We all know the age old adage that science majors and humanities majors can't get along.The STEM majors are pretentious and think they're better than the humanities majors and the humanities majors might think they're doing work, but only read books all day.
Is there any truth to these statements? No.
Let me start by saying that I am currently enrolled in a dual degree program for Biology and English. This means that when I graduate, I will be given two different pieces of paper. One will be a Biology degree and one will be an English degree. Therefore, I have spent a lot of time working in the lab and just as much time writing and editing papers.
Both majors are equally as hard. The hardest class I've had in college is either Chemistry or Modern and Contemporary Authors. They were hard in ways that were different, but also entirely the same. Even though the course material varied greatly between these two classes, they both required a tremendous amount of work and both professors were notoriously tough graders.
In the end, I learned the most from these two classes, which makes sense because these classes made me work the hardest. The biggest lesson that came out of these classes was time management. In Chemistry I was leaning chemical formulas and in English I was writing a 12 page paper about Langston Hughes. Neither of these tasks can be accomplished in a day or even a week.
The true value of our college education comes from these types of lessons. We have to figure out how we're going to manage our time and how to communicate out ideas. We have to interact with people from many different backgrounds and in different situations.
These are the so-called "soft skills" that employers want and the best way to learn them is to throw yourself into a variety of classes and scenarios that allow you to practice them. So, if you are a science major take a poetry class or if you study English take an Earth Science course.
There are tons of intro level course that anyone can take to experience something new and challenge themselves without being totally lost and confused. You don't have to be in a dual degree program or a double major to be able to explore different interests. But, if you do have two passions there's no reason why you shouldn't explore both of them fully and take on a second major or degree program.
Not only is the content of a science program and a humanities program equally worthwhile, but so are the people. What better way is there to meet a variety of people than by taking a variety of classes? I have met and befriended future doctors, researchers, lawyers, and poets. I have friends majoring in Biology who tutor English students and I have friends who are in both the English and the Theater department. These are all well-rounded, interesting, and phenominal people.
Out college majors and extracurriculars speak to who we are as people. What do you want yours to say?
