Social Media & Comparison
The Art of Being Realistic
By AG
November 13, 2026 · 12 MIN READ
Prefer listening? Hear the full essay, narrated by me. (16 min)
Curiosity killed the cat, and creativity killed the adult.
As I’ve grown older, it appears that creative people are frowned upon, and their dreams just aren’t valid in the “real world.”
Every aspect of school was regulated, and we were all taught the same things. There was little room for interpretation or other ways of thinking.
Depending on where you went to school, college was definitely rammed down your throat. Although the trades are on the come-up now, I was definitely under the impression that people who went into them were too stupid for school. The military was treated similarly, like it was something you pursued if college wasn’t an option. I’m not throwing shade at either path. That’s just how school made it seem to me.
Then there are creative people, who I think are still seen as blatantly delusional.
These are the people who have the biggest dreams. They want to express themselves so that others can see their thoughts and feel their emotions.
Imagine telling Leonardo da Vinci, Frida Kahlo, Eiichiro Oda, Michael Jackson, Ella Langley, Tupac, Adam Sandler, or Chris Rock that their dreams weren’t realistic.
And these are just a few of my favorites.
You know how different the world would be?
We’d miss out on so much culture and so many life lessons.
Art isn’t embraced nearly as much as it needs to be in the modern world.
And me just getting back into writing at the ripe age of 23 is a prime example of how sheltered I felt when it came to expressing my creative side.
The Next Adam Sandler
Let me take you back to my third-grade year.
I had an assignment where I had to talk about my favorite things and what I wanted to be when I grew up.
This changed from year to year.
In first and second grade, I either wanted to play baseball for the then “Cleveland Indians” or football for my Cleveland Browns. A pretty typical answer for an eight- or nine-year-old.
But something was different in third grade.
I wrote down that I wanted to be a comedian.
I can still remember how puzzled my parents were when they read that.
At the time, my dad was probably showing me many movies I should have never watched at such a young age. Anything involving Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Beavis and Butt-Head, or Cheech & Chong.
He told me to look away when there was a bad part on the screen. Almost every other scene, if I’m being honest.
On top of that, my Aunt Cynbad, the devious aunt she is, hence the name Cyn Bad, would let me watch Family Guy.
And my cousin Andrew would put on South Park during Christmas. We’d sit in the back room of my Aunt Helen’s house while the adults were nowhere to be found.
I’m this innocent child watching the Woodland Critters. One part of the house is full of Christmas joy, and the other is watching woodland animals commit unspeakable crimes.
These are probably things you shouldn’t show kids, but I think I was inspired by their art and their ability to make others laugh.
I associated laughter with comfort.
I tried my hardest to make others laugh and put them at ease, and it probably stemmed from these core memories as a child.
Looking back on it, I wish I could have gone down that creative path sooner.
But I thought I couldn’t for a few reasons.
Somewhere along the way, I started believing that creativity was something I could enjoy, but not something I could build a future around.
Everybody Has an Agenda
Everybody has an agenda.
School is great for some kids, but it might not be for others.
You’re forced to learn things that you eventually forget unless they really spark your interest.
I was fascinated by science at a young age. I thought science was really cool, and I still do to this day.
I had a teacher, Mrs. Glodek, who used to let me bring a fish from my pond into class or a deer heart from my dad so that we could dissect it.
Those are core memories that had me on the track of science.
She gave me the freedom to express myself and do something that wasn’t in the books.
But maybe if I had been taught more subjects like that, I could have found other things that sparked my interest.
School is geared primarily toward STEM careers, in my opinion. There’s nothing wrong with that. We need these people. I don’t want an uneducated doctor slicing into me ever.
Yet not everyone finds themselves or fits into that category.
When I got to high school, I got to take other classes, including Spanish and video production.
These were new courses where, for the first time in a while, I got to learn new things and understand other cultures.
I fell in love with video production.
I got to learn how to edit, act, and create videos.
For the most part, we were given the creative freedom to make our own videos as long as they followed a general guideline.
It wasn’t like every other class where you were told to read this book, write this way, and understand why it was important to know this stuff.
No, I was given the freedom to bring my ideas to life.
It was similar in Spanish.
Mrs. Badurik brought a great, positive attitude each and every day. She made us do a lot of projects that gave us the freedom to do whatever we’d like.
We even got to make a Spanish video, which is still played in her classroom to this day.
Maybe if reading and writing essays had allowed me to cover topics I was actually interested in, or gave me more freedom, I would have enjoyed them more.
I don’t think school itself necessarily gets us in touch with our creative side.
It’s the teachers who inspire us and give us the tools to be creative.
Of course, we had art class and music, but I feel like you may not understand the power of creativity at such a young age.
In fourth grade, we took a trip down to the library.
At the time, I hated books and reading. I couldn’t concentrate.
