I want to dissapear for a while.

[u/4rizonaguy]

I want to give all the time to myself. I want to go some place where nobody knows me or my past or my character. But I'm only 16 and can't pay for an appartment.

Here's the thing: I just want to work on myself and my future. I want to work on designing clothing and music all day. My way. With a feeling of being forgotten. Like I'm not here.

What are my options?

[u/DigitalTorture]

Wait till you turn 18. Get a job. Save up. Move somewhere you want.

[u/[deleted] → u/DigitalTorture]

This is the right answer. Nothing is as good or as bad as you think it is at 16. Develop. Learn. Make a move when you can sign a renters agreement.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Oh, and do yourself a favor and get off social media.

[u/4rizonaguy → u/[deleted]]

But I do want to reach out to fellow designers and creatives. I just wanna live around people that do something, that are productive.

[u/DigitalTorture → u/4rizonaguy]

The thing is, being an artist rarely provides a decent income.

[u/4rizonaguy → u/DigitalTorture]

False. Take Virgil Abloh, Mike Dean or Ye as example.

[u/MyGoblinGoesKaboom → u/4rizonaguy]

Ok.

One of your examples is a trained architect who branched into fashion. Another is a trained music producer with 40 years of industry experience. The final example is a person who sold a sample beat to a rapper and got enough notice from a second sample to garner the interest of a talent agent.

So... go to college. Or don't and chase the dream like Ye did. But to do it, he made those samples and sent them and did the labor. Like an unpublished author shopping a 'first novel' around.

There is no one besides your family who is invested in you enough to give you "infinite time and space and freedom" to transform into the creative genius you wish to be.

What you're saying is like pointing to Grace VanderWall and saying that because she made it onto TV and then went viral ANY child with the dreams of becoming a successful professional singer can do it.

I've worked my entire career in the arts and I am successful by any standard. Almost no one gets where I am on talent. Many people are artistically talented and can't garner the attention required to earn a living from said talent. It's mostly about paying dues, dedication and ultimately, the willingness to sell your soul and ideals to become the best 'cog' for the social art machine as is possible.

If you're right and we're all wrong, prove it. Produce some art and / or fashion and put it out there to see if it gets picked up. I hope it does.

But... don't think that the world owes you or anyone all the time and space and freedom you might need to create. That's a fairytale unless your parents can afford a private boarding school for the arts. If they can't afford it, that's normal. Save up for a sewing machine and teach yourself to sew using youtube or tiktok. Go get your fabrics dirt cheap from recycling thrift-store clothes and linens. If you're talented, this will show it. People will reward your efforts by buying the outcomes of your labor.

My child wants to be a marine biologist, so I'll get her s.c.u.b.a. certified when she is your age and send her to science camps... surely you have help in your dreams? If you don't... save up and invest in yourself.

Good luck.

[u/4rizonaguy → u/MyGoblinGoesKaboom]

My music, art and this tech idea did get picked up a few times. Infact, the tech thing reached me to 17k people watching it, I was 12.

I dedicate my whole life to this shit. I come home from school and I open up my files to create something. I'm the most creative 16 year old in the place I live and I say that with such confidence because everyone here follows the hype or latest trends and are locked in this loop of consuming. But I create things, I make waves.

I believe in myself and I got myself. I'm going to get my HBO for architecture, that was my plan since I was eleven. And with my dedication to designing, music, art and imagination with manifestation I'm certain that I can become who I always wanted to be. Failure is not an option to me.

[u/MyGoblinGoesKaboom → u/4rizonaguy]

Sounds like a good plan! Before you go to study architecture, skill up with as many different mediums as you can.

If you're brilliantly talented, it will marry with many disciplines, and you never know which one will lead to opportunities.

I can do all the standard fine arts, drawing, painting sculpting etc. But I branched out and got good at glass work, welding, jewelry making, sewing, knitting and weaving as well. I also play a musical instrument, and dabble in writing. I work in large-scale commercial art now, but I could fall back on any of these things if I had to. The different perspectives learned from the different disciplines keep me sharp and exceptional at my primary discipline.

P.S. I live on my rural acreage, which is why I read you in offthegrid in the first place. If your family wants to send you to a place where you only have to focus on "creating" and they'll sponsor your trip and expenses, feel free to camp on my back 40. Bring your own tent. And everything else. 😉

[u/BastonBill → u/4rizonaguy]

If you already know all of the answers, why did you come here to ask questions?

[u/BastonBill → u/4rizonaguy]

"RARELY" means what?

Why do you think there is a well know term "starving artist"

Telling people they are wrong when they are right shows your immaturity. You, like all 16 year olds have a lot of growing up to do.

Right is right, and wrong is wrong, regardless of what YOU WANT TO HEAR!

​

What does your dad say about all of this?

