When I decided to become a sociology major, I never thought I would have to defend my choice of study to other people. Of course, I’m not always on the defense, but the unwanted feedback I have received from people throughout the past two years has taught me so much about myself.
This summer, I was constantly asked about my future career plans. Customers at my job would ask me where I went to school and when I would say, “TCNJ,” they would smile but when I explained I was a sociology major, some would ask me, “What can you even do with that?” or “Can you even find a job with a humanities degree?”. Not only were these comments completely unnecessary, they really made me rethink about what I wanted to do in the future.
Of course, they didn’t know I had already been struggling with picking a major or finding something within Sociology that I was passionate about, but it really irked me that they didn’t think their questions would have an effect on me or that it really wasn’t their place to give me advice unless I asked for it.
I am not the only person that feels this way about comments made against their major. I know many people who have been bombarded with unwanted advice given to them by not only adults, but classmates too. At TCNJ and other schools alike, all majors are challenging and all deserve praise. Our coursework is equally as difficult, it just may be difficult in different ways or activities. We should not be telling each other that one major is easier than another or that people in certain majors work harder than others.
So collegiettes, I ask that we work to stop shaming the majors of our fellow classmates and work on helping each other advance in the fields that we want to pursue. We should also work on defending ourselves against the unnecessary comments we might face. We all deserve the opportunity to excel in what we want in life, and we should not feel restricted by those who do not understand what we are aiming for. If you are passionate about your major, do not let small comments change the path you want to take. Stand up for yourself and show people that you can and will be successful with whatever you choose to do.