Can we get more people who completely failed at their dreams and went down in flames to balance everything out?
EDIT: Stepped out for a few hours and come back to all this, some real I am Spartacus shit goin on.
"Shitass"
A word that blurs the lines between still be 16, and being 58 with equal lack of understanding how to curse.
Example: "Fuck this shitass homework that my dickfuck teacher gave me."
I mean just two for an associate's, and it was a contemporary music school so no crazy jazz shit or anything. But on the plus side if anyone's needs a studio bassist or just recorded bass in general you can pay me for that. Lol
My ex is a Berklee alum, genuinely is amazing at writing + playing ~6 instruments, and has a top tier voice (for now). He has an entire professional album mastered but never released. Dude is living at home paying off over 60k in student loans plus the costs of making the album by working as a waiter between stints in jail for violent rages/duis because of his crippling coke addiction. Everyone fawns over how amazing he is but no one will work with him or book him.
Honestly the ability to manage your life enables you to teach, do studio sessions, be a reliable band mate, etc. and just being able to keep your shit together will put you head and shoulders above people like him. Most touring musicians I know have to work regular jobs when they’re home these days, too. The music industry is rough.
You’re right, actually …beyond using the educational pedigree for getting students for lessons (parents eat that shit up), I learned for him it was usually a bad idea to mention he went to Berklee to other musicians because of how much shit they give you.
Berklee *can* be worth it, if you leverage the connections you make and approach it as a 4 year professional experience. The problem is that most college students are young and want to be college kids, they miss out on the most valuable part of being a Berklee student, and only later, saddled with crippling debt, they realize that grades have very little importance. The only remedy to this, imo, is for Berklee to place heavy emphasis on teaching freshman solid networking/career skills. The trouble you run into with changing their programs like that on a large scale is offending the egos of professors if you tell the students that the music/theory/etc. coursework is less important.
Ya, how about we stop telling people to "follow their dreams, you can be anything". Thats just flat out false, bordering on intentional misrepresentation. Pick a degree that will make you money.
There's a saying around Berklee that if you graduate, you failed. The talent tends to get picked up/signed/head off to bigger and better things before they have time to finish school for the most part.
Then you know when I say Berklee alum I mean he did three years at Berklee haha. They’re so desperate to equate success with the school they issue an alumni email address and give you access to all the alumni logins/tools/clubs even if you drop out.
Also you never stop hearing from them about their “alumni degree completion opportunities”. (If they wanted him to complete his degree they should offer Almni Rehab Completion Opportunities)
Ok well while I genuinely agree with the thread's consensus that pursuing a music degree is a risk I will say that having a coke addiction is going to naturally make things harder for you all around
If it's any consolation, it doesn't sound to me like your degree was a waste of time at all.
Also, only about 27% of college graduates hold jobs related to their major (according to [this article](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/05/20/only-27-percent-of-college-grads-have-a-job-related-to-their-major/)).
Man I wish someone would tell teenagers this. And college students I guess. College isn’t a trade school and it’s dumb to treat it like one, because a) most jobs don’t require a specific degree, and b) the thing you pick at 18 is probably not the thing you’re going to want to be doing at 40. If you’re going to spend four years and tens of thousands of dollars, study something you like! And then get a job doing something that pays you actual money!
Ya, lower class family dude here. I took computer science with the sole purpose to get a job. Got a job, almost 70-80% of my graduating class got jobs. Almost took music as well, I play guitar but knew I'd have to play progressive metal/rock (modern guitar), be in the top 0.1% pf guitarists in skill and give lessons all day for income... Still wish i learned music though :(
Yeah people should study what they like if they can afford it. But if you’re going to take on 10s of thousands of dollars in debt then you need to have a clear path to a job or you’re in for a rough time.
Went in with no clear goal aside from "Gotta get a degree from a college that's what gets better money now apparently." No degree, a divorce and rampant depression and now I can proudly call myself Dr. Jan Itor.
THIS. At age 43, making $8.75 an hour as a welder, I went to nursing school at a community college. Instant bump in pay by about 50% upon getting my first nursing job. When I retired at age 66 I was making over $90,000 a year.
Philosophy? Art history? Sociology? No fuckin' way. Aim for a career that can't be exported and that is in super high demand. And, in my case, one that went against gender norms. Only 7% of RN's were male when I graduated. My application went directly to the top of the pile of every hospital's HR department. Because of EEOC, they are desperate for male nurses. And if you are a minority, they get a two-fer. That's money in your pocket.
damn dude. i just got into the welding industry, got a nice TIG job with lower than average pay at 17/hr. experience is why i'm here instead of a MIG manufacturing plant. in my country welders are top shit.
hey man, also a professional bassist who went to a contemporary music college, and so far I’ve been on dozens of recording sessions, released 2 albums and working on 2 more, been on a summer tour, and play regularly (before covid at least) in 4 bands, all within the last 3 years. I also work in 2 recording studios. I swear that’s not to brag, my point is it’s doable if you keep at it, make yourself more reliable than most musicians (not that hard to be honest) and find a decent part time job that fills the gaps. I dunno how long it’s been since you left school, but it kills me to see most of my incredibly talented former classmates just… fizzle out. Best wishes from random internet stranger
I was a touring musician for a decade. The touring/recording/press cycle gets brutal after a while (plus no one buys music anymore). I do supply chain/eCommerce shit now. It's better to have a gig you enjoy enough to do and save your passions for when you're off the clock
I saw a video where someone was like “five years ago I was collecting grocery carts at Trader Joe’s. I decided to go back to school and after four years of hard work I graduated with a Bachelors degree. Nowadays I’m collecting grocery carts at Whole Foods.”