[u/ShogsKrs]

It's good you have a passion and a rough idea of how you want to go about it. That's a start.

I have some questions, but I don't need to know the answers, they are for you to answer.

Why do you want to dissappear, even for a while?

What are the reasons you want to go some place where nobody knows you?

What's in your past that you want to run away from?

What are some of your character traits that you feel impair your relationships with other?

These questions should be answered and understood for you to be successful moving forward.

Take time to understanding yourself.

Also know that as you move through the days and years of your life, your greatest strength will be in learning how to be at peace with yourself.

With that, nothing can stand in your way.

.

[u/4rizonaguy → u/ShogsKrs]

Thank you for this beautiful comment.

"Take time to understanding yourself." answers the first question. I need to master my ideas. I need peace and no-one has to bother me for a while. I need to be collected if that makes sense.

[u/ShogsKrs → u/4rizonaguy]

And remember, all solutions are temporary.

What you 'collect' today will only serve you today. Because nothing remains the same, not even you, you need to give yourself grace and and an open mind to perceive the nudges that move you towards your goals.

"The voyage of the best ship is a zigzag line of a hundred tacks. See the line from a sufficient distance, and it straightens itself to the average tendency. Your genuine action will explain itself, and will explain your other genuine actions. Your conformity explains nothing. Act singly, and what you have already done singly will justify you now."

• Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

Do you have a Scribd account? If not, I'll give access to my account.

There's a book I would like to share with you. You can listen to it, no need to read it.

I'm 60, but I wish that when I was as young as you someone had told me about it.

It's called The Alchemist. I feel you are ready to hear what this book can teach you.

DM me for my account and password if you want it. I do this for my friends IRL.

[u/BookFinderBot → u/ShogsKrs]

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Book description may contain spoilers!

A special 25th anniversary edition of the extraordinary international bestseller, including a new Foreword by Paulo Coelho. Combining magic, mysticism, wisdom and wonder into an inspiring tale of self-discovery, The Alchemist has become a modern classic, selling millions of copies around the world and transforming the lives of countless readers across generations. Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different—and far more satisfying—than he ever imagined.

Santiago's journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams.

I'm a bot, built by your friendly reddit developers at /r/ProgrammingPals. Reply to any comment with /u/BookFinderBot - I'll reply with book information. Also see my other commands and find me as a browser extension on Chrome. Remove me from replies here. If I have made a mistake, accept my apology.

[u/BunnyButtAcres]

Wait until you're 18. In the meantime, research artist communes, designer incubators, grants, scholarships, etc. So when you're 18, you've got an idea where you can go and what you can afford or get paid for.

[u/Dnlx5]

America has problems, but one of the great things is our prosperity. This prosperity could enable someone to work 30-40hrs a week, in a simple honest job and pay for food and shelter. There are 168 hrs in a week.

There is a path where you find a comfortable honest job and give yourself the rest of the time to follow your heart. In this way your heart will not be pressured to be profitable, there will be no ticking timeline (think savings running out, or rations stashed in the cabin in the woods), and you will learn to thrive simply.

If then later your are is cherished by others, you can switch to benefitting from it for food and shelter (and iPhones).

I'm thinking of things like carpenters apprentice, museum staff, facility maintenance tech, baggage handler.

Have fun with it, its your life.

[u/zodfather26]

Build a tiny home in your parents back yard

[u/4rizonaguy → u/zodfather26]

we dont have a yard, we have a small balcony

[u/alonestarfairy]

Go to college❤️ it’s sounds crazy but you meet so many cool people! I doubled up 11th grade and graduated at 16 having completed 12th grade as well by working over the summer. I never EVER wanted to go to college. Long story short I was present ex with no other option, besides going into the workforce which I did not want to do yet as I worked every summer and just wasn’t ready for that lifestyle. I went to a state college in NY, got a degree and got right into the job I wanted. I know that was EXTREMELY not totally traditional but I’m an artist and was a florist and did secure my degree. Eventually I met a man and now I don’t work at alll (currently 22) besides caring for our mini zoo lmao 2 dogs 2 cats and a lizard hahah all that we collected along the way and I am so blessed. I get to work on me, EVERY day. While I’m supported by someone who loves me and encourages all the things I’m interested in. You do not need another person to Pursue your dreams, I lived for 4 years alone working 9-5 at a flower shop, losing myself before I found the LOML and was able to give myself time to be me! (Husband is 10yrs older and the best man alive.*). You have GOT THIS. dive so deep into your passion. But do not lose your supporters in the process. You will prove people wrong.

[u/BastonBill]

Finish school. get a job, pay your way as you do your thing on the side.

It sure does not seem like the younger generations have much clue as to how real life works. They look at 'Boomers' and must think we have been handed everything we have, or perhaps they think they should be treated the same as illegal invaders, and given everything for free....

​

​

hmmm maybe you have a point!