There comes a point in everybody's life where they have to make several decisions about what they want to do for their life's work. What are you going to do after high school? Will you go to college? Trade school? Maybe join the workforce? and so on. Everybody has lots of dreams and aspirations, and their own way in how they go about achieving them. Some people want to "play it safe" and enter a field that's financially "practical," while others are more concerned with happiness and self fulfillment, and choose a degree problem that suits their personal needs. I am the latter of the two, and I am most certainly not afraid to admit it.
Growing up, I wanted to be one of two things; Either a musician, or a writer. Music and writing have always been two things have always came natural to me, and I've always been one to embrace my creative side. I never was a good student, I was AWFUL at math and science, and I honestly felt like school was a waste of time. I always invested my time where my passions lie, and knew that I had to keep doing more of the same when It came to my life's work, so I decided that I wanted to major in music. When I told my parents, (who both have degrees in finance) they were surprisingly supportive. My mom told me that she knew that this is what I was best at, so that this is what I should pursue. My Dad simply told me that I needed to "do what I love." When I've told people that I'm a music major, most of them have been very supportive, which has never ceased to surprise me. However, I have also encountered more than a few people whose reactions weren't as nice. They'll either look at me funny, reply with something along the lines of "That's cool, but you know you have to make money right?" Or they'll flat out tell me that I will be broke for the rest of my life. To those people, I have some choice words for you, So Listen Up.
First of all, I'm sorry that you feel like you know me well enough to feel the need to dictate what I can or cannot study in college. Last time I checked, it's my families' money, and we are more than capable of deciding what to spend it on. Maybe you should ask yourself if your life is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT before you go judging others. It's not your money, so what say do you have in it? What does it matter to you? Also, college is a HUGE investment that only continues to become ever more expensive, so it's paramount that the money doesn't go to waste. If somebody is forced into studying something that they don't want to study, chances are they simply won't do the work because their heart is simply not into it. In my case, my english and music grades were way better in high school than my math and science grades. Most fields where money is are math and science oriented, so what sense does it make for me to go into business or engineering, waste thousands of dollars and then flunk out? Also, creative fields mean creative ways to make money. For example, in music, there's A LOT of ways to make money. Teaching, Performance, Composition, Merchandising, ETC.
We Liberal Arts majors understand that our field isn't "Practical." We understand that we aren't in demand in the same way that accountants or engineers are this day in age. We understand that we're not going to walk out of college with an $80,000 a year job lined up. But the truth is, we don't even need that much money to be happy. Choosing a Liberal Arts degree is truly a selfless thing because we are not in it for the money; We are in it because we have realized that happiness in life is far more important than the amount of zero's on a paycheck. Material possessions do not equate happiness; They can only amount to temporary self fulfillment, followed by a craving for more and more material wealth. It is truly a vicious circle.
It really angers me when the world looks down on artists, because society fails to realize time and time again that art is all around them. That song you heard on the radio the other day by the band you really like? Songwriters wrote the lyrics and the chord progression, and then it was recorded by the band, along with the help of a sound engineer. That book you really like? That story was written by an author who interprets the world in a whole different way than the reader does. That movie that did insane numbers in the box office? The plot, along with the dialogue was written out by script writers, and those lines in turn were acted out by actors, who were filmed by a camera crew. The truth is, art is constantly surrounding us. Humans consume it in one way or another on a daily basis without even giving it a thought. So next time you you go see that show you've been dying to see, or are waiting in line to get that book signed that you've been waiting for months to come out, I would think twice about criticizing people who pursue the arts as a career.
What would the world be without the arts? That is, a world without music, literature, movies, theatre, ETC. A world without writers, musicians, actors and so on would be a desolate wasteland. Humans would not be able to feel emotions the way we do, as I truly believe that all art forms are a form of empathy. Art allows the human race to interpret and understand our own emotions, as well as connect with the emotions of the lives around us. For nearly all artists, we would not be able to survive if we didn't spend our lives showing ourselves to the world. Yes, the world will always need engineers and business executives. Yes, the world will always need doctors and lawyers. But, the arts are every bit as fundamental to the progression of our society as these other fields. Thus, without the arts, the world would be vastly different. So if you're one to look down on people who enter a more creative career path, then please, never listen to a single song, watch another movie, or even read another book or article again.
