Passion or practical?
I’m currently studying art therapy online. I do enjoy learning about the intersection of psychology and art. However, I recently tried a very brief jewelry making workshop focused on silversmithing and fell in love with it. Now I’m conflicted. I realized I’d rather be an artist. However I’ve tried selling cheap jewelry I made myself years ago and it was a terrible experience. I could only imagine what selling more valuable jewelry is like. Before I didn’t really have much passion other than drawing and painting but even that kinda dried up as a hobby and I haven’t painted seriously in my free time for a while now. I would much rather make jewelry all day. It’s wearable art and much more satisfying and requires more advanced skills. I feel like dropping out of school would be a disservice because I’m pretty much 1/3 of the way through. My therapist told me to finish the degree at least. I don’t know if I’ll even finish my degree because it requires a practicum before an internship (basically means I watch a legit art therapist do their thing for learning purposes) and my area does not license art therapists so either I have to travel pretty far or just move temporarily and work for free for over a year. My current job is a minimum wage job but in this economy it’s better than most people and I can save up with it for jewelry school since I don’t pay rent. I guess I wanted to ask, should I just go for my dreams or wait until the practicum and internship falls through and it’s proven I can’t finish my degree at all? Cause at that point at least I tried my best instead of giving up. For more context I sometimes have troubles with mental illness so I wonder if I should even be an art therapist. It makes me feel like I probably shouldn’t become one because I struggle still and have struggled severely in the past. Getting a job as a bench jeweler honestly sounds pretty cool but the idea of repair gives me a bit of anxiety, would be high stakes in my mind. It’s weird to know my true passion in life but feel hesitant to go for it. I’m just now entering my late 20s. I feel like I would regret being an art therapist and not ever attending a comprehensive jewelry program (the one I’m looking at is in Tennessee, new approach school). Also the current school I’m going to is not accredited by CAAHEP or CACREP so it might not even be accepted for licensure. I’m basically just going to have to submit my class syllabi and pray and hope after I graduate.