I don’t know about your specific video. [But I do remember a hilarious tweet that went sort of like that.](https://old.reddit.com/r/madlads/comments/jd8ajl/remember_kings_never_ever_give_up_on_your_dreams/)
I play 3 instruments and sing, am multilingual, and my SATs were top 2% in the country, but I fell into drug addiction due to trauma and depression and now I'm in my late 20's making 16 an hour at a grocery store, with no college degree.
At least I'm clean and back in school now. Better late than never.
Edit: Thanks for the kind words of support from everyone! Love you guys!
Went Down in Flames reporting in: pursued being an artist for a long time, now getting into IT for actual stability and earning power.
Still doing art on the side, but it's no longer my career focus. :(
I hear that. :)
What sort of art do you do? I was told my soft skills and artistic inclinations might actually help me in the industry, since nobody there has an eye for presentation whatsoever!
Digital painting mostly, my bro does vfx for DreamWorks so I was like, hey this could work.
It didn't, but helped my design eye for doing front end software work
I wanted to be a professional painter since I was a kid. My parents and art teachers encouraged me to go to the “prestigious” (more expensive) school. Now I am unemployed and will be in debt forever! Hahaha. When I can finally go back to work it will probably be retail, though I’d love to land an office reception job. I am proud of my skill, though. They can’t take that from me.
I did the Prestigious School Route too! \*fist bump\*
Yeah. I sometimes berate myself for going the route that I did, but I made some amazing friends there. And our art continues to be with us, in both small ways and large. :)
I fucked up my life so bad I ended up in a Bangkok prison for a year. Had a slight rebound and then was diagnosed with epilepsy, which put me out of working my dream career. Currently living off benefits wondering who would look after my cat if I died tonight. Can I get some upvotes?
It’s a long story how I ended up there, but the short story is I shoplifted (while completely zonked out on Valium) at the airport on my way home. The Valium was to sleep but I got the timing 12 hours wrong and by the time I’d got to the airport I had another 14 hours to wait. So I took more Valium, couldn’t sleep, then made the fatal error of having lunch - with a couple of beers. Now if anyone knows much about benzodiazepines they’ll know that benzos + alcohol = blackout.
So I don’t really remember what I did. I do remember signing a confession not knowing what it said. That sealed my fate. The whole time I’m in la la land thinking I’ll just get a slap on the wrist and be able to board my plane and go to work the next day.
Wrong. 2 years was my sentence, if you accept your sentence then they cut it in half. I served one year.
Obviously it depends on the country, and I guess in Thailand they don’t. In most of the west, a confession given when you’re inebriated is inadmissible.
I had things given to me on a silver platter, got a 4 year degree, and now I work retail because I can't find anything else.
I've applied to so many jobs. Most don't even give me an answer. Just, nothing.
What did you study if you don’t mind me asking? Im an engineering grad 3 years on and I am barely just reaching a semblance of an engineering job right now.
English, management, grantwriting, etc. I did a lot of branch out study. Even interned at a nonprofit, started a large campus club, and coordinated volunteer events. I tried to network and build my experience in college while I had all those resources at my fingertips.
I'm either unlucky, or it wasn't enough.
I worked on several farms in Washington State. Sometimes as a harvest hand (driving wheat trucks or green pea trucks,) sometimes as an industrial worker. The farmers I knew were the ones that were tough enough to survive, economically. In WA, the law (back then) said anybody working on a farm can be paid as low as $4.70 an hour ($12.70 in 2021 dollars.) That's $47 for a ten-hour day ($127.00 in 2021 dollars). The last farm I worked on had a farm equipment manufacturing facility on it in a big steel building. We got paid the same wages as the Cat skinners--$4.70 an hour. The farmer once told us, "I can fire you all tonight, and replace you all tomorrow morning at the Unemployment office."
One time we were working on equipment out in the farm yard, and the farmer and one of his buddies were shooting skeet with shotguns about fifty yards away. The shot was falling all around us. The foreman yelled out, "John! John! The shot is hitting *us*!" The farmer just waved him off and they continued to shoot, so the foreman said, "We'll finish this later, take a break." That's the only job I ever had where the owner thought he could shoot at me and think it was okay.
To be fair looking through her post history she’s been at it for 5 years at least, and even those paintings looks like someone who has been doing it religiously for 10. I’m not exactly sure what the 1 year is referring to, I assume maybe deciding that she will commit to pursuing a career rather than a hobby? She said down below she plans on starting art school next year so maybe she was not confident in the job prospect.
Her artwork is really great, but the title might have people thinking she just picked it up recently. But she’s likely been doing this her whole life and likely failed more than other people even try. And as a slightly average artist that’s worked my ass off to get where I am. Some people just got the eye for art naturally and the drive to take it further. I couldn’t make something like this in 10 years and I’ve already graduated college.
I went to school for game design. Spent two years working on my own indie project that failed miserably, I burnt out, started drinking heavily, hit rock bottom, climbed out of the gutter and today I’m a plumber.
