Picture this: An 18-year-old John or Jane has just graduated high school. What an exciting time! Finally, high school is being left behind and replaced by a world of opportunities. The entire family drives or flies in for graduation, the party is a huge hit, and everyone is asking about the future. John/Jane is so excited to announce that their future is in theatre or music or art!—but no one else feels that way.

“A future in the arts? How are you supposed to get a job with that?”

“Is music/art/theatre really a career?”

“Have fun waiting tables for the rest of your life.”

The arts are some of the most difficult careers one can choose to pursue, not only because finding a job can be difficult, but also because—despite what everyone else thinks—the classes are hard. In music, you can’t just read a book called “How to Play Piano” and expect to pass; you have to practice outside of class as well. In the visual arts, uncreative days don’t give you a valid excuse to miss class, no matter how little creative juices your brain is giving you. In theatre, you can’t memorize facts, you have to memorize scenes and learn how to play well! There’s so much more to the arts than just “messing around all day”.

There’s a certain stigma that seems to go along with every student who goes into the arts: they’re lazy, they don’t want a real job, they’re not realistic about their future, etc., but the truth is that they just couldn’t imagine themselves going into anything else. The arts are their passions. They want to succeed in theatre or art or music the same way pre-med students want to succeed in medicine. They’re just as passionate as our future lawyers or teachers or CEOs. They have dreams, and people telling them that they’re stupid for pursuing them won’t suddenly give them a new dream.

The arts are important, and without people going to school for the arts, we wouldn’t have some of the most amazing forms of entertainment everyone appreciates. Without music majors, a lot of people wouldn’t have their favorite songs to listen to. Without art majors, who would create the art you place in your home to impress guests? Without theatre majors, there would be no Friday night movies or plays to go out to see. We need the arts, and it’s a major that’s underappreciated even though it’s so relevant in most people’s lives. There are so many different forms of art; it’s everywhere. Discouraging people to major in what they love only hurts everyone in the end.

So the next time you meet someone whose major is in the arts, try supporting them. Ask them what they’re currently working on, ask them what got them interested in their field, and most importantly, encourage them to continue with it. They need the arts in their lives and so do you.