For as long as I've been thinking about college, I've known that I wanted to major in English with a focus on creative writing. It was a no-brainer for me; I loved reading, I wrote short stories and worked on novels in my spare time, and thoroughly enjoyed the process of analyzing and studying books. I figured if I'm going to go to school for something, I wanted it to be something I loved.

This sentiment hasn't changed, despite the protests, doubts, and questions that I received over the years about my decision. I've been told countless times by countless people that my major isn't the way to become successful; that English majors are basically useless and any job I find with it won't earn me any money; that the only career path with an English degree is to become a teacher.

It seems like the only majors that hold any esteem in the world today are those that are math or science-minded: biology, physics, chemistry, economics, business, etc. Humanity and fine art majors are pushed aside and thought of as less than and useless because their value isn't as clear. How much can you learn just reading novels and writing essays about them, right?

Yeah. No.

Studying English is an amazing thing; I love surrounding myself with stories, both modern and classic. I'm able to learn about cultures, different times in history, and different people. Opening a book to me is like seeing the world from another person's perspective; I'm able to take what I learn from that and apply it to the real world. But some people just don't see that value.

English is only one major among many that are written off as inferior because it's a humanity and a fine art. Others write off music and theater and art majors as ones that hold less value, as well, simply because they don't seem as important as the majors that focus on sciences or math.

What these people fail to understand is that art is essential.

Art is what creates societies and cultures; it tells stories and gives different perspectives on the world. All forms of art, whether it's performance, written, or visual, are vitally important to the creation and evolution of societies and humanity. The world would be a sad, colorless place without it.

So next time you learn someone is going for a humanities or fine arts major, don't tell them it's useless.