When I was first deciding what to study in college, I knew that I would have to pick a respectable major with a good job field that made a decent amount of money. Taking two of these things into account, I chose to major in English Education. I knew that I wanted to major in something English related, so I just chose education. Within two weeks of my Freshman year of college, I changed my major to English Literature. Since then, whenever I tell people my major, the question that I am immediately asked is "What are you going to do with that?" In other words, they're asking me "How are you going to use that major to be a functioning member of society?"
After this realization, I started listening more to other peoples majors and realized that any major that wasn't known to be a "safe" choice (basically any business major), or very obvious in their career field (education or the health and science majors) was pretty much dismissed in the eyes of others as somewhat of a waste of time. Because making money is so important in our society, if you are in any major that doesn't seem to have a purpose to the general population (i.e. Women's Studies, Religious Studies, Sociology, English Literature, or basically any Art major), you are seen as unintelligent for choosing to study something that you love.
What's funny about this is that another thing that is seen as a "value" of our society is always pursuing what you love. This paradox between being able to pursue what you love and only being able to pursue money making and "logical" majors truly makes for a conflicted decision while choosing your major. That's why I'm here to say, it is completely okay to major in something that you love. Just because your parents don't approve, or your friends think that it's a "waste of time", you will be pursuing something that you love and that you will be ultimately happy about in your future while others that just chose their majors based on money will live ultimately unsatisfied lives.
The next time someone questions your major and your purpose for studying it, let them know that you're pursuing something that you love, and that will make you happy in the future, and then ask them if they think the same about their major.
