I'm not sure when it started, but there has been a very large push for people to go into STEM fields, especially girls. This is awesome and I am all for supporting girls who are into science, math, technology, etc. But with this push came the idea that pursuing a STEM field implies intelligence. Sure, these young women are smart but what about the girl who wants to go into music or dance or history? Is she smart?

Personally, I started off freshman year with the intention of pursuing a cell biology and neuroscience degree (or CBN as we say at Rutgers). I still love science and I think the brain is utterly fantastic. However, I realized psychology and music were more my thing, so I switched to a psychology and music double major.

I’m still the same person with the same mental capabilities but it feels like people see me differently now. When I used to tell people my major was CBN, I would get, “Oh, wow, you must be smart.” Now when I tell people about my majors, I get, “Oh cool, psychology and music.”

So, now I’m unique but not smart, apparently. Who decided that math was better than English or that biology was more important than history or dance? It’s as if in an effort to build some people up, other people were torn down.

In my opinion, it makes more sense to see what everyone, girls and boys, are passionate about and then help them go out and grab it, stereotypes and gender norms aside for everyone. All passions are important and it is unfortunate that in an effort to get rid of one stereotype (girls aren’t cut out for STEM) we made another (STEM fields = smart).