It’s one thing to want to pursue a career you can get a degree in that your parents don’t quite approve of, like art history or theatre arts. It’s no coincidence that both of those examples have the word ‘art’ in it. Now imagine explaining to your parents that you want to get paid to be yourself; you want to make being yourself a career; a creative career. Imagine that those parents are poor, like below the poverty line poor, and their longing wish is for you to become a lawyer or doctor, you know, something far more credible and financially viable. They tell you that this dream is what has kept them in their deeply dissatisfying jobs and their hard-earned money cannot entertain such foolishness as pursuing dreams. Only 30 percent of those who work are in their dream jobs. The rest? Well… it’s complicated. With us on this show is Innocent, who has a domestic worker for a mother and a father he only just met. With the financial chips stacked against him, he has still chosen to pursue his creative compulsions. Have a listen to his story and find out where you stand in the passion vs. stability tug of war.
Image: Stephen McMennamy – ComboPhoto series piece