We’ve made it, Class of 2017, here it is: senior year. This time can be equally exciting and terrifying. For many Collegiettes, senior year means it’s time to seriously think about the future and what it might entail.
Some of us have been ready for the post-grad life since freshman year. Others, not…so much. But Thanksgiving is right around the corner, which means everyone in your extended family will bombard you with questions.
“What’s your major again? Well, what are you going to do with that?”
For a humanities major, we tend to half-heartedly apologize for our decision to choose to study a humanity over something that earns a Bachelor of Science. But why? We’ve chosen our degrees for a reason. Usually, that choice begins with something we’re passionate about. For a humanities major, this often originates with reading, creating, or simply thinking critically. Why do we apologize for pursuing an education on what we love?
The flexibility of an overall liberal arts degree, while it may not always seem like it, may positively affect our future prospects. A degree with a clear, linear path often reassures and solidifies the future, but what’s so wrong about not having everything planned out? Can’t college be about pursuing what you love, finding people with similar interests, and learning from one another?
We shouldn’t be apologizing for choosing majors that others may view as useless. The reality is that they’re not: these degrees teach us more than just one particular academic subject, we gain comprehensive and applicable experiences. While we may not have calculus equations in our back pockets, we get to engage with the way literature, history, art, language, and intellectual thought contribute to the world. The best way to make the most out of our degrees starts with understanding the value they bring to us, as well as flexibility.
Remember your education is just that: yours, and no one else’s. Enjoy these undergraduate years while you can, and embrace the possibilities your future holds.