"What is that?"
I mean, "writing" is in the title, so...
"What are you going to do with that?"
Obviously I want to write. It is a real thing.
"Can you get a job with that?"
You can get 'a' job with any college degree, so yes.
[After I mention I hope to write novels one day]:
"You may be living with your parents until you get that first book written or you'll starve."
Oh wow, thanks for the "advice". I can feel it helping me already.
"Writing is a hard thing to be successful in."
Yes, I'm sure you know all about it, since you're a writer yourself. But oh wait, you're not. Everything is hard to be successful in if you don't try. Why would I spend thousands of dollars to get this degree if I'm not going to try? That's ridiculous.
I'm very well aware that I probably won't have a "hit" book straight out of college. It could happen, but there's very little chance. I GET THAT. I'm not naive. Telling me that I'm going to have to live with my parents or that I need a side job or that I might starve trying to publish my first book is NOT encouraging or helpful at all. Why doesn't anyone realize that?
At least I have a major now. When I started college, I was "Undeclared", and people gave me even weirder looks for that. Because we're expected to know what we want to do with our lives as soon as we come out of the womb, it seems.
But seriously, do you think you're helping me by telling me things I already know and have heard from others over a hundred times before??
I'm constantly doubting myself; I don't need people telling me I won't be able to do anything with my degree. That's already my biggest fear. And if you don't have a college degree or aren't using the one you do have in the job field you're in yourself, you have absolutely no room to criticize me about mine.
Writing is seriously one of the only areas of study that really interests me. It's one of the only things I'm actually kind of good at. So yes, I am really majoring in it and it can be a "real" job. Just like being a singer/songwriter is a real job and being a film director is a real job and being a sculptor is a real job.
A liberal arts education can change the world dramatically. Without it, we would not be able to think for ourselves, or communicate in different ways with both critical and creative thinking.
Without it, there would be no value to life itself.
As always, thanks for reading!
~Say Love <3