A lot of us aren’t the best at math or science and simply prefer to immerse ourselves in activities that are more hands-on and require our imagination. In college you meet plenty of people like this and you sort of start to realize that you like them more than almost any other friend you’ve made growing up, all throughout elementary school, middle school, and sometimes even high school. It’s almost like you regret not being in reach of these personality types sooner, even though that’s not your fault.
But there’s a reason why they treat you differently and perhaps better than some of the other characters you’ve been surrounded by all your life. Maybe you were always submerged in an environment full of overzealous, science-y people, which is great, but not the most compatible fit if you’re looking to relate and find similar interests. It is true that opposites attract, but if you’re not super competitive like the majority of STEM majors, it can be a total nuisance to feel as though you’re not among of a crowd of your own.
Speaking of which, there’s this rumor that liberal arts people lack the same ambition and resolve as their so-called “rivals”.
Oh God no, that’s where you’re wrong. I may not have the same dreams and goals as you, but best believe I am equally as motivated and just as adept at being equally as competent and qualified in whatever it is I choose to do with my life, even if that differs from what you choose to do with yours. And don’t get it twisted, if someone tries to question my intellect, I will definitely exhibit the exact if not bigger drive to prove them wrong as you. My passions and hobbies have absolutely nothing to do with how smart I am.
If I love something, I have a better chance of being good at it. If I am good at it, I can make a living out of it. If I can make a living out of it, I’m doing my very best to succeed and sustain myself. If I’m doing my best, I’m clearly not as lazy as you discredit me as.
But not only are we just as driven, I also have proof that people that are drawn to the arts make for amazing friends and lovers.
In the Bustle article “15 Reasons Why Creative People Are The Best And Hardest People To Love”, Brianna Wiest pretty much encapsulates the gist of our existence as those “at the apex of romantic human types” and “intuitive”, “aesthetically aware”, “mindful”, and “soft” individuals in the most precise way possible.
Even if we are a little all over the place and do tend to daydream or live in our own little worlds half of the time and might require random solitude, that doesn’t mean we’re not just as capable and deserving of love. We’re still some of the most passionate, affectionate, sensitive, hopelessly romantic, and intelligent people you will ever come across—what more could you ask for? We have a lot to bring to the table, trust me.
Might I add we’re incredibly gifted. From painters to dancers to band members to writers to songwriters to singers to musicians and everything in between, we have so many talents. And with us you’ll have some of the deepest, most profound conversations you will ever have in life. You’ll never get bored or tired of us because we know how to have a good time and spice things up when push comes to shove in order to keep the relationship or bond alive and exciting.
We’re tremendously in tune with our emotions, and sometimes that can be a bad thing because we’re either really happy or just really sad seldom with room for solely contentedness, but for the most part it’s always exhilarating with us – despite it being an emotional rollercoaster – because we feel and want to feel anything and everything, especially with someone or something else, whether it is a person, place, thing, etc. As Wiest points out, our intrinsic softness and pure vulnerability can also often lead to trust issues as partners and companions, but being as “inherently guarded” as we are, you can be certain we won’t hurt you because we’re already too busy freaking out writing poems about how afraid we are you’re going to hurt us. No, it won’t be easy being with us, but it’ll be worth it.
Like Wiest also tells us, we may be excessively analytical and easily dissatisfied and exaggeratedly dramatic, but we “see and feel things bigger than most” so we’ll always keep you reeled in and wanting more of our antics.
It has even been proven that creatives are generally just chemically and psychologically inclined to distribute positive emotions and sensations. As Courtney Carver found in a study written about by the Scientific American, “… creativity—not intelligence or overall openness—decreased mortality risk. One possible reason creativity is protective of health is because it draws on a variety of neural networks within the brain,” in turn reducing anxiety/stress and enriching the quality of life. Creative people will literally help you live longer by bringing you just that much joy.
It is important that we bring back and try to institute more liberal arts programs, not just in colleges and universities, but particularly in high schools and lower grade levels. We are aware that the sciences are crucial and necessary, but so is putting a halt to budget cuts on the arts. All aspects of an education are essential, not just one or a couple or some over the other(s)—all of them. We need more electives and extracurricular activities that are inclusive and take this into consideration. I remember being in high school being offered almost no electives because apparently they weren’t that important, not to mention I attended an inner-city “writing” school. This still haunts me, and I want something to be done.
But I want the world to first be more appreciative of our place and importance as creative geniuses, because if not for us there would not be a myriad of things we have today, just as there would not if not for the scientific geniuses. The point isn’t to put anybody down or disrepute anyone… it’s not a competition; the point is to demonstrate that the scientists need the artists, the artists need the scientists. It is a mutually exclusive relationship. Both are needed to create and innovate. We are nothing without the other. We need both. And we can obtain this.
It’s just like Dr. Loretta Jackson-Hayes writes in “We don’t need more STEM majors. We need more STEM majors with liberal arts training” for The Washington Post, “the ability to draw from other disciplines produces better scientists”; she also emphasizes the advantage of writing ability that students have as scientists trained in the humanities and social sciences, as she urges us to grow both fields “aggressively” and particularly ensure that they have an “all-important grounding in the liberal arts”. As it turns out, both are very much attainable indeed.
Willard Dix of Forbes phrases it well:
The "hard" sciences are ways of seeing the world and trying to understand how it works just as much as psychology or political science are. A good liberal arts curriculum puts students in touch not just with ways of interpreting the world around us but also with the fact that the world can be "interpreted" in the first place. Ultimately, it tries to help us understand our place in it and our relationships with each other.
A liberal arts education can be very frustrating. It forces students to see multiple viewpoints and continually challenge their own. It removes the comfort of assuming there are "right" answers to big questions, that civilization moves in a linear fashion or that facts are facts no matter who looks at them. But it also introduces students to the pleasures of debate and the ever-expanding world of ideas. It opens doors, enabling the mind to go wherever it wants in the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. It bends toward openness instead of containment.
In times of great division, the capacity to see others' viewpoints and the imperative to assess one's own become more and more important. A liberal arts education works for us, no matter what our political leanings are. We need it now more than ever.
This is why we need to give the young creative minds of our generation and generations to come the opportunity to flourish and expand beyond their horizons, instead of telling them that what they are interested in and passionate about is irrelevant and does not matter. As a result, it not only benefits them and the people around them, but it also has the potential to transform the world by altering the way we think for the better and shaping society as a whole. We need to at least give them a chance to see what they can do and who they can be because they really do have just that much potential. We owe them that much, for the sake of their futures and ours.
