We have all been there. When you are applying for college, you are suddenly pressured to label yourself with a career field for the rest of your life. While there is still the option to begin college undecided, you only have two measly years before you are forced to declare. Why is this? There are so many things I am interested in studying and learning at a higher degree and there are endless opportunities, so why should I have to narrow myself down to just one field?
It has long been seen that college is a place where you fine tune a specific career path or field of study. Just one. Maybe two if you double major or have a minor. We are a society that specializes, not diversifies. Now when did it become arbitrary to be well-rounded? Whether you label it as a jack of all trades, Renaissance man/woman, or a polymath, it is someone who is skilled in many areas.
When you look back in time, so many famous people took interest in several areas. Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were a couple of the men who the term Renaissance man was coined for. Not only artists and engineers, but also a scientist and poets respectively, these two had great knowledge in many areas. Beyond them, there are Aristotle, Benjamin Franklin, Isaac Newton, Sir Winston Churchill, and Clint Eastwood. Although it’s more difficult to find recognized female polymaths, there are Queen Margrethe of Denmark, Maya Angelou, and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Why is knowledge in many areas a thing to be deterred? It seems only natural to me to encourage the route of a polymath.