General education requirements in college are often labeled by the students as unnecessary, boring, or a waste of time. And in the world we live in today, one where we constantly feel the push to become successful, this makes sense. We exist in a very time-crunched world. We take college courses in high school in hope of cutting down our time in college so that we can get out in to the “real world” as soon as possible.

So, for quite a while, I also held that mindset. General education requirements, quite frankly, pissed me off. Why should I, a psychology major, be forced to take a laboratory science class in something I’m not studying? I felt it was just another stupid box to check off on my way to getting a degree. And to some extent, I still see it that way, but now I understand why I need to check it off.

I am at a university, not a technical school - I am, arguably, in my last environment where education is the primary goal. I am in a concentrated area of people with Ph.D.’s - people who are experts in their field. And with the mindset of getting in, getting what I want, and getting out, I am missing out on the possibility of so much more.

So, general education requirements, I defend you. Sure, a physics class may never, ever be of use to me when I want to help a future client of mine, but what it will give me is just as valuable. It will give me knowledge on a subject I would never have touched if I hadn’t gone to college.

Most of us college students are paying way more money than we actually have to go school for four more years. If anything, the general education requirements are making the money we spend worth it. They’re not just churning out degrees for people, they’re attempting to make a better-rounded population: A population of informed individuals who are not only educated in their field, but who can hold conversations on multiple subjects. A population of people who are aware of the world they live in and can take part in it.

I am thankful that my school requires a myriad of classes to be taken by every student who comes through here. One freshman-year required class was a mix of a philosophy and English course. I had no interest in taking a class in either of those departments, but without those classes, I would not have the breadth of knowledge I have now. I would not know how to properly talk about philosophical ideas, or even how to write a proper research paper.

I am in college to learn, and thanks to general education requirements, I will learn about a lot. I will learn about physics and biology and art and other cultures and religions. So, when I graduate with my degree in psychology, I know that I am graduating with so much more.