This may just be because I love my school, my professors, and (most) of my classes, but I love my liberal arts education.

And I understand that I may have a bias in the situation, but I also think that I am justified in feeling the way that I do about my school and the education that I am receiving.

I suppose I can blame my parents in this too a little, because it was an article concerning parents who take too active a role in their children's lives that made me think about my education like this in the first place.

The Washington Post published an article recently about choice of major, parents vetoing certain non-"moneymaking" choices of major by their children, and the stigma about how liberal arts majors do not pay off in the long run. The author of the work, Steven Pearlstein, made some great points about the virtues of an education even in a field like English or History, and of pursuing a major that one truly enjoys. I will attach the link here.

I liked this article a lot, but I also have some of my own thoughts to offer on the matter.

As an English major and political science minor, I have certainly fallen "victim" to the allure of the frivolous soft science and/or liberal arts degree. But I have loved every second of studying it and appreciate my being able to do so, or somewhat "forced" to do so.

Perhaps this enjoyment is due, in part, to the way my parents raised me. They focused on my development as a person throughout my entire life and never put academia first. I have never been disciplined or scolded for a bad grade, only asked if I did the best I could and reassured that was enough. I have been encouraged to “take a semester off” or quit my job or extra-curriculars if my mental health was declining. And I was always told to pursue what I truly love in college because in the end, being happy and fulfilled are the most important things in life, not wealth or status.

No "investment” in education has been wasted if it has produced a well-rounded, ambitious, thoughtful, intelligent citizen who will, in the end, contribute to the betterment of the world with his or her existence. And a liberal arts education certainly contributes to producing this if done right.

My liberal arts degree in general has included a liberal amount of variety in classes. I have had to take several humanities as a part of my core, two theology classes, two philosophy classes, fulfill an arts requirement, and more classes that I would not normally think to take in order to meet the graduation requirements.

However, I have been nothing but thankful for this education and this sampling of subjects that have not only shaped me as a better writer and thinker but, consequently, as a better and more thoughtful, mature human being. I am so lucky to have been able to take philosophy, even though I didn't really like it at the time, because it opened my mind to a completely new way of thinking about the world around me. These new realizations and ways of perception have made their way into all aspects of my life, and I would argue they have made me a better friend, worker, and citizen as well as student. They have inspired me to work towards a greater good and to approach situations thoughtfully and uniquely, skills that will certainly serve me well in any job.

With my English degree, I definitely know how to "write an essay", but I also know how to argue a point from multiple views validly and rationally. I know how to express myself and my opinions with fact and accuracy. I know how to read critically and deeply while tying in prior knowledge to put it in context. Studying English has either taught me or refined in me so many real-world skills that will only positively add to any career that I may choose to have in the future.

In the end, and this was briefly mentioned in the Pearlstein article, but those who are passionate and driven will succeed regardless of their degree or where their interests lie. If you truly love what you do and have a talent for it, you should pursue it and refine it rather than let it go to waste while pursuing another job where you may make “better money” instead. If you truly love something you will want to keep learning about it, keep doing better in it, and keep making strides until you find a niche where you are comfortable and successful because you have the drive and passion to do it.

In the end, do what you love. It is not your parents that have to live with that job in that major every day for the next forty years- only you have to live with it, so make the choice that will fulfill you in the end.