"Oh, so you want to be a waitress?"

This is just one of the many negative responses I've encountered when I professed my decision to pursue an arts degree. Unfortunately, many artists don't receive adequate support when they decided to follow their passion.

While that reaction was from someone I wasn't close to at all, some artists are discouraged by their own friends and family. Film student Jamie Haug was once told by his family "You're going to make your life a living hell, but good for you for sticking with what you love."

When your loved one displays a desire to major in an art - or even enter straight into their artistic field - there are ways to validate their passion while still expressing any concerns you have.

"You won't be able to get a job or make any money."

This reaction is the most common concern-turned-soul-crusher. Creative Writing major Andrew Koss relates that his then-girlfriend's thoughts on his decision to go back to school for the arts was along these lines, "[She] said that it was a stupid idea to go back to school for writing, because I wouldn't be able to find any jobs and I wouldn't make any money doing it. We broke it off not too long after that." Fellow creative writer Rose Hutson was told the same, in not so many words: "I was told once I would just be a waste of money and space and that I would just end up homeless."

The art industry certainly is a difficult field to thrive in, and those who choose to go into it anyway are to be encouraged and applauded for their passion, rather than told that they can not and will not succeed.

Instead of focusing on the struggle your loved one may be facing in the professional world, congratulate them on their determination to overcome the obstacles ahead. Use leading questions to help them think about their plan for success. For example, "What specific role in your field will you be striving for? What are your steps to achieve this goal?"

Consider helping them research and plan for their future. What schools are the best to look at for their art of choice? Are there scholarships specific to their art that they would apply for? Are there internships they could shoot for? Where in their area are opportunities that cater to their artistic endeavors? What other jobs could they get that would support them as they work toward their artistic goals?

You could even accompany them to see school advisers, career counselors, and other field professionals that could help guide your artist. Your support could be vital in the event of unsavory advise, like the (frankly, very unprofessional) high school counselor of Film student Lyndsee Cantly, "[They] told me that it was a waste of time and then tried to replace my film class with environmental science."

But please don't stop being supportive of your artist even after they get their degree or have been working on their field for a while! "While I was in school, family and friends assumed the only field of work I could do with my major was teaching. After graduating, many people started asking when I was planning on getting a 'real degree' because there was no way I could live off my poetry. They thought it was some sort of cute pastime, or a 'phase'," poet Nicole Souverbielle recalls. Despite these words of discouragement, however, she doesn't feel particularly discouraged. "It's a fight I like going up against, though, because how many people can say they wrote a book?"

You love your artist, so of course you're going to worry about their well-being and future as they go forward in life. Be thankful that they have the passion and drive to pursue art, even in the face of people and a society who say that they can't make it. Be the support that your artist can look to for guidance and confidence.