Throughout grade school, you are always being told you need to figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life. What do you want to study after high school? What career field do you want to enter? What do you want to spend the next forty+ years of your life doing? These are some tough questions to answer. Sure, they may be easy to answer when you’re little and in elementary school. Usually it’s things like; firefighter, doctor, astronaut, or police man. And some kids who want to be one of those things when they’re younger, keep that mentality and end up going through with it later in life. But many children change their minds a multitude of times before really figuring out what they want to do when they get to college. And even then, some kids change their minds multiple times while they’re in college.
When many kids figure out what they want to do for the rest of their lives, they’re met with praise and encouragement.
“Oh, Jimmy has decided he wants to go to medical school. I can’t wait to see him graduate and become a doctor!”
“Marla is going to go to school to get her business degree, how exciting!”
“Timothy just enrolled in the police academy, I’m so proud of him!”
But some kids don’t want to go to school for medical or business reasons. Some are a little bit more on the creative side. They want to go to art school. Whether it be for painting or drawing. Acting or singing. Creative writing or photography. All these and more are offered at most art universities.
But so many times, when a kid tells someone they want to go to art school, they get a response like this:
“Oh that’s not real school.”
“There’s no work out there for someone in that field.”
“You’ll just end up a starving artist on your parents’ couch.”
And more. Telling children things like this—or anyone of any age for that matter—isn’t okay.
Just because going to an art university isn’t as mainstream or conventional as going to school, doesn’t mean that it isn’t “real” school. Art schools have difficult classes, and hold students to high standards, just like any other college or university out there.
The majority of art universities and institutes tend to be on the pricier end of the scale compared to “traditional” universities. And amazingly, the price of schools seems to matter to some people when it comes to the quality of the school.
Take the Art Institute of Seattle for example. As of 2011, they have a 37% acceptance rate and their tuition costs, on average, are about $17,560. That’s tuition alone; not including housing, books, class fees, meal plans, or anything else.
Art school students should not have to be ashamed about whatever personal passion they’re pursuing. In fact, no one should have to be ashamed about whatever field they’re studying in. But I don’t know anyone who will disagree with me when I say: art students tend to be put to shame more than students who attend and study at “traditional” schools of higher education.
I refuse to not study what I enjoy just because your standards of a “real” education aren’t the same as mine. I will continue to study creative writing and photography until I have my degrees in hand and all the knowledge and skill I can obtain about these subjects. I encourage any other art student who feels as though they are not supported in what they are doing, to continue on with it and do they’re best to ignore the hateful comments. I support you, and what’s more important that someone else’s support, is the support you give yourself.
