I was looking through some old art ideas I never got around to, and one was just labeled "Candle Statue". I was interested in the dichotomy of that, how a candle is intended to burn while a statue is meant to exist for ages as an icon.

That paradox reminded me of a bunch of people I was inspired by when I was going to college for art. I saw them like rock stars because they were already consistently putting out professional work and setting themselves up for successful careers. Once they all graduated, though, they struggled, and far as I know to this day, none of them ever got into the industry like they intended. Selfish as it was, I felt let down by my heroes, but it's not lost on me that it's not fair of me to have put that pressure on them either. It's not my place to judge them when I don't know the whole picture, watching them burn bright while I knew them, but not continuing to be the everlasting icon I expected them to be when the shelter that college provided was stripped away.