If I had a dollar for every time someone laughed about communications being a "joke" of a degree I wouldn't have taken out any student loans.

Okay, I'll admit it: I used to do it, too. I started out in college as a kinesiology major planning to go to physical therapy school. I thought communications was a joke because all the classes were "so easy." I thought it was the degree for people who didn't know what they wanted to do after college.

Boy, is that so far from the truth.

Everyone I have met in the College of Media and Communications has been extremely talented in so many different facets. Communications encompass such a broad array of skills, you can't graduate with a degree without being cross-trained in every discipline. You hone your writing skills and get trained in every single format imaginable.

You learn photography and videography, as well as editing platforms like Photoshop CC or Adobe Premiere. You learn how to run campaigns and important marketing techniques. You get to learn how to write in code and how to build a website. Research is also highly encouraged in our field because communications include advertising/public relations which require vast consumer knowledge and understanding.

Are some of our classes easy? Maybe, but that can be said for most majors. The majority of our grades aren't based on tests. They are based on 20-page research papers and semester-long projects that encompass the skills we gained over the past four months. Trust me when I say communications students put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into final projects.

We live in a world driven by digital media and communications is at the heart of it. Richard Branson, a billionaire entrepreneur, says communication is an "art," which it is. We take communication for granted and don't appreciate it for what it is. It is a skill we all possess, but some are far better at it than others. In the business world, this can make a huge difference in an interview or sales pitch. I promise you, those who study the art of communication are giving themselves an advantage some of their peers don't get.

The way I see it, everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. We choose our future careers based on them which means we also choose our college major based on them as well. That's the beauty of college, isn't it? We get to choose what we learn, so why wouldn't we choose something that we enjoy and we're good at? People majoring in a communications field are typically gifted writers, public speakers, photographers, and videographers. They are the future voices of radio and the future faces of television. They are the ones who will be creating advertisements we see during the Super Bowl. They are the reporters who bring breaking news and inform us of important events. We choose communications because we are good at the skillset the degree requires. And it's fun.

I changed my major to Electronic Media and Communications my sophomore year and never looked back. I consider it to be one of the best decisions I have made in my college career.

Here's the point: communications isn't a joke. It's a degree that allows creative people to pursue careers in broadcasting, journalism, radio, television, advertising, media studies, public relations, business communication... you get it. The beauty of communications is that it is a degree without limits. You can do virtually anything you want with it. Studies show only 27% of college graduates actually get a job in a field related to their degree anyway.

Your degree is 100% what you make it. If you work hard and are involved in your school, you will succeed in your future career no matter what your major was in college.

So stop trying to make people who go into communications feel bad. We have just as much of a right to pursue what we love as the next person.