There is no doubt that today’s day and age is far different than "back then." Millennials run social media, whereas Baby Boomers had to experience dating without apps or the internet even. Every kid, as young as 8-years-old, can be seen sporting an iPhone. The so-called "Renaissance Man" has been replaced with the Wolf on Wall Street (not that I love Leo any less). Even then, the concept of being well-rounded hasn’t died, and neither should the Humanities. If you google the definition of Humanities, you’ll find that it is the “learning concerned with culture, especially literature, history, art, music and philosophy.” Simply put, humanities is concerned with what it means to be human.

There’s not many subjects out there that will push you out of your comfort zone. We have gotten rather comfortable in the redundancy of taking notes, being tested and then fighting for the better grade. Taking a Humanities course allowed me to see, for the first time, that standardization and institutionalization in our breadwinner-oriented society will only give me materialistic things. I realized that learning in the most literal sense is a verb; thus, the best way to learn is to get out in the world and experience it firsthand.

I sat through an opera. Yes, a three-hour-long Italian Opera—"Tosca" to be exact. I have seen three different renditions of "A Christmas Carol," but never did I get the opportunity to experience a performance such as this, where communication was done through sopranos and baritones rather than scripted lines. Not many 19-year-olds can say they have been to an opera, probably because of society’s split between what is considered high vs pop cultures. Just saying, you can watch "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" while being an avid supporter of the arts — you don’t have to pick and choose.

Speaking of pick and choose, when visiting downtown Chicago, people often do the usual stroll around Millennium Park and grab a snack at Navy Pier. Everyone is always gushing over Chicago’s skyline (which is totally gush-worthy, BTW), but individuals fail to realize that there are architectural masterpieces all around the city, not only in what you can see from an aerial perspective. Not only that, but the Art Institute of Chicago itself is home to some of the world’s most famous artwork from artists like Monet and Picasso. My point being, we have access to some of humanity’s most impressive creations — they are literally just an admission ticket or a stroll away. To not take advantage of this luxury is to place yourself at a disadvantage of not being in the vicinity of the power of creation that humankind has.

Remember when I said Humanities pushes you out of your comfort zone? Well, I wasn’t wrong. We discussed religion — yep, the R-word that seems to be shunned from school grounds even though so many individuals can relate. I went to a synagogue where my male peers got the opportunity to wear a kippah. I got to hear the Islamic Morning Prayer in a traditional mosque from an imam himself. I wore a hijab and was able to reflect whether I felt liberated or restricted — and surprisingly, many of my female peers and myself realized how much we relied on our hair or our physical appearances for a sense of security. I got to see beautiful stained glass windows in a church and got a glimpse into one of the seven major Baha’i Temples in the whole world. Simply put, I got to experience different religions firsthand as an everyday citizen away from the skewed stereotypes the media presents on different groups of people. We have to accept that religion is a part of life—we don’t all have to be believers, we just have to be willing to see different perspectives rather than shunning something just because we fail to understand it.

You can learn about Humanities as a noun or live it like a verb. Either way, it takes willingness and a push out of your comfort zone to experience what it means to be human. As Rumi said, “Beauty surrounds us – but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it.” So this is my advice to you–short and simple–get up, walk, and experience.