A few Saturdays ago, as with most students at Barrett, Arizona State University's honors college, I found myself stuck in the infamously long omelet station line. After briefly saving the spot for the woman in front of me, we struck up a conversation that moved from small talk to the big picture in a matter of minutes.
She's an electrical engineering major who just started school. I'm a junior in theatre and communication.
Both of our families felt strongly about the majors we chose, and both of us sought out ways to appease them in picking our majors. For me, that started by choosing a second major that didn't imply I would be doing nothing but waiting tables. For her, it meant diving into a lucrative, incredibly difficult, and questionably passionate field.
We talked about shows and artistic projects I've done at ASU and how friends and peers in STEM found their place in research.
We talked about how, even in my third year, I still doubt myself and the path I've been embarking on.
We also talked about the value of passion and the confusion you feel when you wonder if your major might not be for you.
Although I didn't necessarily have the answers then, and I still don't have them now, I think this issue is far too common and under-discussed.
There is a need to normalize changing your major, sometimes multiple times, and there is a need to normalize adding minors or concurrent degrees in fields we are passionate in. Even, and especially when, there are familial pressures to do something "worthwhile."
In light of the announcement that ASU is, for the fourth year running, number-one in innovation, I think there is also a need to normalize the fact that science and art do not exist in exclusivity. The two, in actuality, can elevate and improve each other in and out of the classroom.
The woman in front of me talked about being involved in music and art in high school, and I watched her eyes light up in a way that was incomparable to when she mentioned her first year engineering classes. I had to wonder how incorporating art or music into those concepts would make them more palatable for students.
It's no secret that the arts and humanities are systemically devalued and STEM degrees are placed upon a pedestal. But, it is also no secret that doing something that fulfills a deeper part of you is worth more than any salary. This doesn't mean you have to switch degree programs, but rather, stay open to the ways that what you're doing now and what you love can intersect.
Scientists can dance, artists can code, and everyone in between can reach into both divisions of study.
Rather than deepening the divide between these two focuses, if we sought out interdisciplinary work and attempted to build bridges between the schools of thought we could begin to innovate both fields in a lasting way.
It's OK to not like your major, and even more OK to change it. But if you have ideas on how what you love can impact what you do, I think pursuing that synthesis of study could be more fruitful than any major map.
