The debate of does it matter if someone is a “nepobaby” or not always ends up with it being shrugged off, because the person being asked is usually a Nepobaby or has one. And, while no one is saying that those people shouldn’t be able to work in their parent’s fields, or get to be artists, as the world becomes increasingly more expensive, the ability for the average person to have access to art and the arts has become even harder.

When I was a kid, I would try things out, but I almost always ended up quitting because I knew two things: money would be an issue, and it would cause issues with my parents. My parents divorced when I was three, Mom was usually working every moment she could to make sure she could afford things for me and my sister, and I never knew if I was going to have to spend the weekend at my dad’s or not which meant planning lessons or joining clubs was difficult. It wasn’t until I was older and my mom had full custody that I was able to really do things, and even then, I went with things that I knew wouldn’t cost money.

Things like Show Choir had travel and competition costs associated with them, same for anything sports related (not that I was really a sports girl). Barriers like that make it hard to try and get into things in school, and there’s less chance kids will find the arts on their own if they aren’t participating in them from there.

I lucked out, because I had two passions that were easily done alone: art, and writing. But it wasn’t until I was in my 30s where I had the confidence to finally get my English degree, and I could only afford it through Pell grants for my learning disability and student loans, putting me in debt for a job that I might not even have the chance to do fulltime professionally. Writing.

What’s more, I live in an art desert. There’s one art museum in the city I live in, and two newspapers, zero magazines, and a very small local news and radio station. All of which have people that have worked there a long time and there’s a slim chance a job will open up there when I graduate.

Meaning if I wanted to work in my field, I would have to move. And since writing is considered entertainment, it would probably either be California for screenwriting or New York. So, already I have financial and location aspects.

Now, the internet has made it a little easier to try and get access to jobs remotely, but then there’s the added issue that I’m 36 and have a learning disability as well as chronic health issues that have an added burden, especially when it comes to looking for a job.

All of that to say, when people say nepobabies have access, they are talking about financial access, and connections. Someone is much more likely to hire you if they know that you are so and so’s son compared to if you are someone random from the middle of nowhere who has no track record in the industry. Whereas with nepobabies, they genuinely think that talent can be passed down and its some kind of god given right, but simply because your parents are actors or musicians, does not mean you have the same talent as them.

Talent comes from experience and training. And while I might end up with the bachelors degree, trying to get experience will be more difficult for someone like me, with no money, and no connections to the industry.

Hollywood used to be a place of people who worked six jobs before they got their big break. Midwestern kids would come there from the middle of nowhere and get their start. Now, while there is social media, to achieve the kind of success that creates generational wealth, you have to already have prerequisites.

A famous name attached, and a famous bloodline, it seems. And this isn’t only Hollywood. Gone seem to be the days of the person who lived on $1 hot dogs from the gas station before they made it big as a famous artist. Art is no longer about people doing what they love and getting ahead, rather it has become another feast for the rich while we’re all forced to watch them from afar with no chance of getting in.