“What’s your major?”

Although I’ve answered this multiple times with the typical “undecided” response, I still get asked “What do you really want to do? You must have some idea?”

The thing is, I do have an idea. It’s just an idea that will  cause me to get “that look.”

“That look” in simple terms, is the disbelieving and completely apprehensive expression that passes almost everyone’s face when I say “Oh, I was thinking something along the lines of Journalism or Psychology.”

Frankly, their expression says all that needs to be said. Why choose a major like that when we’re in a society where we know which majors are the highest paying ones? We see constant encouragement towards STEM majors, but constant discouragement towards liberal arts majors.  

Personally, in high school the classes I’ve had the most growth in are my liberal arts classes. I love to write, and even though I’m a strong believer in making sure you have a backup plan, I also believe that if someone loves something to the point where they’ll work relentlessly they should go for it. In my honest opinion, I’ve grown more in classes like “Philosophy” and “Journalism” than classes that only offer me math equations.

Ms. Corson, an alumni of Duke University, also agrees with the fact that liberal arts majors aren’t something to shy away from.

She stated that “They have the same amount of hard work, and people make it seem like there aren’t jobs in those fields, when in fact there are. I always knew I wanted to major in English, and I pursued it. I always knew I wanted to be a teacher though.”

Even if you don’t want to be a teacher, there are still endless jobs you can get with a liberal arts major. If you’re still hesitant with the idea of just going liberal arts, you can always double major with business to broaden your field.

According to The Washington Post, “Science and technology are crucial components of this education, but so are English and Philosophy. America overcomes its disadvantage as-a less-technically-trained workforce- with other advantages such as creativity and critical thinking.”

Just think about it—creativity and critical thinking are needed in most jobs. People forget that not all jobs include using  a calculator and working in a small cubicle.
Someone’s major isn’t “easy” or “worthless” just because people think less of it. The truth is, all majors require tons of work. Without liberal arts majors, and majors in english and writing, there would be no textbooks for your STEM college courses.