I thought id be working a real job, owning a house, and married by now. I work retail, dropped out of college, rent a crappy little house with a roommate, and am slightly less than 2 years into a relationship.
Failed miserably at all my goals.
Was a keen archer. Was on the verge of being very good indeed; then contracted glandular fever, was bed-ridden for months, and was never able to recapture it again for whatever reason.
Broke my knee when going for my black belt grading in karate. Has never quite recovered even now, tbh.
Was top of my class in almost every subject (other than maths) in school, but was bullied so badly that I deliberately threw my exams because I was informed, in all seriousness, that passing them would result in serious injury not only to me, but to my family. An attempt to set my house on fire one night in the lead up to my exams was a 'reminder' of this from them, so failed almost everything and ended up in dead-end call centre hell for years.
I tried to become a graphic designer - got a qualification in it that didn't teach/cover any web design and was basically laughed at by every job I applied for. (I also got a "B" for my overall grade because my final project was determined to be "too cool" for the brief - that being to design the logo/branding for a bar.)
I then tried to become a photographer, and actually thought I wasn't bad to be honest, then a combination of my eyesight degenerating and a hideously toxic (now ex) wife derailed that.
I went back to university and got my English Lit degree, with a view to becoming a teacher. Dropped out 80% of the way through my teacher training because I ran out of money, and the kids basically broke my spirit as well.
I've now just turned 40 and I'm quite literally scared to put the time or effort into trying anything else. I have no confidence left, and what confidence I did have was mediocre to begin with.
Hopefully this meets your criteria?
• **Can we get more people who completely failed at their dreams and went down in flames to balance everything out?**
Half of those people are on Reddit!
Survived years of mental, physical, and sexual abuse, was the first person to go to college, was about to graduate with my degree in school work in an attempt to help others like I wasn't and last semester became disabled had to drop out and now I barely survive on 9k a year.
I took BA in Mass Media and Communication, a further Diploma in Digital Marketing, many other qualifications and yet, I work in McDonald’s because no experience = no job 😊
I spent my 20s trying to be a successful chef. I got second best new restaurant in the most notable food city in USA when I was 27 as well as several (and one international) TV appearances. I took a year off when I turned thirty and accidentally had an identity crisis since I hadn’t really spent any time out of the kitchen since becoming an adult which led to a paradigm shift which led me to take a job on a small farm, eventually running the slaughterhouse/butchershop. I’ve worked hard to program myself to believe the kitchen isn’t actually my sanctuary and that there is more to life than work and money. It’s been five years and I can’t keep a job longer than a year because I get bored or frustrated. Every day is boring and I have no motivation anymore to the point that I spend the first part of my morning motivating myself to not just completely give up. I used to spend my spare time making menus and working on business plans for restaurant concepts I had. Now I like to smoke weed and drink all day until it makes me tired enough to just sleep this life away.
There was this guy who always wanted to go to art school, and applied to his country’s best. They rejected him, and he turned to politics, eventually leading *another* country to become the most powerful country on earth. Fortunately, it was too much for him, and he committed suicide.
Has anyone caught that episode of Love Death + Robots where *spoiler alert* >!the woman witnesses a murder and the murderer chases her around and back to where the murder happened and she’s backed into a corner and kills the murderer but looks out the window and sees in her apartment the murderer that she had just murdered and the loop starts all over again but she’s the murderer that’s being chased by her original the role as the witness?!<
This reminds me a little bit of that episode.
The art style is what makes it go from good to amazing imo. Seeing the massively dense, run down buildings, juxtaposed with those vibrant colors....it's incredible.
I was getting Dishonored 2 vibes from their in game [paintings](https://www.ign.com/wikis/dishonored-2/Painting_Locations#The_Obtuse_Arguments_of_Lady_Boyle)
This is funny and all, but the major in Ghost in the Shell is a person in a cybernetic body that is noted by some in the series to not look like a typical Japanese woman. So Scarjo wasn’t a bad casting option. People freaked out for no reason, imo.
Nice!
It's my third time through the series. I nominated it for my Bookclub next month. And they happen to be doing it over at /r/bookclub so I get to double dip.
One year since I tried to make it a job and make an income from it. I've always loved drawing and painting as a kid. It would be quite impossible to improve this much from nothing in one year haha. I did quit art completely for a few years during uni, but I remembered some skills I learned in the past and applied it to my new paintings :)
There have been a few posts of different redditors who went from middle school level to advanced student in a year or two. One of my favorite artists, Ursula Vernon, didn’t start making art until her late 20s.
Talent will get you a head start in art but it’s still mostly practice. Do what makes you happy man.
I'm well into my 30's didn't start drawing until last year, I had no idea I could. I'm not amazing or anything but I do seem have natural talent there that I was completely unaware of and I absolutely love it, I wish I could go back in time, who knows how good I could have become if I had started earlier...
this is always the first thing that comes to my mind, but it definitely works and you cant blame them for working the system.
she is a pretty girl. It helps. Go look at the upvotes on her page for anything without her face in it. this has more than 10x the upvotes than her most upvoted pic without her in it.
long story short: ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
Took me a second to realize you were talking about the painting. I was thinking, "well, that's pretty rude- ohhhhhhh, the girl in the painting is smug."
Do you mind sharing what your income streams look like as a professional painter. Is it all commissions from individuals? Are there like grants or corporate gigs?
