**Sorry, mild swearing in this post. Went off on a rant of my own.**

I agree with you locust.

I go to art school. At least once a week, we have to put up what we have made and let everyone else tear it down. People keep saying that if you just do your best, then that is all that matters. What a load of crap. No one cares what your personal best is, only how it looks when you put it against the next guy.

My roommate keeps trying to encourage me, telling me that I'm talented. But I work twice the hours she does on homework, and we'll both get the same grade. The crap she pulls out of her *** the night before gets more praise and better reception than the pieces I spend weeks putting together.

I graduate in three weeks, and I owe over $40k in student loans. No one in my field is hiring entry level positions, and everything that I enjoy I either can't charge what it's worth, or it isn't valued in today's society (I'm a textile artist, so I dye, spin, knit, etc. all very time consuming things). My teacher's tell me that I should value my work and charge more for it, but when I do they say I "certainly think highly of myself" and proceed to tell me all of the reasons my work isn't worth it.

I've always had self-esteem issues. I really should never have gone into a creative field.