Natalia+G's+Final+AmEx+2015+Speech


 * Respect Creative Careers **

Think to yourselves for a moment, how many times you’ve been asked what you want to do after high school this past year. If you’re like me, you’ve been asked a lot. The question comes constantly, from every boss, and every family member who comes to visit, even the dentist who I only see twice a year askes me, “Have you thought about what you want to be when you grow up?”

My answer is most definitely yes, of course I’ve thought about it. I think 3 year olds think about it when it’s time for dramatic play at daycare.

But now, people are expecting a mature answer. One that shows you’re smart and willing to work hard. They want an answer they can be __proud__ of you for.

I cannot stand this.

Why is it that there are only certain answers that our elders will be proud of? A child telling their family at dinner that they want to go into medicine or business will get immediate approval and respect from everyone at the table. But a child telling their family at dinner that they would be more interested in a career in the arts, is immediately put under the interrogation spotlight. They immediately get pummeled with questions like: “What do you want to do that for?” “Why is that what interests you?”

Or have to sit and endure snarky comments like:

“You’ll be broke”. “You won’t get a job”. “A lot of artists buy really nice supplies with unemployment checks”.

Or the worst: “you’ll never make it”. One of the saddest things in the world is when people don’t believe in me. That’s what people are saying when they make a comment like that. To tell the truth I’d like to be a filmmaker. I think I’ve been in love with the idea of film for a long time, but I’m only realizing now that it’s what I really want to do. But nobody believes in me. As I stand here and tell you that I want to be an extremely successful filmmaker, and I can guarantee that all of you are thinking, yeah right.

Why is that? Why do people have such a hard time believing in people who want to pursue creative careers? Why can’t I be known one day among the greats like Spielberg and Scorcese? Everyone has respect for those guys, but no respect for the kid just starting out. As a film student, I can work hard just like medical and law students. Every career path takes work to achieve. And if I put as much effort and passion into my work as a med student does, then I should not be the student who is more likely to fail, in people’s minds. There shouldn’t be any difference. It’s this society that we are living in that adores science, math, and business students; and rolls their eyes and doesn’t take creative students seriously.

Not every film student fails. New movies are released every week. Not all fashion designers fail. We all are wearing clothes. Not all artists fail. Everyone likes to have one big obnoxious painting hanging somewhere in their house. Don’t lie, you know your mom has one. Parents get so excited when their toddlers draw them a picture, why does that excitement go away when the child gets older? We all benefit from creative people in our everyday lives. We all love the movies and video games, remember there’s someone out there who made that. In the America I want to grow old in, I want to see people having respect for creative careers. Where the first thought in someones head isn’t that you’ll make no money, but that you will have a super fun job! There are so many different jobs that utilize creativity in the modern age. Website, app, and video game designers, television and film storyboard artists, media photographers, jewelry artists and more! There is evidence of a renewed desire for creativity. The University of Chicago famously uses silly essay prompts to seek out students who are creative. People like to think that in life, the only successful careers are the obvious ones like lawyer and doctor. But then they’ll go home and order a necklace off of Etsy. Soon I hope that people will see the value in creative careers. Where creativity exists, passion doss too. Everyone tells me to follow my dreams; and in the America of tomorrow, I want them to mean it.

Thank you.


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