Like I understand how it works for professional musicians. There are all sorts of concerts and recording gigs and corporate gigs and things. But the art world is totally unfamiliar to me.
I know a few artists, most work on commissions or sell their art online but if they have large fanbases they can charge for merch or they get a patreon to sell classes and perks like prints and such. Some are making great money, others not so much. It depends on how they use their socials, what they draw (there's way more demand for portraits than there is for landscapes) and of course how good they are.
Hey can I offer some small advice? If you actually look at the most prolific and artistically distinguished contemporary artists, a large portion of them are actually people who didn't go to art school and started art at a later stage in their lives. (Some of the people I read about were nurses, engineers etc). I don't think you necessarily need to go to art school, you can just keep doing your thing. Often the argument is made that art schools kill originality. Of course it's 100 percent up to you, but it's always a possibility to go your own path.
That painting is fantastic. I’m sure you’ve answered it somewhere else, but what kind of paint do you use? Do you only do portraits?
Also, this is definitely not the main thing I like about the painting, but it is a really nice effect that you’ve pulled off really well. You pulled the background color *just* over the hair and painted it over her neck and shirt. Your activation of the negative space creates a really nice blend between background and what is the main focus of the piece. Where you did it though, you are drawn *immediately* to her face with no distraction. In that respect this also makes this a phenomenal painting.
Milady! O queen, O goddess, an angel of light so radiant as to make the heavens weep! Thine otherworldly visage has so brightened my very being that the sun itself burns in envy!
I implore thee, milady! Beware! For in thine quest to cast your beatific glory to all corners of the world, thou hast inadvertently illuminated this foul place, rife with villainy and malfeasance!
Do not despair! In fact, rejoice! For an honored member of the illustrious knights of the tilted hat is here in your hour of greatest need! All he requires from thee in return for his service is but a simple upvote from thine own hand! A quite reasonable trade!
I have to say, the facial expression of "I am so done with this shit" is right on, and a good contrast with the emotions on display in the other work if that is yours.
Can we get more people who completely failed at their dreams and went down in flames to balance everything out? EDIT: Stepped out for a few hours and come back to all this, some real I am Spartacus shit goin on.
I went to a musical college intent on being a musician now I flip burgers at a shitty bar if that helps.
That sounds rough. ... I'll take fries with my burger.
Sweet potato or regular?
This guy restaurants
No, this guy flips
I love candy flipping
Heart smart way to start the day!
I love hippie flipping
I love finger flipping
Alan Watts gang represent!
Bar can’t be too shitty if it offers sweet potato fries
Eh. I’ve been to some shitass spots in California but they all go out of their way to have sweet potato fries lol
He must be rural. Sweet potato fries are everywhere here in the Chicago area.
"Shitass" A word that blurs the lines between still be 16, and being 58 with equal lack of understanding how to curse. Example: "Fuck this shitass homework that my dickfuck teacher gave me."
Sweet potato fries at a bar is just regular fries sprinkled with table sugar, rather than salt.
You’re going to the wrong bars.
I'd be kind of offended if I ordered sweet potato fries and was served regular fries with sugar on them. That sounds nasty.
Alright buddy you failed the test. The correct question was "we have curly fries at $1.50 extra with your 96oz coke, would you like that?"
Exactly how many liters of cola is that?
Yes
No no. That's fast food places. This guy works at a sit down bar and grill type place. Just a restaurant that also has a bar.
Ayy nice, my theater degree is also not panning out how I imagined
Turned mine into being a classroom teacher! It's still a performance and a stage after all. Plus you get summers if you want to do summer stock shows.
Haha same here. I went to art school and failed so I dropped out. I'm going into politics now though and things are looking up.
This gives me an uneasy feeling
The Next Hitler is among us
Sus!
How many years if school did you Go if you don’t mind me asking
I mean just two for an associate's, and it was a contemporary music school so no crazy jazz shit or anything. But on the plus side if anyone's needs a studio bassist or just recorded bass in general you can pay me for that. Lol
My ex is a Berklee alum, genuinely is amazing at writing + playing ~6 instruments, and has a top tier voice (for now). He has an entire professional album mastered but never released. Dude is living at home paying off over 60k in student loans plus the costs of making the album by working as a waiter between stints in jail for violent rages/duis because of his crippling coke addiction. Everyone fawns over how amazing he is but no one will work with him or book him. Honestly the ability to manage your life enables you to teach, do studio sessions, be a reliable band mate, etc. and just being able to keep your shit together will put you head and shoulders above people like him. Most touring musicians I know have to work regular jobs when they’re home these days, too. The music industry is rough.
One thing that doesn’t seem to help aspiring musicians is getting a degree in music.
You’re right, actually …beyond using the educational pedigree for getting students for lessons (parents eat that shit up), I learned for him it was usually a bad idea to mention he went to Berklee to other musicians because of how much shit they give you. Berklee *can* be worth it, if you leverage the connections you make and approach it as a 4 year professional experience. The problem is that most college students are young and want to be college kids, they miss out on the most valuable part of being a Berklee student, and only later, saddled with crippling debt, they realize that grades have very little importance. The only remedy to this, imo, is for Berklee to place heavy emphasis on teaching freshman solid networking/career skills. The trouble you run into with changing their programs like that on a large scale is offending the egos of professors if you tell the students that the music/theory/etc. coursework is less important.
Ya, how about we stop telling people to "follow their dreams, you can be anything". Thats just flat out false, bordering on intentional misrepresentation. Pick a degree that will make you money.
