So on Tuesday this week – I was lucky enough to get invited to speak again at the Richland Community College 8th Grade Career Fair! This is my seventh (or eighth…. I’ve lost track) year getting to be a speaker at the career fair and I so love doing this every year! I truly wish I could have spoken on more days, but between work and doctor appointments (more on that later maybe) – I was only able to be present for Tuesday this year. I had so many awesome classes of guys and gals this year and if any of you eighth graders are reading this – thank you for being weird with me on Tuesday! I had a blast!!

Someone asked me why I look forward to this every year, and I think it’s because when I was a teen I didn’t know that you could really make a living making art. Both of my parents have master’s degrees in science based fields. My mom is a nurse and my dad is an electrical engineer. So the world I had been exposed to as a kid was one of science and reasoning. So I didn’t really know growing up that being an artist was a career option.

It’s fun to talk to the eighth graders about all the classes I took in school that still apply today – like speech and writing and math (boo! there is just no escaping it!). But mostly I think it’s fun to connect with these guys and gals and listen to their questions and see how they think about my job. We have so many creative young people and they have so many opportunities ahead of them! These kids can truly do anything they set their minds to and I hope each year I do a little bit to help them see that.