, I feel fulfilled, both internally and externally. I'll find a way to support myself with my art, and, when times get tough, I have that survival plan. I just don't have a back-up plan. And I never will.
I'm fortunate enough to have incredible support behind me, people who have my back on this journey, come what may. I have my people. Still, though, even a few of those beautiful, wonderful, supportive people have asked this question, as it's an idea that's been ingrained in us for a long, long time. The arts are hard, but they are viable and so worth it. So, please, next time you run into an arts student and you think of asking this: don't. Instead, ask them what they're working on. Ask them what's next. Ask them about their favorite show, song, painting, or video game. Ask them what their favorite thing about school is. Ask them what they love about what they do. I promise you'll see then, if you didn't before, why they do what they do. Why we do what we do. And the viability of it won't be in question any longer.
Thank you for reading, y'all! As always, I love each of you for stopping by, and I hope you have a wonderful day (or night, wherever it is you are)! See you soon! :)
~Rhiannon~
(By the way: the stats/predictions are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and John Koetsier's Insights from the Future. Both are also neatly summed up on Wikipedia, too, if that's more your thing. :))