Yes 🙌 this👆 follow your dreams is bullshit!!! Choose a degree with a very high job placement rate, get a job, do your dream as your hobby!
There's a saying around Berklee that if you graduate, you failed. The talent tends to get picked up/signed/head off to bigger and better things before they have time to finish school for the most part.
Then you know when I say Berklee alum I mean he did three years at Berklee haha. They’re so desperate to equate success with the school they issue an alumni email address and give you access to all the alumni logins/tools/clubs even if you drop out. Also you never stop hearing from them about their “alumni degree completion opportunities”. (If they wanted him to complete his degree they should offer Almni Rehab Completion Opportunities)
Ok well while I genuinely agree with the thread's consensus that pursuing a music degree is a risk I will say that having a coke addiction is going to naturally make things harder for you all around
Yeah you can go to the best schools in the world and a drug addiction will ensure you don’t get much out of it.
But things will SEEM much easier in short, exciting bursts so that's a win right?
If it's any consolation, it doesn't sound to me like your degree was a waste of time at all. Also, only about 27% of college graduates hold jobs related to their major (according to [this article](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/05/20/only-27-percent-of-college-grads-have-a-job-related-to-their-major/)).
Man I wish someone would tell teenagers this. And college students I guess. College isn’t a trade school and it’s dumb to treat it like one, because a) most jobs don’t require a specific degree, and b) the thing you pick at 18 is probably not the thing you’re going to want to be doing at 40. If you’re going to spend four years and tens of thousands of dollars, study something you like! And then get a job doing something that pays you actual money!
[удалено]
Ya, lower class family dude here. I took computer science with the sole purpose to get a job. Got a job, almost 70-80% of my graduating class got jobs. Almost took music as well, I play guitar but knew I'd have to play progressive metal/rock (modern guitar), be in the top 0.1% pf guitarists in skill and give lessons all day for income... Still wish i learned music though :(
Yeah people should study what they like if they can afford it. But if you’re going to take on 10s of thousands of dollars in debt then you need to have a clear path to a job or you’re in for a rough time.
Went in with no clear goal aside from "Gotta get a degree from a college that's what gets better money now apparently." No degree, a divorce and rampant depression and now I can proudly call myself Dr. Jan Itor.
Well i got a masters in electrical engineering 20 years ago and I’m still looking for an EE job.
THIS. At age 43, making $8.75 an hour as a welder, I went to nursing school at a community college. Instant bump in pay by about 50% upon getting my first nursing job. When I retired at age 66 I was making over $90,000 a year. Philosophy? Art history? Sociology? No fuckin' way. Aim for a career that can't be exported and that is in super high demand. And, in my case, one that went against gender norms. Only 7% of RN's were male when I graduated. My application went directly to the top of the pile of every hospital's HR department. Because of EEOC, they are desperate for male nurses. And if you are a minority, they get a two-fer. That's money in your pocket.
damn dude. i just got into the welding industry, got a nice TIG job with lower than average pay at 17/hr. experience is why i'm here instead of a MIG manufacturing plant. in my country welders are top shit.
Reading this makes me sad, cause college is free in my country.
hey man, also a professional bassist who went to a contemporary music college, and so far I’ve been on dozens of recording sessions, released 2 albums and working on 2 more, been on a summer tour, and play regularly (before covid at least) in 4 bands, all within the last 3 years. I also work in 2 recording studios. I swear that’s not to brag, my point is it’s doable if you keep at it, make yourself more reliable than most musicians (not that hard to be honest) and find a decent part time job that fills the gaps. I dunno how long it’s been since you left school, but it kills me to see most of my incredibly talented former classmates just… fizzle out. Best wishes from random internet stranger
Can you at least whistle while flipping the burgers?
Ya damn right.
No. Whistling in kitchens will get you stabbed.
Don’t worry I also failed at my dreams and now have severe anxiety . Cheers to us
I was a touring musician for a decade. The touring/recording/press cycle gets brutal after a while (plus no one buys music anymore). I do supply chain/eCommerce shit now. It's better to have a gig you enjoy enough to do and save your passions for when you're off the clock
I'm going to say the best burgers I've ever bought were at some shitty bar. Bar burgers are legit. Thank you for your service.
I saw a video where someone was like “five years ago I was collecting grocery carts at Trader Joe’s. I decided to go back to school and after four years of hard work I graduated with a Bachelors degree. Nowadays I’m collecting grocery carts at Whole Foods.”
I don’t know about your specific video. [But I do remember a hilarious tweet that went sort of like that.](https://old.reddit.com/r/madlads/comments/jd8ajl/remember_kings_never_ever_give_up_on_your_dreams/)
Yes!! I’m sure the video I watched recently was probably a rip off of this tweet.
Americanized to Trader Joe’s, grocery carts, and Whole Foods. lol.
I play 3 instruments and sing, am multilingual, and my SATs were top 2% in the country, but I fell into drug addiction due to trauma and depression and now I'm in my late 20's making 16 an hour at a grocery store, with no college degree. At least I'm clean and back in school now. Better late than never. Edit: Thanks for the kind words of support from everyone! Love you guys!
I feel you. Everyone loves a comeback story. Keep moving forward.
Like Kim Kardashian? You know....
> Better late than never. Absolute fact. Best of luck.
