Whether you're an Art major or Creative Writing major or Film major or, heck, a Philosophy major or anything that falls under the real "Liberal Arts" labeling, you’ll know these people, sometimes too well.
1. The Sympathetic Mother.
When you’ve finally decided on your major and you happily decide to go tell your mother and, while her mouth says that’s a great decision you’ve just made, her face says oh dear, my poor, poor child, how will you make it in this world with a degree in something like Art or Philosophy. It is a face of expected worry for our future as adults, where she believes that you will be living in a studio apartment, trying to sell art on the curbside and doing everything to be the next big thing. But then she realizes that she has four years of college to change your mind and it turns into a more accepting, plotting smile to show you the betterments of not doing something Liberal Artsy…like accounting. Both have an A right?
2. The Disapproving Younger Sibling.
The choice of where you’re going to college is enough to spurn this face from your (usually) younger sibling, but let alone the fact you’ll be doing things a little different, throws this face right at you. "An arts major, really?" is what this face will tell you the minute you see it. Don’t worry, they’ll warm up to it once they see how chill and cool and the exact amount of art students peddling drugs in order to support themselves through school and how accessible it all is. You’ll be cool again, maybe they’ll even consider taking a liberal arts degree themselves when the time comes for them to go off to college by them self. But by then, you’ll be giving them a same face: You’re going off to college?
3. The Skeptical Father.
It starts with a laugh really, then kind of a weird smile that carries through any discussion you have with him during the next four years of your education. He’ll understand when you ask for money for things like art supplies and give it to you, while sometimes casually reminding you that he didn’t go to school for anything like you are and he turned out pretty good, but with a quick side note, like the rushed listing of side effects on a medicine commercial, that he is proud of you and supports your decision. Thank goodness then you aren’t telling that you’re using this money he gave you for art supplies on weed or beer. Who knows actually, maybe he’ll be prouder even. Maybe he’ll even buy you a beer. Maybe he’ll laugh in your face. But the laughing is reserved usually for…
4. The Laughing Uncle.
At any last few summer family events, there’ll be that uncle who’ll corner you while you just want to get a soda and interrogate you about your future. Once you start explaining your major, expect the laughter and the jokes. "You wanna be a liberal arts major, that’s hilarious,” they don’t need to be subtly supportive of your decision, you aren’t their kid. They’ll go on to say in some cases that the liberal arts major kids at their school were usually weirdos who dyed their hair bright green or got bunches of tattoos and probably are employed at some low-level job somewhere. Before you get angry at this uncle though, remember that he is probably just some mild-mannered manager at some store who recently bought a motorcycle to relive his youth and uses family parties as an excuse to get ridiculously drunk. Don’t worry there uncle, who’ll be laughing when we are drunkenly arguing about television in about in hour. You will.
5. The Disgusted Partygoer.
When the parties at school begin and you start going around with your friends, you’ll definitely have a few of these. A girl or boy you’re trying to chat up for a romantic time at school or just someone you’ve started talking to randomly, you’ll quickly get on the topic of what your major is. Like it’ll probably be the second question. Once you get the chance to explain what your major is, they’ll give you some sour lemon look face like they’ve just put twelve Cry Baby candies in their mouth all at once. Perhaps they think that you’ll be poor at some time in your life, fulfilling that prophecy that began with your mother. Perhaps they just think liberal art majors are generally weirdos. Whatever it is, the conversation tends to take a sour turn like their face and you want it to end. You end it. You probably see that person around every now and then.
6. The Enthused Partygoer.
The chances are that this fellow partygoer is a liberal arts major or something to a similar degree. But with the air they hold themselves during the discussion and probably from the way they dress, it’ll imply one of two things: they’re richer than you or they think they’re better than you. Another dead end conversationalist that you really don’t feel like listening to talk about how they won an award when they were ten for something dumb like painting a cat near a house or a short film about their toys magical adventure to nowhere. It’s dull. You don’t want to hear it. But hey, if they are richer than you, stick with them for as long as they’re never ending pockets keep turning out money to pay for meals when you claim to have no cash on you because you are a poor college student. They’ll prove the stigma wrong and you’ll enjoy your $9.25 sandwich.
7. The Intense Artist.
When you meet the fellow artist, they’ll be over eccentric. Another kindred spirit to their tortured soul that understands the pain of being an artist and blah and blah and blah. They’ll be excited, a friend to talk about art and their favorite artist and whether or not they preferred Van Gogh’s Rose or Blue period and whether Rodin actually had any idea about what he was doing. They’ll be relieved, you’ll be concerned for your welfare. These are the people with the dyed hair and the tattoos and concerning, shouting voice that your mother was worried you’d turn into. But don’t get too uncomfortable too quick, you’ll be hanging out with these people for another four years. Might as well get along with them and learn something new about Rembrandt and Vermeer.
8. The Smarmy Business Major.
Damn business majors. Only a step up from the Enthused Partygoer and a they’ll give you a weird combination of the Laughing Uncle and Skeptical Father, except they don’t care about your feeling as they give that look that they’ll never have to do what you’re doing with your life. They’re getting their degrees and going straight into offices and wearing suits and having coffee and chatting with everyone else at the water cooler. A boring, barely existing life on the edge but their future is secured for the most part. Plus, they hardly have any requirements to complete their degrees, while you need to juggle six and a half. Your pain is still yours now, while they’re laughing from Wall Street.
9. The Hesitant Friend
In more cases than one, this’ll be that friend from home you’ve come back to see for a weekend and end up explaining your entire college experience in about fifteen minutes, while they sum up theirs with a polite and brief: “It was nice.” They’re the friend that wants to go into something completely different at a completely different college and your experiences will clash, kind of turning it into an awkward meeting all around at some party that someone from home threw in hopes to replicate the feel and destruction of a college party, only to realize that he’s known most of the people in the room since grade school. Your friend will smile but not really know what to say. While you’ll text him or her once or twice after this, your friendship is pretty much ended. You were never that close anyway to good ole’ whatever their name is anyway.
10. The Proud Art Teacher
From class on day one, your teacher will probably say something about how proud they are of the students and that she or he understands what a risk it is to be going into this major, but that you’ve made an excellent choice. Your art teacher will begin to unravel shortly afterwards, seriously revealing the affirmation that they get from teaching this class, to believe that all their education was not wasted on the years they spent blindly wandering around, producing art in a haze. Literally the ages of 22 to 25, sometimes longer. Take some notes, you may need to teach an art class someday and you’ll really want to use the same pizazz that your teacher is using. For sure.
These people aren’t the worst people in the world, they’ll make your college experience interesting and you can definitely be sure it’s never a dull moment with them around. Plus you have your friends there alongside you, to laugh and make memories. So don’t mind the people you’ll meet, cause you’ll have the people who stay. Now go out there and make a good life choice.