My English and grammar teacher, Mrs. Matune, took us to our local library.
The librarian asked, “Are you guys excited to be here?”
I said, “No, not really.”
I was a menace.
I can still remember how mad my teacher was, and I think she dislikes me to this day because of it.
Rightfully so, but I was a kid.
Now that I’m not a kid, I have a deeper appreciation for art, music, writing, photography, and film than I ever did before.
It seemed like when I got to high school, I finally had the choice to take classes with creative elements, but you would only take these classes once or twice and then never again.
There wasn’t much emphasis on the arts.
It’s almost like that part of me got phased out.
Nobody ever really told me I could be a writer, photographer, filmmaker, or author.
It was always something in STEM.
At least, that’s how I saw it.
Chasing Creativity With Zach
I took video production during my freshman and sophomore years, and I fell in love with creating and editing content.
At the time, I saw it more as a hobby.
I was super involved with it, but I never thought it was something I could turn into a career.
My best friend Zach, AKA @Zachj.films on Insta, saw it differently.
He was inspired by film and photography.
He found his purpose early, around eighth or ninth grade.
If I remember right, he made a video for a school project, and that got him intrigued by film.
He would take his talents outside of that project, watch God knows how many YouTube videos, and get really good at making films with iMovie.
Eventually, he entered a video of his to win a $10,000 sponsorship for video equipment.
And he actually got picked.
He flew to Houston, got to walk the red carpet, and received an award. He got one of those giant checks, which still hangs on his wall to this day.
We shared a bond as creative people. Thanks to this new money, he was able to buy a really nice camera, and we could bring our ideas to life.
We would wander the streets of downtown Youngstown, taking photos and sometimes making videos.
The last thing two 16-year-olds should have been doing with a $10,000 camera was walking around Youngstown at night.
But we were different.
That’s what we did on our weekends. That’s how we had fun.
Everyone would call us insane, but we were over there chasing our passions and willing to do whatever it took to get some dope pictures.
Zach tried to persuade me to go down this path with him, but I decided against it at the time.
I was worried it wasn’t a realistic career. At least, it didn’t seem realistic based on the way I was raised.
I loved creating things, but I never really thought I could make a living doing it. It was something I enjoyed, not something I thought I could pursue as a career.
He would go on to SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, get a degree in film, and live happily ever after.
Just kidding.
He’s the very embodiment of “it is what it is.”
He moved out west to chase his dreams.
He’s going through it right now, but he has trust in God and knows that what he’s doing is what he loves. He believes it’ll all work itself out somewhere down the road. And I know for a fact, knowing him, that it will.
Then there’s me.
Finding My Way Back
I went to Kent State, majored in nursing, and decided that wasn’t for me.
I switched my major to exercise science.
Then I decided to go to chiropractic school.
I dropped out of that.
Then I was contemplating going back to nursing again.
Luckily, the only other course I needed to take was therapy.
And now I’m New Again.
Therapy got me back in touch with my creative mind.
We did an exercise on our signature strengths, and I listed open-mindedness, creativity, and faith.
My therapist asked me, “Do you think you’re in touch with these?”
I said yes to open-mindedness and faith, but not to creativity.
Besides Zach, I never really felt like I was encouraged to follow my creative passions.
And it took me a long time to realize that creativity was something I had been missing.
Therapy changed my mindset. I started embracing the things that made me who I am instead of trying to be someone I wasn’t.
I got so much out of therapy once I realized that simply being myself was enough.
I didn’t have to change who I was to make an impact on others. I just had to embrace the person I already was.
I took an extremely long road to get where I am now.
Personally, I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Success is a journey, not a destination.
But I hope others can jump on the creative bandwagon sooner.
The Art of Being Realistic
I think we get so caught up in what we’re supposed to do that we forget to ask ourselves what we actually want to do.
We look at other people’s dreams and tell them to be realistic.
But just because something doesn’t seem realistic to you doesn’t mean it isn’t realistic for someone else.
We’re all going to take different paths in life.
Some people know exactly what they want to do at a young age. Others, like me, might take a few wrong turns before figuring it out.
And that’s okay.
We shouldn’t have to fit into some basic mold of what society considers successful.
There’s nothing wrong with pursuing a traditional career, just as there’s nothing wrong with pursuing something creative.
I think there’s room for both.
And even if your dream doesn’t turn into your career, that doesn’t mean you should stop doing what you love.
I still love science. I still love comedy. I still love making people laugh.
And now I’ve found a love for writing.
I don’t know exactly where this journey is going to take me, but I know I’m finally doing something that makes me feel like myself again.
Maybe being realistic isn’t about giving up on your dreams.
Maybe it’s about understanding that your version of a fulfilling life isn’t going to look like everyone else’s.
And just because someone else can’t picture your future doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to create it.
Me and Zach’s Flicks
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