In 2012, Forbes Magazine published an article called "The 10 Worst College Majors." The article lists the majors in order of starting median salary and unemployment rates for "full-time, full-year workers" right out of college.

The items on the list include anthropology, archaeology, English literature, philosophy and religious studies, and of course, all of the arts. All of them.

Forbes reached a conclusion during their research that, "While the arts may be good for the soul, artistic majors are terrible for the bank account." This is hardly a new conclusion, however. It's thousands of years down the development of human civilization, and if there is one irrefutable truth tempered by the winds of time, it's that artists have never had it easy. Ever.

In numerous schools across the nation, arts and even history and literature programs are being cut to make room for more practical, more financially rewarding STEM studies. In one sense, this push is inevitable due to our massive shift towards technology and knowledge-based employment (as Forbes indicates). But it also indicates a collective loss of cultural value towards those studies.

This drive towards mathematics, health, and technical studies -- especially in college -- is an excellent thing. Businesses will thrive, the economy will progress, and people (who study and work in those areas) will have jobs. But the loss is hidden under the successes of the STEM movement.

The loss is in the collective cultural creativity of the people. The importance of arts culture to the support of an individual's identity is huge, and tied much more strongly to the individual's functionality and holistic health than most would think.

Numerous studies indicate a connection between listening to and playing music to decrease stress, relieve depression, and even trigger healing processes in patients suffering from more severe chronic illnesses.

To apply this to common life, how many of us listen to music on a daily basis, just because it makes our daily routine a little happier? The benefits of music also apply to the visual arts and expression in dance and creative writing.

Culturally, we love these things. We all have friends who adore music and dance and writing in every way, shape. and form; however, many of them may not be studying those things full time simply because there is no way to make a living unless one is a child prodigy or an instant sensation.

Society has decided to reward people for other (still wholly valuable) endeavors, and (what little exists of) American culture and the individual is suffering for it.

However, there is hope.

There is a secret society of artists in the business world.

There are plenty of computer technicians, statistic professionals, and business-men-and-women who are secretly excellent writers and musicians, including my own parents.

That sounds a little far-fetched, but it is true. Though much of society has decided against supporting the arts, artists (like they've always done) refuse to bend and leave their passions dusted over in their parent's basement.

Artists choose the life of poorly-paying gigs, publishing-searches, endorsement hunting and teaching. They fight.

Forbes can tell us that Music, Photography, and Archaeology are some of the worst majors, but it doesn't change that stubborn outlook that has ensured the survival of culture through World Wars and STEM programs both.

So if you're facing the choice of which major to settle into, and you read that anthropology is a dying art, don't give in.

The arts hold the heart of every society: the human-ness. Our humanity. It's messy. It gets emotional and obsesses over ordinary things. And that's what makes it beautiful. A lot of the time, humanity is bad for business.

But don't give in.

Math may be taking over the world, but art can save it.