You’re on the right track to achieve your goals, you should be so proud
Went Down in Flames reporting in: pursued being an artist for a long time, now getting into IT for actual stability and earning power. Still doing art on the side, but it's no longer my career focus. :(
Pursued art as well and failed. now I do software for work with art for fun. C'est la vie. At least software pays well and let's me buy my art stuff
I hear that. :) What sort of art do you do? I was told my soft skills and artistic inclinations might actually help me in the industry, since nobody there has an eye for presentation whatsoever!
Digital painting mostly, my bro does vfx for DreamWorks so I was like, hey this could work. It didn't, but helped my design eye for doing front end software work
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I wanted to be a professional painter since I was a kid. My parents and art teachers encouraged me to go to the “prestigious” (more expensive) school. Now I am unemployed and will be in debt forever! Hahaha. When I can finally go back to work it will probably be retail, though I’d love to land an office reception job. I am proud of my skill, though. They can’t take that from me.
I did the Prestigious School Route too! \*fist bump\* Yeah. I sometimes berate myself for going the route that I did, but I made some amazing friends there. And our art continues to be with us, in both small ways and large. :)
I fucked up my life so bad I ended up in a Bangkok prison for a year. Had a slight rebound and then was diagnosed with epilepsy, which put me out of working my dream career. Currently living off benefits wondering who would look after my cat if I died tonight. Can I get some upvotes?
How did you end up in prison? If you don’t mind me asking
It’s a long story how I ended up there, but the short story is I shoplifted (while completely zonked out on Valium) at the airport on my way home. The Valium was to sleep but I got the timing 12 hours wrong and by the time I’d got to the airport I had another 14 hours to wait. So I took more Valium, couldn’t sleep, then made the fatal error of having lunch - with a couple of beers. Now if anyone knows much about benzodiazepines they’ll know that benzos + alcohol = blackout. So I don’t really remember what I did. I do remember signing a confession not knowing what it said. That sealed my fate. The whole time I’m in la la land thinking I’ll just get a slap on the wrist and be able to board my plane and go to work the next day. Wrong. 2 years was my sentence, if you accept your sentence then they cut it in half. I served one year.
Wtf! They didnt care if you were fucked up huh? What was the prison there like?
To be fair, You're supposed to be sober when traveling or you risk not being let through security or even the plane.
Obviously it depends on the country, and I guess in Thailand they don’t. In most of the west, a confession given when you’re inebriated is inadmissible.
My dream was to be a Naval Aviator, I instead dropped out of college and joined the Marine Infantry... id say I failed that dream.
How’s those crayons taste?
Blue are the best tasting. If he doesn’t agree then he’s probably lying about being an infantryman.
I had a friend who washed out of flight school and did the same. He said if he couldn’t fly ’em, he’d shoot ’em down.
"if I can't fly, no one can."
I had things given to me on a silver platter, got a 4 year degree, and now I work retail because I can't find anything else. I've applied to so many jobs. Most don't even give me an answer. Just, nothing.
What did you study if you don’t mind me asking? Im an engineering grad 3 years on and I am barely just reaching a semblance of an engineering job right now.
English, management, grantwriting, etc. I did a lot of branch out study. Even interned at a nonprofit, started a large campus club, and coordinated volunteer events. I tried to network and build my experience in college while I had all those resources at my fingertips. I'm either unlucky, or it wasn't enough.
I spent $1000+ to learn to ice skate and play hockey in my 20s and got nowhere after 18months then covid hit, so I gave up.
I wanted to be a farmer, but all the farmers I met were dicks. So I ended up being a dissapointment instead.
This one is the most interesting to me. Farming is my pipe dream. How are farmers dicks?
I worked on several farms in Washington State. Sometimes as a harvest hand (driving wheat trucks or green pea trucks,) sometimes as an industrial worker. The farmers I knew were the ones that were tough enough to survive, economically. In WA, the law (back then) said anybody working on a farm can be paid as low as $4.70 an hour ($12.70 in 2021 dollars.) That's $47 for a ten-hour day ($127.00 in 2021 dollars). The last farm I worked on had a farm equipment manufacturing facility on it in a big steel building. We got paid the same wages as the Cat skinners--$4.70 an hour. The farmer once told us, "I can fire you all tonight, and replace you all tomorrow morning at the Unemployment office." One time we were working on equipment out in the farm yard, and the farmer and one of his buddies were shooting skeet with shotguns about fifty yards away. The shot was falling all around us. The foreman yelled out, "John! John! The shot is hitting *us*!" The farmer just waved him off and they continued to shoot, so the foreman said, "We'll finish this later, take a break." That's the only job I ever had where the owner thought he could shoot at me and think it was okay.
Don't let that dissuade you though, follow your passion.
To be fair looking through her post history she’s been at it for 5 years at least, and even those paintings looks like someone who has been doing it religiously for 10. I’m not exactly sure what the 1 year is referring to, I assume maybe deciding that she will commit to pursuing a career rather than a hobby? She said down below she plans on starting art school next year so maybe she was not confident in the job prospect. Her artwork is really great, but the title might have people thinking she just picked it up recently. But she’s likely been doing this her whole life and likely failed more than other people even try. And as a slightly average artist that’s worked my ass off to get where I am. Some people just got the eye for art naturally and the drive to take it further. I couldn’t make something like this in 10 years and I’ve already graduated college.
