A few weeks ago, I stood in line to get a sandwich from the food court at the mall. As can happen, an individual standing in line with me noticed that I was wearing a UNC sweatshirt. He became excited and said he loved the school, and then he proceeded to ask what I was studying. I responded that, as of now, my majors were Journalism and Psychology.
I wish I could re-create his face for you all, but the closest I can get is this:
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He was absolutely disgusted with my answer, to say the least. All too quickly his approachable manner turned standoffish. The stranger managed to haughtily chuckle and grumble, "Good luck," before turning to order his food. If this was his reaction at my double major, I can imagine he'd projectile vomit if he learned I dropped my Psychology major a couple weeks later, thus eliminating any semblance of science from my core studies.
Now, I'm a Journalism-PR major with minors in Writing for the Screen and Stage and PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics). For once I feel the areas suit me, at least much more so than the pre-Nursing major first semester freshman year. My aspirations and degree, however, are often difficult to explain to passersby.
Liberal arts majors and others majoring outside the STEM concentration are often subject to a great amount of scrutiny from their peers. Why exactly are you studying that? What do you plan to do with your degree after graduation? Were the other courses too difficult for you?
More often than not, I just want to reply, “I'M SORRY I WON'T EVER BE A DOCTOR!" I feel that this response cuts to the chase and would remedy the disappointment felt by various family members or former instructors.
That being said, however, I don't think anyone would want me to be his or her physician or nurse. I lose my wallet bi-weekly, and I daydream at least two hours of the day. I don't even like when I have to use a ruler, so I don't think I'd be keen on taking blood pressure or making any sort of medically important measurements.
It's just not me. I've accepted that now, although it's taken me about two years. The direction never felt quite right, and the day I decided not to force it anymore I felt an incredible relief. Now I'm excited about the prospects of going to class and studying communicative strategy, as well as geeking out in my minor courses talking about TV shows or philosophy.
Perhaps people seem concerned when I tell them my major because of the ambiguous path that I face. PR doesn't offer an outlined highway, as there are various directions one can turn. In the general sense, many think that technical degree = money = security = happiness. This logic seems sound, but I don't think any individual is summed up by the words printed on that diploma. What also matters is the amount of hard work, passion and commitment the graduate is willing to put towards what they want in life.
We need doctors, engineers and chemists. We need computer programmers, physicists and mathematicians. Of course we do. But we also need lawyers, entrepreneurs and teachers. Writers, chefs and poets. These degrees may be labelled less "technical" in nature but never make for a lesser person, and I wouldn't want to live in a world without the combination of many unique minds.
