The stigma that surrounds the idea of failure associated with majoring in liberal arts isn't unheard of in this day and age, especially with career opportunities in STEM fields becoming a presidential priority across the country. It's imperative for us as humans to ponder the idea that without liberal arts, our society would not be as complex, intrinsically motivated, or as critically thoughtful as we could be at peak levels of performance and communication with one another. With that being said, what is our world without the beauty of liberal arts?

Without a liberal arts education, we would not have the ability to understand and embrace different cultures and faiths that surround us with anthropology. Without liberal arts education, we would not be able to fathom the complexities of our own minds with psychology, sociology, and intrapersonal communication. Without liberal arts education, we would not have the ability to evaluate and form new thoughts about hot button topics that our society faces through philosophy, argumentation, and debate. If we devalued liberal arts education entirely, we lose all color that fills this world; we would have no more artists, no more musicians, no more fornicators, no more teachers, no more entertainment, and overall, no more passion that fills us to live civically, curiously, and humanely.

Attending Eastern Michigan University for the past four and a half years, the Communication, Media, and Theatre Arts department has had a major hand in a lot of students; social and academic development; personally, this home has assisted in molding me into the woman and creator that I've aspired to be since childhood. Furthermore, spending as much time as I have in the Quirk theatre building has opened up a world of opportunities and fulfillment that I and many others around me may not have been able to achieve otherwise. Because of the impact of passionate professors who have gone through the same struggles that many liberal art students are currently facing, I have a better grasp on the importance of degrees like mine and how to use the tools that come with it to help the world.

Majoring in Communication, I've learned not only about the art of interaction, but I've had the opportunity to experiment with techniques of persuasion, interpretive performance, public speaking, and rhetoric. Because of this field, students in this niche have an expanded view of the world in which we live and have the tools that have the ability to connect themselves with people from many walks of life that are different from their own. That, in and of itself, is one of the biggest values of a liberal arts education--it opens one's mind to otherworldly views and encourages us to breathe new concepts that are innovative and revolutionary.

Precision in science, mathematics, and technology are important values that help define the world in a clear and concise manner--however, the intricacies and excitement of the subjectivity of life are just as important to explore for means of bettering humanity and nature alike. Liberal arts degrees are valuable in the sense that not only gives us the power to delve deeper into these topics of the humanistic experience, but it overall enriches our everyday being with a wealth of creative knowledge.