I attend the incredible Baylor University (Sic ‘Em Bears amiright?) and have fallen head over heals in love with every last inch of this school. Although I am accumulating student debt like no ones business, it is beyond worth it. The only thing I did not entirely think through before committing to Baylor is my major, but not in the way you would think. I had decided what I wanted to do, Film and Digital Media, and hadn’t quite realized how unpopular this decision would be.

The first week of school rolled by, and naturally every person you make eye contact with will ask you the same three questions: what’s your name, where are you from, and what is your major? You will forget every name, recognize only a handful of cities, but really take notice to all the different majors. At Baylor, 99 percent of the majors are predominately bio pre-med and business, aka jobs that guarantee a stable future and loads of money. After the first few awkward silences when I stated that my major was film, I began to realize that because I wasn’t in a bio lab or calculus 3 I was seen as less. In fact, most liberal arts degrees are looked down upon and seen as worthless in the eyes of society. I think this is outrageous. If I want to risk potentially getting paid less than 30K a year and struggling to pay bills just so I am in a career I love, I think that should be seen as brave. I am paying thousands of dollars to earn a degree that might not even be worth it, but I am willing to put everything on the line so in the long run I will be happy. Doctors and businessmen get to pursue careers they feel passionate about, or at least interested in, why can I not do the same with out getting pity glances from adults who ask me “what do you want to do with that?”

Now this is not always the case. I have noticed that as the year has progressed, more and more students are recognizing the fact that liberal art degrees aren’t all irrelevant. While nursing majors have meltdowns over anatomy and physiology exams, I am out producing, directing, and editing short films. The passion and drive liberal arts majors have is one that is hard to miss and this seems to draw attention from the ones who aren’t in their major for the same reasons. Because we aren’t doing it for the money, the love we have for our field is unfathomable. All the "smarty pants" majors saw this as the year went on, and now when I say I am a film major, they seem intrigued.

I cannot label the muscles on a body or tell you about stock prices, but I can talk for hours about how shadows affect the mood of a scene in any film. So to all of the majors that are guaranteed a job right out of college, I am glad that you are interested in a field of work that will provide a stable future for you. But to all of the liberal arts majors who have any doubt or concerns about what you are going to do, be proud of your passion and willingness to pursue what you love.