The Problem of Artists

Photo taken from TwistedSifter.com

When you were young, your parents would hang your artwork. They seem so proud! Wow, anak! You did that? Ang galing! You then feel proud. You feel like there's potential somewhere in your happy head. Then you grow up and your parents tell you, "Ano? You want to become an artist? Walang pera doon. Mag-doktor ka na lang o mag-abogado ka. (There's no money there. Be a doctor or a lawyer.) To escape your folks' pressuring, you marry, unfortunately, a left-brained person telling you, "How will I eat with your art? How will we send the kids to school with your art?" So you force yourself to be left-brained to avoid the confrontation and the drama. Very typical for anyone who needs to put food on the table. But what a very unfortunate trade-off - you.

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