Thoughts of an Artist

It's easy to make me fall, but it's nearly impossible to keep me from getting up.
 (Thinking about dating)

When I do art I think about so many things...everything I've ever learned has been thought about while doing art. In fact, today I was thinking about things relating to Geometry, Calculus, History, Literature, Psychology, and Science/Astronomy (to name a few subjects I distinctly recall thinking about)...

Thinking of all these things, I remembered something someone said to me. They asked what my class rank in High School was, and I was ranked around 8 or 10 at the time. I remember they then asked what I want to do in life. Of course, I said I want to study to become an artist. Their response to that was, "What a waste."

I don't remember what they meant by that...for all I know now, they could have been joking or teasing me. The thing is, though, I remember it being said.

One thing I think about a lot: responses to hypothetical situations. If that statement were to be made again, purposefully and literally, what could I say in response? I could certainly curse at them and be rude, but that's not in my nature. In fact, naturally I would ignore the comment and remember it later (as I have done)... but if I really wanted to defend my self, this is what I'd like to be able to tell anyone with that thought:

First, I'm sad that anyone would think so. I personally feel that expression of a creative mind is never a waste; truthfully, the opposite seems much more wasteful to me.
If that doesn't make sense to you, then we simply have contrasting opinions and ideas and I need not explain further...but if you can understand that, even if you disagree, then consider what one depicts when they choose the way of expression. Thoughts, feelings and understanding of that individual all have a place in whatever is created. Now, the stereotype may be that artists get bad grades and don't care to learn (I know a good number of artists just like that, some unable to learn as well), but many of them still make wonderful and beautiful artwork. So, imagine someone capable of learning and excited to gain more knowledge wishes to be an artist. Even if that person is not good at translating thoughts and ideas to visual media at first, the possibilities only increase as that skill is guided, practiced and perfected.
If someone with a wide capacity for knowledge, understanding and ideas has the possibility to change the world with art, versus never expressing such a wealth, where is the waste in learning the art of expression?

I wonder who it was that originally made that statement...should I ask that? The truth is that it doesn't actually matter who it was or if the question was ever asked to me by anyone else. Maybe that memory was simply a hypothetical situation I decided to explore, maybe it never happened...

...but that statement has been made to me, and I remember now one person who definitely said it and why. It was to discourage me, to make me feel like what I was doing and what I wanted to do were not worthwhile, and to ultimately make me give up art for something I would have less happiness in. That person, with such horrible intention...was me.

For me there is nothing in this world more worth my everything than Art.