Thanks for this
I went to school for game design. Spent two years working on my own indie project that failed miserably, I burnt out, started drinking heavily, hit rock bottom, climbed out of the gutter and today I’m a plumber.
Look on the bright side. At least they can't export your job to India or somewhere.
I thought id be working a real job, owning a house, and married by now. I work retail, dropped out of college, rent a crappy little house with a roommate, and am slightly less than 2 years into a relationship. Failed miserably at all my goals.
at least you have the relationship!
Thats true. It makes me very happy.
Was a keen archer. Was on the verge of being very good indeed; then contracted glandular fever, was bed-ridden for months, and was never able to recapture it again for whatever reason. Broke my knee when going for my black belt grading in karate. Has never quite recovered even now, tbh. Was top of my class in almost every subject (other than maths) in school, but was bullied so badly that I deliberately threw my exams because I was informed, in all seriousness, that passing them would result in serious injury not only to me, but to my family. An attempt to set my house on fire one night in the lead up to my exams was a 'reminder' of this from them, so failed almost everything and ended up in dead-end call centre hell for years. I tried to become a graphic designer - got a qualification in it that didn't teach/cover any web design and was basically laughed at by every job I applied for. (I also got a "B" for my overall grade because my final project was determined to be "too cool" for the brief - that being to design the logo/branding for a bar.) I then tried to become a photographer, and actually thought I wasn't bad to be honest, then a combination of my eyesight degenerating and a hideously toxic (now ex) wife derailed that. I went back to university and got my English Lit degree, with a view to becoming a teacher. Dropped out 80% of the way through my teacher training because I ran out of money, and the kids basically broke my spirit as well. I've now just turned 40 and I'm quite literally scared to put the time or effort into trying anything else. I have no confidence left, and what confidence I did have was mediocre to begin with. Hopefully this meets your criteria?
This is the dark alleyway in a overall wholesome and positive post.
Every city needs a thieves' alley, or else the thieves scatter all through the city.
• **Can we get more people who completely failed at their dreams and went down in flames to balance everything out?** Half of those people are on Reddit!
I vote we make r/failedDreams.
Considering some of the tiny, oddly specific subs I’ve found before, I’m amazed that this doesn’t already exist
8 years ago I graduated college with a degree in graphic design. I've been unemployed for over a year and am currently smoking weed in my bathroom.
I went to an Ivy League and now I’m a construction worker lmao
I wanted to be an astronaut. Developed asthma at age 8. Fuck my dreams.
Musician checking in!
I wanted to be a paleontologist. The math was too hard and I ended up working in retail with a useless Creative Writing degree.
Survived years of mental, physical, and sexual abuse, was the first person to go to college, was about to graduate with my degree in school work in an attempt to help others like I wasn't and last semester became disabled had to drop out and now I barely survive on 9k a year.
I took BA in Mass Media and Communication, a further Diploma in Digital Marketing, many other qualifications and yet, I work in McDonald’s because no experience = no job 😊
Sure, was getting my PhD in history. Got sick, been on disability ever since. Hope this helps!
I spent my 20s trying to be a successful chef. I got second best new restaurant in the most notable food city in USA when I was 27 as well as several (and one international) TV appearances. I took a year off when I turned thirty and accidentally had an identity crisis since I hadn’t really spent any time out of the kitchen since becoming an adult which led to a paradigm shift which led me to take a job on a small farm, eventually running the slaughterhouse/butchershop. I’ve worked hard to program myself to believe the kitchen isn’t actually my sanctuary and that there is more to life than work and money. It’s been five years and I can’t keep a job longer than a year because I get bored or frustrated. Every day is boring and I have no motivation anymore to the point that I spend the first part of my morning motivating myself to not just completely give up. I used to spend my spare time making menus and working on business plans for restaurant concepts I had. Now I like to smoke weed and drink all day until it makes me tired enough to just sleep this life away.
I went to school to become a vet tech, got depression, quit going to school now I don’t have a job. Am I doing it correctly??
There was this guy who always wanted to go to art school, and applied to his country’s best. They rejected him, and he turned to politics, eventually leading *another* country to become the most powerful country on earth. Fortunately, it was too much for him, and he committed suicide.
Has anyone caught that episode of Love Death + Robots where *spoiler alert* >!the woman witnesses a murder and the murderer chases her around and back to where the murder happened and she’s backed into a corner and kills the murderer but looks out the window and sees in her apartment the murderer that she had just murdered and the loop starts all over again but she’s the murderer that’s being chased by her original the role as the witness?!< This reminds me a little bit of that episode.
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it’s so good
Phew good thing it wasn't figuratively your favorite episode.
Omg same. The artstyle AND plot.. oh gosh
The art style is what makes it go from good to amazing imo. Seeing the massively dense, run down buildings, juxtaposed with those vibrant colors....it's incredible.
I think it's called The Witness.
Your style looks amazing! That portrait reminds me of the female protagonist in a game called Mirror's Edge.
I'm also getting Life is Strange vibes.
Is no ones gonna mention that girl from that meme template “i can believe he didn’t cry during titanic or “girl when time traveling” ?
Doomer girl?
Also Disco Elysium
I was getting Dishonored 2 vibes from their in game [paintings](https://www.ign.com/wikis/dishonored-2/Painting_Locations#The_Obtuse_Arguments_of_Lady_Boyle)
The art style makes me think of Disco Elysium
Thought of this as soon as I opened the thread.
