Is This Your Dream Job—Or Just a Fantasy? One Way to Find Out

Have you ever been drawn to something so strongly that you thought, Maybe this is what I’m meant to do?

Maybe it’s a creative pursuit you’ve always loved, a skill you’ve been praised for, or a field that has fascinated you since childhood. But how do you know if it’s a true calling or just a passing interest?

Many of us romanticise careers without fully understanding the reality of what they entail. The only way to be sure? Test it out. That’s exactly what I did when I thought I wanted to be an animator—and what I learned surprised me.

Andy’s Animation Story

Is It a Passion or Just a Passing Interest?

I’d always dreamt of being an animator. As a kid, I was lucky enough to visit Disney World a few times, and I remember watching the animators bring characters to life. I still have a vivid memory of seeing a little bear running around on a screen while they were making Brother Bear. The way they captured emotions and built entire worlds with just pencil and paper fascinated me.

It wasn’t just that animation seemed magical—I was also good at drawing. I spent hours sketching my favourite characters: Mickey, Simba, the Rugrats crew. But there’s a difference between admiring something and actually doing it. Even as I obsessed over Disney films, I saw being an animator as a dream that was too far away.

One of Andy’s many childhood Mickey drawings.

Fast forward to life after University. I was at that crossroads—where anything felt possible, yet nothing felt certain.

That in-between space where you ask yourself: What now?

Then I met two people who were into animation, and just like that, it clicked. I want to do that. I’ve always wanted to be an animator. So, being the kind of person who dives in headfirst, I borrowed a book called something like How to Be an Animator and called up a filmmaker friend for help.

Reality Check

The first tutorial in the book was simple: animate a penny bouncing. The idea was to take hundreds of photos of a 1p coin, each one just millimeters apart, and then play them in sequence to create movement.

So we did it. We set up a desk lamp, planned our shots, and took a couple hundred pictures. And there it was—our first animation. A three-second clip of a bouncing penny.

I must have watched it on repeat, amazed at what we’d made. But then I looked at the bigger picture. It took us six hours to create three seconds of animation. I scaled that up in my head, imagining the work it would take to make an entire film. And that’s when it hit me—while I loved animated movies, loved drawing, loved the idea of animation—I didn’t love the process. The painstaking detail. The hours upon hours of meticulous work.

By the end of just one day of filming, I wasn’t excited. I was bored.

The Lesson That Stuck With Me

So, to no one’s surprise but my own, I let the dream of being an animator go.

But here’s what I learned: there’s a huge difference between romanticising something and actually doing it for your living. All day, every day. And the only way to figure out if something is right for you is to try it.

If there’s something you’ve always wanted to do, find a way to test it out. It doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming—just enough to give you a taste of the reality behind the dream.

You might fall in love with it and discover your life’s calling. Or, like me, you might realize it’s not for you—and that’s okay too. Either way, it’s not wasted time. It’s one step closer to understanding yourself, your passions, and where your skills truly fit.

So go ahead, try things. Be ready to change your mind.

And if you’re curious—here’s that bouncing penny video 😂😂😂