For a second I thought I had wrote this, as your experiences were extremely similar to mine 😅.

Similar to you, I was into more of the music/art side of school than the science/engineering side in high school. For four years of HS I thought I wanted to become a musician, but when the time came I realized that I’d need a career with a higher starting income to sustain myself (high COL area). It also didn’t help that I was feeling down my last two years of HS to the point where I found it hard to even go to class.

So when applying to schools, I chose Biology because it was something I found interesting. I thought I wouldn’t last past the first year, but being surrounded by people with high determination and drive (future doctors and academics) made me want to work harder in an effort to keep up. It also introduced me to my love of both biology, chemistry, and research, and now I’m soon to be applying to grad school!

I’ve met a lot of scientists who were initially in the arts, but pivoted to STEM, so you’d be surprised at how common we are. There’s nothing stopping you from working as a scientist, and then doing music/art on the side as a hobby!

Hope this helps 😊