@
Meg,
for me, although my vocation is to be an artist, being commercial about my art is not important to me - what is important to me is going on a lifelong journey through art and following artistic paths devotedly, and this pursuit generally tends to be somewhat at odds with creating a commercially marketable product. for other people, what is more important is that their artistic message will reach others, and the best way to do this is through creating artistic forms that are desirable to a commercial market. i think that neither of these priorities is in any way superior, it just depends on what is more important to the artist. for some people, making a product that can be commercially distributed is a thrilling challenge; for me, while it is important that other people should enjoy consuming any products that i might make, causing my ideas to be commercially viable is not just a tiresome impediment, it is something that i find very difficult to fathom, a challenge that drains and confuses me rather than excites me. for some people, making their art commercially viable is an absolute necessity, because it cannot possibly be made any other way, such as in ballet - while i have the luxury of making my art however i choose, regardless of commercial concerns.
i am studying to work with information, say as a librarian or an archivist. it represents a sort of compromise to me. it is something that i feel an affinity for, and i believe that helping people access information is basically good, and dealing with information products is related to my own need to compose products that contain some sort of information or knowledge or art. but it will hopefully provide me with the financial security that will allow me to keep my vocation somewhat separate.
i definitely agree with others that getting the grades is important. good grades allow greater freedom to pursue more alternatives. dont worry too much about whether or not the school work you are doing is something that you truly believe in, because who cares? the only reason youre doing it is to be able to do what you want to do in life. so just focus on achieving the assessment criteria that will cause teachers to reward you with good grades. then when the schoolwork is done, you can write a story, draw a picture, go for a walk in the sunshine, or do whatever else it is that you love doing.
i think that one thing is for sure, that if you love to create art, that you will find yourself making it no matter what else is going on in your life.