I get it, as a journalism major, I’m not training to save lives or anything that dire. I’m not in a 400- level biology course and I don’t know the first thing about business calculus. I know STEM majors do NOT have it easy and that when they complain about the workload, they have every reason to.

Truthfully, I was a STEM major for like a second (okay, three months) and I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle it. I would like to consider myself fairly intelligent, but my heart isn’t in math and science and experiments. I would probably pass and be fine with my high paying job. But I could never enjoy dedicating my life to a career like that. Some people can and will, and they’ll feel like all the work they put in will pay off and they’ll be happy. I just couldn’t say the same for myself.

I have so much respect for anyone who is willing to put in all the work to one day perform open heart surgery, give flu shots, take blood, fill cavities, build and design buildings and bridges, make planes fly, study water irrigation in third world countries, and run multimillion dollar companies. But future artists, musicians, teachers, and journalists deserve respect too. Someone’s got to do it, and there are people ready and willing to trade a high paying job for enjoyment and excitement.

I truly believe that the things people take seriously are harder for them. When you want to master something and do well in it, it is that much more difficult. There is a certain pressure we put on ourselves to work harder. We may find ourselves having a harder time in the classes required for our major because we want to take in all the information and have it in our back pockets for the rest of our lives.

I am always trying to think like a journalist. My heart and mind enjoy it. I love words and truth and reason. I fully throw myself into that. I research current events and find my stance on all the major things that happen, all while avoiding biases. Like with all things, it isn’t always easy, sometimes my emotions get the best of me and I don’t always say the best and most eloquent thing. It’s little things like that that make me feel like a failure and it stresses me out sometimes.

Me being stressed should be okay, especially since it doesn’t pertain to anyone else, but as soon as I say I’m worried about the future, or that I’m nervous about an exam in earshot of a person with a more respected major, I get ridiculed. Let me complain, you don’t have to listen.

We aren’t designed to excel in everything and glide through life without any hurdles. There are engineering students who can’t write an essay to save their lives. Nursing students might have a hard time with a fine arts class. Your strengths will be someone else’s weaknesses and vice versa.

Don’t think that just because your class is annoying, has people dropping like flies, and your major has been certified Hard™ (by absolutely no one), you have the upper hand in complaining. We’re all having a hard time with something. Don’t belittle others’ majors or their stress.