I remember when I was much younger, I wanted to be many things. I wanted be a scientist, a gymnast, a lawyer, a musician, a journalist, a businesswoman, a psychiatrist and now I want to be a music therapist. One thing that particularly stood out throughout my journey of “career-undecidedness” is that anything that was related to law or medicine was highly praised whereas my choices related to the arts were met with a lot of uncertainty and negative comments. I’m sure nearly every person that’s dared to tell their parents that they want to go into a field related to the Arts has been met with comments such as “That’s not a real job” or “Not in my household” and so most of us decided to pursue something more conventional.
A few months ago, I met the CEO of a theatre company in South Africa and she was telling me about her journey as she began to conceptualise and set-up her company. Luckily for her, her parents were supportive enough to let her go to a really good acting school. However, the discouragement she got actually came from her own teachers, who were adamant that if she happened to get a job, she was very lucky. That an artiste’s life is one of suffering and barely scratching the surface. What I fail to understand is why this is so. I believe that the arts play a very pivotal role in society. Not only do they help with the building, transmission and conveying of culture, they are also literally everywhere in our daily lives.
When you’re in a mat or in a car heading to work, the music you listen to is an art form. The clothes we wear, the buildings we work in houses we live in (most of them) were designed by artists. When you watch a movie, the actors, the directors, the costume designers, literally everyone that came together to create and build the movie is an artist. The gadgets we use were designed by artists. The chairs we sit on, the products we use, all of these things would not be as they are if it wasn’t for artists. I could go on and on but my main question is, why do we demean this field when it permeates into nearly every aspect of our entire existence? I think if we really began to appreciate this field then it will definitely become a financially viable career choice in Kenya in the foreseeable future.
Last year I was working at an admin position and although it was great, I got to meet many people and learn the ins and outs of business, I was bored as hell! This year I decided that I am either going to work in the artistic field or not work at all. I am tired of pushing aside my passion and settling for something that will just pay the bills but in the end makes me miserable. Of course this is much easier said than done, considering I don’t have any dependents and can always fall back on my family if things don’t pan out. However, I implore all of us to find a way to pursue our dreams because YOLO (please forgive me for that one). But for real, you only have one life. Are you going to live it fully or just survive through it?
Kenyan Mwananchi is a blogger at (https://wondalandavenue.blogspot.co.ke/) and enjoys long drives through neighborhoods she can’t afford to live in.