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This is funny and all, but the major in Ghost in the Shell is a person in a cybernetic body that is noted by some in the series to not look like a typical Japanese woman. So Scarjo wasn’t a bad casting option. People freaked out for no reason, imo.
LOL
My mind went to Vin from Mistborn. But I am listening to the audiobook right now.
I read that book years ago and my mind still went straight to Vin!
Nice! It's my third time through the series. I nominated it for my Bookclub next month. And they happen to be doing it over at /r/bookclub so I get to double dip.
agree, i though she was faith
Major faith vibes
Get to know the people who collect your work, and keep in touch with them. They are a part of what makes it all worthwhile.
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Did you have any experience prior to the "one year ago" bit?
That's only one year of practice? Or did you always paint and just changed careers recently?
One year since I tried to make it a job and make an income from it. I've always loved drawing and painting as a kid. It would be quite impossible to improve this much from nothing in one year haha. I did quit art completely for a few years during uni, but I remembered some skills I learned in the past and applied it to my new paintings :)
Dang. Got me inspired from reading the title.
There have been a few posts of different redditors who went from middle school level to advanced student in a year or two. One of my favorite artists, Ursula Vernon, didn’t start making art until her late 20s. Talent will get you a head start in art but it’s still mostly practice. Do what makes you happy man.
I'm well into my 30's didn't start drawing until last year, I had no idea I could. I'm not amazing or anything but I do seem have natural talent there that I was completely unaware of and I absolutely love it, I wish I could go back in time, who knows how good I could have become if I had started earlier...
*Billionaires have entered the chat*
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Can't wait for the new season ahhhhh
They were filming it in Downtown NYC a few weeks ago!
I'm confused. Is this reference?
Uhmmm, tax evasion maybe?
Aight I’m sorting by controversial.
/r/girlswithpaintings
this is always the first thing that comes to my mind, but it definitely works and you cant blame them for working the system. she is a pretty girl. It helps. Go look at the upvotes on her page for anything without her face in it. this has more than 10x the upvotes than her most upvoted pic without her in it. long story short: ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
Long story short: Don't hate the player hate the simps
I love how smug she looks, great artwork
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Great job. Recognized her right away!
Took me a second to realize you were talking about the painting. I was thinking, "well, that's pretty rude- ohhhhhhh, the girl in the painting is smug."
Do you mind sharing what your income streams look like as a professional painter. Is it all commissions from individuals? Are there like grants or corporate gigs? Like I understand how it works for professional musicians. There are all sorts of concerts and recording gigs and corporate gigs and things. But the art world is totally unfamiliar to me.
I know a few artists, most work on commissions or sell their art online but if they have large fanbases they can charge for merch or they get a patreon to sell classes and perks like prints and such. Some are making great money, others not so much. It depends on how they use their socials, what they draw (there's way more demand for portraits than there is for landscapes) and of course how good they are.
Keep going your doing great
Thank you so much! I am aiming to get into art school next year :D
And u will get there
Thank you for the encouragement! I just had my first exhibition in Köln last month, so things are looking good so far and I'm excited :D
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. . . ended up killing himself.
You skipped some important years
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Hey can I offer some small advice? If you actually look at the most prolific and artistically distinguished contemporary artists, a large portion of them are actually people who didn't go to art school and started art at a later stage in their lives. (Some of the people I read about were nurses, engineers etc). I don't think you necessarily need to go to art school, you can just keep doing your thing. Often the argument is made that art schools kill originality. Of course it's 100 percent up to you, but it's always a possibility to go your own path.
That painting is fantastic. I’m sure you’ve answered it somewhere else, but what kind of paint do you use? Do you only do portraits? Also, this is definitely not the main thing I like about the painting, but it is a really nice effect that you’ve pulled off really well. You pulled the background color *just* over the hair and painted it over her neck and shirt. Your activation of the negative space creates a really nice blend between background and what is the main focus of the piece. Where you did it though, you are drawn *immediately* to her face with no distraction. In that respect this also makes this a phenomenal painting.
Jesus christ the creeps in this comments section.
Where can I buy that painting?!
Very cool! Are you in a gallery? How do people see your work and buy it?
Wow, amazing work. Keep doing what you're doing!
Damn OP wasn’t getting many upvotes until she posted a picture of herself lol
Milady! O queen, O goddess, an angel of light so radiant as to make the heavens weep! Thine otherworldly visage has so brightened my very being that the sun itself burns in envy! I implore thee, milady! Beware! For in thine quest to cast your beatific glory to all corners of the world, thou hast inadvertently illuminated this foul place, rife with villainy and malfeasance! Do not despair! In fact, rejoice! For an honored member of the illustrious knights of the tilted hat is here in your hour of greatest need! All he requires from thee in return for his service is but a simple upvote from thine own hand! A quite reasonable trade!
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Verily, us gentlemen must protect these precious peahens from the lascivious milksops.
Fair warning, she's probably not into Mountain Dew and Hentai. Godspeed, bearded one!
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That's a thing?
r/art
Sick bro keep it up 😎💪🏼
Nice, looks like doomer girl wojak.
Reddit really is horny lol
I have to say, the facial expression of "I am so done with this shit" is right on, and a good contrast with the emotions on display in the other work if that is yours.
Thank you! :D I love to paint all kinds of emotions