Throughout the entire college process that we were all thrown into during our early high school years, every decision that we made revolved around one thing: our major. Being only 16 or 17 at this time, and having little to no job experience, how could we possibly know what we wanted to do for the rest of our lives? Somehow, our chosen college major and what we were doing for the rest of our lives became the same thing.
With that kind of thinking in mind, if someone wanted to be an art major, you might respond to that with a polite "oh, cool" while silently judging their life choices and thinking about how that person will probably be jobless for a long time. We don't even take into account whether or not that person will be happy doing what they love. All we see is a person with limited career options and a dim future. Why is that? This stigma that exists around majors that guarantee mostly limited or low-paying jobs has many people avoiding them like the plague. Someone could have all of the talent in the world in their left pinky finger and someone will still give them the stink eye when they happily declare themselves as an art or music major. This is a ridiculous thing to judge someone on, and yet it's how we are all wired to think.
Growing up, we were all predisposed to this notion that happiness is equal to financial success. This is false; happiness is something that you create for yourself in many different ways. With that being said, people choose their majors for different reasons. Maybe you want to be rich and have ten vacation homes, maybe you're really, really good at something unconventional, or maybe whatever you're doing just makes you happy inside. Any of these reasons are valid, and you don't have to prove yourself or explain your choice to anyone. I know many people who have applied to schools as a more "practical" major because their parents forced them to, but really wanted to do something different at heart. It's important to remember that your education is completely your own, and that is what matters.
Your college major also does not have to determine your career path for the rest of your life. In many cases it does, but the point of going to school is to get a comprehensive education. You should learn about what you're interested in, because you won't get another chance to take a weird mythological cooking class or learn about extracellular biology. It's important to take full advantage of your education and to learn about what you want to know more about, and not about what everyone is pressuring you to. It's OK if something doesn't exactly fit in with your major schedule. A guidance counselor will be more than happy to help you find a way to fit something in that you're really passionate about.
The bottom line is this: don't judge anyone for their choice of major, because they're entitled to their own education.
