Here’s an untrue story: your very first career move should somehow gel identity, passions, goals, location, finances, family planning, everything, in one high-speed precision job-landing.

Funny how students know that’s not true, but can be prone to believing it anyway. Funny how believing it is a quick road to feelings of yuckiness (not to mention a time-suck). Funny how students training in the Arts or in Education are particularly ready to believe that their career tools don’t stack up to those of their peers studying Chemistry or Economics.

Here is what I have found myself repeating this month in conversations with students (chalk it up to being May):

Take your own advice. If you are studying artist practice or training as an artist-educator, chances are you are becoming well versed in the enterprise of helping others to: make stuff, think critically, develop a voice, observe the world, take risks, play, explore the unknown, reflect, exercise persistence, experiment with new forms and new media, and nourish curiosity. Seriously, this is some of the best stuff in life! What lucky students you have!

Within the basic currencies of arts and education—within your very own training—lie keys to all kinds of creative life development. There is no rule that it applies only teaching others. You get to have it, too.

Not only do you have permission to put it into practice for yourself, but a lot depends on it.