Choosing Stability Without Quitting Myself

It truly feels like a whole lifetime since I last wrote a blog. So much changed at the end of 2025 things I’m deeply grateful for, but also things that asked me to sit with a lot of grief within myself.

I took 2025 as the year to finally take my art business seriously, and in return, I saw real results. I feel more confident than I ever have in making that decision, and I’m more passionate about this art journey than ever before. But, like all good things, it didn’t come without challenges.

By mid-2025, I realized something hard. As much as I was creating and gaining amazing opportunities, the funds were enough… but not enough. Not enough to expand my business, try new projects, or really experience life in the ways I wanted to. I had to sit with the question I didn’t want to ask myself: should I pick up a part-time job?

I know how lucky I am to have landed a job at all. It’s a privilege, especially during these times. But I also want to be honest, I cried when I got the job offer. And it wasn’t out of joy. It was fear. Fear that all my energy would go into keeping this job, and not into creating.

I’ve been on a similar path before, and that’s why the feeling hit so hard. I worked so hard in 2025 to get my creative momentum back. So I had to pause and really look at what led me astray in the past, and how I could try my best not to repeat it.

There’s beauty in experiences that didn’t work out. They teach you something. They give you the choice to try again, to take what you learned and succeed differently this time. I think that fear was a wake-up call. A reminder to act differently, to move with more intention. I’m giving myself the opportunity to try again. To do better this time.

I can’t speak for everyone, but being an artist isn’t easy. It’s not for the weak of heart. You really have to want it to make it happen. Honestly, I think that applies to anything that exists outside of the social norm.

I’m trying to see this job not just as a challenge, but as a stepping stone toward my goals. A stable income does help, and I’m deeply grateful for that. I’m still learning how to adjust to this new schedule, which is part of why I’ve been quieter lately. Between the holidays, getting the flu, finding my rhythm again, and trying to be the best version of myself wherever I go… it’s been a lot.

But I know I can do hard things. And I will work hard for the things that I want. I want you to know that you can do the same.

Life isn’t a straight line. It has bumps, loop-di-loops, and going around and around, but that’s all part of the journey. Sometimes you have to do the things you don’t want to do in order to take steps forward. We don’t all have the same experiences or viewpoints, so we have to make choices that are best for us, even when they feel heavy in the moment.

Be gentle with yourself. Give yourself grace.

I’m still reminding myself of that too.