You should definitely pursue what you love most, but by being practical you can avoid a lot of the obstacles that are bound to pop up when you take up this purs

You should definitely pursue what you love most, but by being practical you can avoid a lot of the obstacles that are bound to pop up when you take up this pursuit. I think you should stick with the programming, get a day job as a programmer, and try to pursue the arts (acting, painting, sculpting, whatever you like most) in your spare time. Maybe join a part time theater group or make paintings in your spare time and show them off on the Web or elsewhere. By taking this route you make sure you have enough to pay the bills. Then maybe some day you'll make enough from your artistic pursuits to quit your day job and pursue the secondary career full time. At that point it'd probably be much easier to break it to your parents. And I don't think you should make any impulsive moves, because what you love today, you might get bored with in a few years. Who knows, maybe in 5 years you'll love programming more, or you'll develop a taste for architecture, or you'll want to be a doctor. Or you may end up being a career artist. In any event you should follow your dreams... but minimize risk as much as possible by using a practical strategy.