Charlize | Week 16 | Transmigrating Into Another World Where I Don't Have To Be Sorry For Being a Liberal Arts Major
is the title of a novel that has buried itself between my brain folds. Don’t bother searching it up or anything; I’ve never read this novel, nor do I plan on doing so. 500 chapters of power fantasy slop doesn’t sound too great. Yet, no matter how far I scroll down the list, I can’t escape the stupid title.
The all too familiar joke where a liberal arts degree lands you a barista job at a coffee shop; a “useless” degree. Can’t make money from a liberal arts education, can’t find a job with a liberal arts degree.
Yet, while talking with my friends, probably complaining about some class, I find the need to drop the banger line. Hey _____, don’t you just wish sometimes that you could just transmigrate into another world where you don’t have to be sorry for being a liberal arts major? Yeah man, me too.
The title is fraught with shame, yet it’s surprisingly endearing to me. It’s not disgraceful, can’t be, because I haven’t gone down that path (nor had any plans to do so in the first place…). Even though the liberal arts does include the natural and physical sciences, it’s become synonymous with the humanities, which I’ve definitely dreamed about pursuing instead. But that reason isn’t quite right either.
It’s more like
what if I could just
transmigrate! into another world! where I don’t have to be sorry! for choosing what I want to do!!!!!
A wonderful little fantasy to ponder about. Is that too selfish?
Maybe what I’m doing is more selfish. Not wanting to let down my parents, who have told me over and over again, that they’re fine with anything I’m choosing to do, but that doesn’t feel true, and I’ll never be able to get a straight answer. Wanting a future I can be a little more sure about, because those jobless stereotypes about certain degrees seem too real of a possibility. Not wanting to regret my decision, if it does come crashing down on me later on.
I’m a coward. Too indecisive, too scared of everything.
What would I do then? I don't know, but what I do know is: I don’t think I would’ve gone with STEM. I don’t think I would’ve had any plans to stay in the States.
I sure wouldn’t have taken half the classes I am now.
Not that I hate everything right now. It’s just that all those come with far more risks than I’m willing to accept, despite not being the most appealing path for me. Thinking about the past few years, it seems like I’ve wasted my time doing so many things that don’t matter to me and probably won’t matter in the long run.
The title probably won’t ever stop haunting me. Reminding of what the future could be—it’s always the what ifs.
Maybe I do regret everything.
Hi Charlize, before I go into your blog I just wanted to start off by saying thank you for writing some of the most entertaining blogs week after week throughout this semester. I thoroughly enjoyed reading each of your blogs, the way in which you approached writing them was truly fascinating. In regards to your blog this week, while I can’t personally relate to the epiphany you described throughout your blog, my neighbor who just completed his first year in college is going through something very similar. It’s a really difficult thing balancing and managing expectations of those around you and still finding time and space to do what you really want to do. Regret is a powerful thing, it exists in the past, the present, and somehow even in the future. You know on the bright side, all the shows I’ve watched tell me one thing, it’s important to be self aware and it seems that you are very self aware with what you want and where you are and what your future could be. Maybe that's the first step in doing what you want to do. Out of curiosity, why don’t you want to stay in states other than the obvious reasons of where the state of our government and leadership is right now lol. I think that you are being too hard on yourself because it takes a lot of courage to admit these things about your interests even with the pressures you have, if anything that is the opposite of cowardice. I wish liberal arts degrees and humanities studies paid as much as STEM careers. They seem so interesting and more importantly, freeing. The independence that people possess in those fields is just amazing and their lives seem so freeing and fulfilling at the same time.
ReplyDeleteHello, Charlize! First off, I love the formatting of your blog this week. I don’t know what specifically about it makes me love it, but your blog just feels more dynamic, more expressive. Yeah. It’s the uneven spacing, the seemingly random new lines, the way your title flows into your blog. It really helps get your point across.
ReplyDeleteAfter spending a whole year in APENG, I’ve kinda realized something. Sure, there’s going to be stereotypes about liberal arts majors not making money. But it’s fun being creative, no? Then who cares about convention? You don’t need to abandon everything in the pursuit of STEM; you can still be creative!
Life is too short to be filled with worries. In a couple of years, we’ll be free of expectation, free of the worries that plague us now. There will be new worries to plague us, but nobody is going to care about what you do with yourself. So, make the most of your experiences! You don’t have to be broke and appreciate liberal arts. Find something to make money! You could juggle STEM and the arts. Go fully STEM, and be creative as a hobby! Switch fully to art! You are in control of your future, and if you have regrets, only you can solve them.
Hi, Charlize. I loved reading this blog! I can relate to the conflict between passion and responsibilities, as I’m sure many other people at this school can. I think the stigma around certain things, like liberal arts majors, is cultural and a facade. While there is some truth about liberal arts majors having a hard time getting jobs after college, in recent years, people from all majors have had struggles too. I do agree that STEM majors have it easier in terms of demand and structure, though I don’t think that should dissuade anyone from wanting to go into liberal arts, humanities, or any other field. I think that the whole conundrum is that you probably won’t be able to succeed, at least emotionally, in a STEM field if you don’t have a passion for it. So, the same way some might say you can’t succeed with a liberal arts degree, you probably won’t succeed emotionally with a STEM degree. I guess either way, it would be better to follow your passions and goals as, after all, it is YOUR life. Though I’m sure you already know all of this and have thought these thoughts a million times. It’s easier said than done. I feel like we are in such a volatile time in our lives filled with big decisions where everything seems so important and unstable. Well, I guess the only real thing we can do is wait out the storm and enjoy what we can. I have absolutely loved reading your writing this year and very much enjoyed your story presentation today. I admire how creative you are and hope I can read some more next year too!
ReplyDeleteLiberal arts degrees are indeed often looked down upon. I think it’s mainly because art as a subject cannot be objectively graded. Great artists usually came from unknown backgrounds, and art is a thing that could be pursued as a hobby outside of academics. Likely the stigma around arts majors stems from the fact that pursuing art as a career is highly unstable, and that art is often seen as more of a side hobby than a work you pursue full time.
ReplyDeleteYou can be called lucky because of the fact that your parents are supportive of you regardless of what you choose, but it is true that being told that comes with its own sort of issues. The indecision of not knowing what you want, fear of your parents secretly judging you, of there being a hidden right answer that no one told you about.
What ifs are the questions that haunt you forever, but in all honesty, being hung up on possibilities often blinds people from seeing what can be done in the now. It may be overstated and common advice, but it is true that it is better to not dwell on what could have been and to instead focus on what can be. Let regret and haunting memories push you to be more adventurous, more daring, and to chase after what you want in the future instead of allowing it to pass by out of fear.
I have always enjoyed your blogs Charlize! I hope that I see you in Lit next year. As someone whos parents want their liberal arts daughter to go into economics I totally relate to your sentiment. I am already terrified for the dinner table arguments over my major in a couple of months. I think it’s hard for humanities students in this day and age. Literally everything in this world (especially in the Bay Area) is being given to science and tech students. People don’t realize how integral the humanities are to tech and science. I mean where do people think HIPA came from, or psychiatry? As senior year approaches, I hope that we both are able to study what we want in the future with the support of our parents.
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