Hello again everypony! I've been gone quite a while, many a tragedy has struck me of the last few weeks. My sister hospitalized and unstable, my mother clinically insane, my father going to court for late payments... Yet even through all that, I persevere as a beacon of hope for my family. Stable, smart, strong willed, and perhaps most importantly, happy. Happiness is the subject of one of my earlier posts, (if you haven't checked it out yet... http://www.everypony.com/forums/showthread.php?8788-The-incredibly-happy-thread! now you have no excuse) :derpe: But recently, something happened to me. Something that broke my wall of happiness. Crumbled it to the ground and spit on it. For maybe the first time in my life... I was terrified. I didn't know who I was. Not literally, not amnesia or something like that, but I didn't know why I was here, what my purpose was in life. I've spent the last few weeks soul searching, which has led me to some shocking discoveries. You see, I'm a robotic expert. I'm in college for robotics and manufacturing, and I had planned to travel to Japan to further my studies in robotics. But of recent, that hasn't made me happy. It didn't light the spark it used to, and as tasks became more redundant, I became less interested. I was scared. This was my entire LIFE! And I felt more distant from it than I ever had before! But then something hit me. And I am about to offend MORE than a few people, I apologize ahead of time for that. You see, I always thought of an artist... as a waste. Someone who contributes nothing of importance to society. And this backwards thought process led me to stray away from artistic positions. Because you see, I wanted to help people. I wanted to contribute to people's lives in a meaningful way. I wanted to make them HAPPY. . . . So why am I banging on about this? Well, while I was doing this soul search, I discovered something. Something I never would have looked for. That I am the very artist I thought was a waste of space, but not an artist of paper and pen. Nor an artist of sound. What I am, is an artist of code. Through a series of events I won't go into details about to keep this from getting any longer than it already is, I found out I was the very thing I shunned for so long. Which led me to realized something else. An artist does contribute to those around them. In a way far more meaningful that what any doctor or engineer ever could. That is because an artist gives to the world the very thing I set out to in the very beginning... In its purest form. Happiness. It's pretty sad when a man at the age of 20 is contemplating a career change before even getting out into his field, but that's exactly what I'm doing. What's more, I'll have a bachelors in engineering to back up my career change, working jobs that pay more than enough to support such fluctuation. But money means nothing to me, as long as I make people happy. Which is why I'm going to use my programming skills to get into game design. Specifically I'm interested in programming and level design. Nothing interests me more than creating how people interact with the world, or creating the world they interact with. . . . But I've already banged on long enough. Honestly, I think I may have already done too much, I hope people read this, or at the very least, that they read whats below. IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE, READ THIS! (tl;dr) Everypony.com is home to more than a few artists. Artists of pen, artists of song, artists of word, artists from ALL forms of media. As it turns out, I am one of those artists, even though I spent my entire life trying to ignore that fact. Ironic, isn't it? That which I demonized is the very thing I am... So EP artists, art fans, and art haters alike. I ask you to post one of two things. A) If you read my story, am I too late? Have I wasted what time I had? Is it too late for me to have my own happiness, to share with the world? B) Look in your soul, and I mean really look. Ignore your brain, and listen to your heart. Who are you? Has that changed in recent years? Do you want it to? What are you meant to be? I know this is deep stuff, and it's most certainly the most depressing thing I've posted yet. (not to mention the longest) But I urge you to tell your friends about this. I don't want others to make the same mistake I did, and waste precious years of their life unhappily. Please everypony, share your thoughts, tell your friends. This may seem the ramblings of a crazed brony but it is indeed my very soul I confide to you. I'm back everypony, what few of you actually know me, and even fewer who really care. But this time, I hope I'm here to stay. (and that I never post something so long ever again, I never dreamed this would be so long)
Ah, this is my kind of topic. First of all, I'm sorry to hear about all these bad things happening all at once to people close to you. And on the subject, I do see myself as the artist/dreamer kind of person rather than someone practical. I have great respect for people who devote their life to serving humanity through medical or technological ways, but I know it's just not for me. There will always be those who see art as unimportant and just don't like it, and that's fine. But I think these people make a mistake in failing to look beyond their own interests and see how many peoples lives are deeply influenced by some form of art. Art has always had boundless importance to humanity, because it allows one to manifest something from their internal world into the external world, for themselves and others to behold and experience. This works therapeutic, gives fulfillment (to both artist and art enjoyer), and brings people closer together. If you know yourself to be an impulsive person by nature, you may want to give it a little more thought so you won't come to regret your decision. But if this change is one you really feel you have to make, then by all means do it. Good luck.
Yer never too late, and don't ever think that you are. Art can start very late in life and you can still achieve greatness with passion. Unfortunately, that's all I can really say. I am as I will be - and eventually my passion will succeed, but the question as to when is not one I bother to ask often.
I am a lover of unique, and intelligent ideas. My whole life is based around logic, respect, and responsibility. Without either one of those three, you are (arguably, however, with respect.) most likely not going to make it long in this world. Regardless of that subject matter, I believe who I am currently is trivial. I feel that we are ever changing according to circumstance, and allowing ourselves to change. For better or for worse. I find 'searching for yourself' to be a useful endeavour if you ever lose sight of your path in life. Re-evaluating who you are currently is a good way to ensure you can get back on that path. But know that you are always changing and adapting to different situations. What you thought you were bad at before, you could be doing much better after. Or maybe a place you hated could have become better, or maybe the people you disliked would have changed as well. The whole world revolves around change, but most of all, we change. That is where everyone is truly equal.
I believe I understand your perspective~ I was in training for Robotics and programming from a young age up until very recently, but decided to take the plunge for music. I also love to create and make people happy, and be part of a team that creates fantasies and dreams. Understand this - programming is very creative. Learn to express yourself though your work. As a programmer you can create music, sound, art, 3D worlds and interactive media. It might JUST (more or less) be typing, but you're more versatile for having that raw power. And hey - if you did do music, you're likely to never get a job in music let alone a job you like in music. Good luck in your career. Maybe one day we might meet if we both make it.
It's never too late to learn something new. I never thought I'd delve into writing (at all), but a little over a year ago I began agonizing over the mysterious story my mother had written. I saw some of it once when I was young, but now I know nothing about it and want to read it more than anything in the world. Ever since then (and being driven by a bleak circumstance at the time), I've been chipping away at both reading and writing. Studying what I write and coming to better use it to present myself. I know I'm still genuinely young (eg: 'whole life ahead of [you]'), it never feels like that with an uncertain future constantly looming. But when you have any free time, you can devote it to your passions, so if you want to learn something new to take your life in a different direction in the pursuit of happiness, it's never too late to be happy.
Ever since I was young, I always wanted to be a writer for film and television. There are so many movies that have given me pleasure on some level, whether its a good story, clever dialogue, emotional involvement with the characters or just having a good laugh at the more cheesy, campy films. Every time I've tried to write something, though, I always run out of steam and get stuck before I'm even halfway finished. I know the story I want to tell, but I just can't seem to get it down on paper. That used to frustrate me because I felt like writing was the only talent I had and without it I was worse than useless. Lately, though, I've come to the conclusion that instead of a writer, I'm really more of a story/idea guy. If I can find a partner to collaborate with, we could write a screenplay together and I'll let them take the "written by" credit while I take the "story by" credit. Problem is, I have no idea where to even begin looking for a collaborator. Oh well.
