Before I officially started college, I was so excited to finally get to study and major in a subject I had been passionate about for years. My excitement was building as I picked out my classes and ordered my books, and then finally I went off to school, more enthused than ever.
This all changed a few weeks into the semester.
Since starting college, I've heard numerous times that school is not hard for anyone who isn't a STEM major. I'm not allowed to complain about my workload because I'm not an engineering student; when I have a spare moment to breathe it is because my major isn't real, it's "made up" and I have no actual work, like science students do. Nothing discourages me more than these comments because I know that what all these people are saying could not be farther from the truth.
As an English major, I'm reading hundreds of pages of literature a week. I'm constantly in a cycle of writing paper after paper, then revising said papers. I am learning new ways to approach reading, writing, and general thought about both. I stay up late too, reading several different books at a time and reacting to what I read. My major is not "made up," I do actual work, and it hurts to be told that what I'm doing is worthless because it is not related to the sciences.
I have friends who are pursuing theater; they certainly put in more work towards their major than anyone else I've seen. Hours spent rehearsing and going to lessons are overlooked because they are theater students and their dreams seem silly to many. Other friends of mine are seeking degrees in subjects such as education and psychology in order to help and inspire others. But no, apparently they don't do any actual work. They're just pursuing "fluff" majors so they can say they have a degree.
Major-shaming and going out of your way to put someone else down for their career goals is, simply put, not cool. Belittling the work another person does just because they aren't a STEM major is sort of pathetic; college tests every student, regardless of his or her major, and is never a cakewalk for anyone.
The next time you feel like commenting on someone's choice of major and path of study, make sure you're going to say something positive. If you are not in that major, you do not have the knowledge of that program to be able to say that those students do no work and have it easy. Consider the fact that the world would be a boring place if everyone had the same degree and job.
Celebrate our differences instead of shaming each other.
