What is an artist and how to become one

Me and Art
I received an invitation from Alex to write out my story. In fact, my story is very simple. Falling in love with painting is a natural thing, just like breathing after birth. Ever since I was able to pick up a pen, drawing became a source of joy for me as a child. At that time, I felt really happy. Every time I traced something, it gave me a huge sense of accomplishment.
It wasn't until middle school that I began to consider whether to become a professional artist in the future. There was a huge obstacle to this at the time: I had good academic performance, and in China in the 1990s, studying painting or music was considered not a serious career. Especially for a student with good grades like me, when I proposed to learn painting, my teachers and my parents wanted me to change my mind. In their eyes, I should study hard, get into a good university, find a good job, marry a good wife, and then have a good life. But at that time, I was not interested in all this step-by-step life. My heart was deeply attracted to art. I chose art without hesitation. Many people feel bored when learning art, especially in the basic stage. But I never got bored because I loved it deeply. That was my happiest time. I successfully entered university as an art student, and of course my university major was also art. I thought that my life would be spent roaming freely in the ocean of art. But reality has taught me to compromise. Artists also have to eat. I chose to become an art teacher so that I could at least have a basic living security and continue to create art in my spare time. But gradually, I finally realized the chaos and filth of this art circle, which was very different from my religious awe of art. I saw how so-called artists flattered the powerful, how they flattered each other, and how they used any means to promote themselves. In the final analysis, it was all about money, not art. At that time I had deep doubts about art - does art really exist?
Later, when I came to the United States and had my own family and children, I had to give up art because doing art was hard and I couldn't give up my responsibilities to my family. Now I became a data center technician, living a regular life every day, embarking on the same path that I gave up when I faced the first major choice in my life in middle school. This is how life is, in the end it matures through compromise again and again. But I have never stopped thinking about art, and this will be the pro