For The Overwhelmed Humanities Major

So, maybe we didn't follow the STEM track our parents were pushing on us, and maybe we will be making less money in the future than our biochemist roommates, but we have passion. We are furthering our education in a field we love and choosing happiness over wealth or prestige. That is an admirable pursuit (or so we tell ourselves).

We are humanities majors.

I think all of us can agree even though we get a bunch of crap for having "bullshit" classes, it is no walk in the park to be in the humanities. Sure, we don't have chemistry labs to attend, but sitting through hours of close reading, knowing you have two essays in other classes to get done, is not exactly a stress-free affair. All of our classes follow a similar work style, even if the topics are completely different, so that makes our coursework a little more draining than many anticipate. For example, if you're a STEM major and you're stressed about math, you can always take a break to work on science instead. When I'm stressed out about writing a paper, the only real option I have is to switch to writing another paper. It's overwhelming at times, to say the least.

And, even though I love to write, essays are definitely not what I consider to be fun writing. They're complex and formulaic, requiring critical thinking as well as a creative approach. There is no right or wrong only strong and weak arguments. There's no check button to see if you've gotten the question correct; there isn't even one definite answer!

So, humanities major, you may be thinking,"What the heck am I doing here?" You're studying a subject many people don't take seriously, and you're working your ass off for good grade given by a TA who may just hate your writing style. Well, I'm here to remind you (and myself), it's not always easy to see, but your hard work will eventually pay off. You'll be a well-rounded, critical thinker who is able to engage with a wide range of ideas, and you'll never have to deal with blood or ugly lab coats.

I think one of the most important things to remember is you have nothing to prove. Your skills are valuable and make you unique, and just because you may still use your fingers to count, doesn't mean you couldn't blow a math major out of the water with your profound feminist praxis.

Bottomline, humanities major, you're killing it. Now go catch up on your reading, you know you should.