It is often that Arts and Humanities majors receive a sour taste and the cringing of an expression in response to the field of study they have declared. Read on to hear my story and why I believe this world needs more students indulging themselves into the Arts and Humanities.
Every child has to answer the inevitable question: “what do you want to be when you grow up?”
For nearly the entirety of my life, I had an answer. “A writer,” I would say, “I want to write books.”
Ever since I entered college, I have struggled to keep that dream alive. I constantly find myself questioning whether it is worth the chase. I constantly compare my field of study to those that surround me. Do I want to make my childhood fantasy become a reality? Is this still the dream?
There are so few Arts and Humanities majors on my university’s campus that we are often referred to as a “rare breed.” As if that was not enough, I fear the moment at the beginning of every quarter where I have to introduce myself to the class and state my name, major, and future career goals. I always have to mentally prepare myself to disregard the fact that they are all thinking “you’ll be homeless and without a job.” It goes the same for talking to family and even complete strangers.
This problem affects nearly everyone who are Arts and Humanities majors instead of declaring a STEM major. Also, this is not a bias that is only rooted in a university setting, it is almost like a universal outlook. Throughout my entire life, I have had to justify my career goals with the statement, “I will be doing what I love.” To then say that that is enough for me while other people criticize and instead offer other ‘safer’ suggestions.
Everything has made me question whether I should pick a ‘safer’ route at one point or the other, but through it all, I have never stopped loving what I am studying. I didn’t pick a ‘safe route.’ I don’t want to become an Aerospace Engineer, or a Molecular Biology Researcher. I don’t want to be a Physicist and work for NASA. I’m sorry that my “unsafe” line of study does not fall under the STEM category.
I chose a passion, over security. I would rather write and document what is happening in the present day like appreciate humanity’s evolving culture, vernacular, political movements, and imagine whole new worlds that teach us about what steps to take next. Instead of research in a lab, I would rather read countless pages of our history to understand the sociological and psychological aspects of modern warfare or how laws have evolved under the influence of religion in Western countries.
Our culture does not want to appreciate the most influential writers throughout all of human history. They discourage young artists from chasing after their dreams. Our culture does not accept the Arts and Humanities major as a “safe route.” They would rather see less people dedicate their lives to these subjects.
I, for one, am exhausted of constantly having to justify my love for my work every time I meet someone. I am tired of having to fear the first day of classes. It is then, that I know I have to stand behind my dedication. This is a stigma that we, as a society, need to change. Instead of discouraging students from studying the Arts and Humanities we should be encouraging more people into these fields. The world needs more of them, more of us.
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