I'm the same way, Jab. But, actually, my mom has taken a 180 degree turn on this recently. She watched me perform the sermon I wrote on spirituality in U2 music... and since then, she's been very encouraging about my writing. It's like she just realized I might be good enough to do something with it... She even told me that if she dies and there's any money left, that I should take a year off and try to write a novel with it. Ha! I dont want her to die, though. She's very young. And she's my mommy. But you get the point. We all suffer from that discouragement from other people... especially parents... I think our parents meant well. They just worried that we would be starving destitute artists on the street when we expressed our desire for these high risk jobs.. (high risk meaning that it's initially hard to make a living on such a job... if at all).
However, I have always thought that if I had had kids, I would have totally encouraged them to pursue their passions, no matter how crazy their passions seemed to me. I think being a good parent is not judging but encouraging. I think if you raise your kids to be good with money and make good decisions, when you let them go into the world, they will figure out how to take care of themselves AND pursue those passions... I'm guessing it's hard as a parent, though, to let your kids go after 18 years and to watch them sink or swim....
