Like I said, I didn't know anyone who was a working artist, so the only options I saw were to be a teacher, a star, or a struggling artist. So you're right that there are plenty of people who carve out a good living working in the arts.

Knowing what I know now about business and life, in general, is that maybe taking my interest in film scoring when I was much younger and making a go of it would have been worth it. It seems more stable than working in tech. Ha!