As a college student, I should be concerned with tests scores and if that cute girl will text me back. But as a former art major and a current artist, I was mainly concerned with answering the question, “what is your major?” the most common question anyone in college will get from the day they are a tiny freshmen, until they are a somewhat bigger graduate. I was terrified for this because my answer was always, “art”.

Why was I scared of this question? Because, when my response was “Art”, I would hear chuckling and a smile followed by, “Oh so you don’t want to make any money?”. Yes, laugh away at your cliché repeated attempt for a joke. However, while you are laughing, me and other art majors feel disrespected. Being looked down upon as an inadequate student simply for following a desire is a horrible feeling.

While most of the time respondents do not mean much harm from the anecdote, they say it because they truly believe the stereotype; they have one idea what artists do. People tend to categorize artists as stuck up or drug infected hippies who throw paint on a canvas and tell you that it has a deeper meaning because a certain shade of blue means melancholy instead of depressed, therefore it must be art. However, these are merely misconceptions.

People accuse artists of acting this way because they do not understand art, which is all right. However, they should realize that everything around them is art whether they know it or not. So, while us artist are hurt by these comments, we too will laugh, because, your comment is so silly. Everything people see is art. The coffee mug that holds your source of life for the day, your car, and the bed you so desperately do not want to leave is art. Hell, the computer or phone or whatever new gadget you are reading this on is, in fact, art. Your whole life is art, whether you know it or not.

Lindsey Mammone, a graduate student enrolled in the College of Art and Architecture at the University of Idaho, says it best.

“Honestly, I want to laugh that people believe a stereotype for this long. But it's because they haven't done much investigation. Artists are involved everywhere. The clothes that you're wearing, the chair you're sitting on, the cup you're drinking from, not to mention the smart phone you have, or the computer I'm typing on. I went to Ringling for Fine Arts printmaking. I followed my passion and learned how to problem solve which was key…Artists are taught to problem solve on a multitude of layers, to follow their intuition, and to take risks…If you want adventure, follow your passion and doors will open for you”.

She is completely correct when she says artists are involved in life. People all across the world are helping to make our lives better. They create books we read, magazines, television shows, news broadcasts and movies. People do not realize that without individuals to create all the things we take for granted and enjoy, we would not have them.

Steven Spielberg, the man who directed Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Back to the Future, graduated from University of California, Long Beach with a Bachelor’s Degree in art, (Chavez, 2002). Without his knowledge of film making, Spielberg's creations may not have been as successful as they are now, and current and future film makers would not have his influence.

Another great model today is Calvin Klein, the creator of Calvin Klein Ltd. He graduated from New York Fashion Institute of Technology, to create one of the biggest fashion brands in clothing history. He was indeed an art major and is now worth $700 million. To say art majors will not make any money is a little ridiculous when looking at this statistic. This is not to say that every person who graduates with an art degree will become a millionaire, because that is even more ridiculous. This just helps to prove a point that the ones we idolize, such as movie stars directors and fashion designers went to school to work in the arts.

With all this said, artists are still the butt of a lot of jokes. This reasoning is because as society advances and becomes wealthier, success becomes about making a large amount of money. Thus, people assume artists will always be poor. A current Art major at the University of Idaho, Justin Hoffman, talks about how society perceives jobs.

“I think that people tend to confuse the job market being competitive with it being non-existent”, Hoffman said.

He makes a good point. Since we are brainwashed to desire a wealthy life style, we have become a competitive race. Minimum wage is increasing and so is the wealth of the nation, which means everyone needs jobs to survive. Art is not considered one of those jobs, according to the majority. However, in reality jobs for artists are everywhere and the amount of those jobs and salary caps are increasing.

Design, which includes, graphic design, virtual, apparel, movie, architecture and more are becoming popular. Graphic designers make $49,610 annually and fine art majors make $50,900 annually. This may not seem like much, but, compare it to the median annual income for the United States which is $50,502, according to the U.S. Census. Additionally, artist’s salaries are supposedly going to increase between three and seven percent within the next 10 years. Conclusively, those who say art majors, “won’t make any money”, will potentially make the same as someone with a degree in art.

Artists and designers help to create a beautiful and abstract world that can only be done by becoming a professional. Making fun of those with a desire to create amazing things that put us in awe and help create memories is a tad silly when looking at the big picture. Especially, when they majority of the United States will earn the same sum as the ones they make fun of.