By Kelly Corbett
Daily conversations between my best friend — a biology major — and me — a journalism major — consist of her enlightening me with her anecdotes about the flies she’s mating in the lab, the long hours she spent reading about DNA last night or some scientific jargon about molecules or enzymes or mitosis I — and if I’m lucky — mitosis II. I’ll quip back about how I don’t have a solid nut graf in my article or how I have a story due in two hours and I still haven’t been able to get a hold of the person I need to interview. Many individuals rank science and math majors above the arts, communications and social sciences majors. Major-shaming is a thing and it needs to stop.
We’re best friends even though we don’t understand what the other one does in class for over 12 hours a week. While she may spend more hours reading a textbook, I spend more time typing away while trying to slip in some clever vocabulary words and spice up my sentences. Science majors definitely have a load of work on their back, and she definitely does more studying than I’ve done this semester, but I wouldn’t say that downgrades my major.
Earlier this week, I was doing a group project in one of my liberal learning classes and one of my groupmates asked me, extremely last minute, to “help” him with his part because he’s a science major and had a couple exams for which to study.
And that’s what grinds my gears — don’t assume that I have an easier workload just because I’m not studying formulas and labeling test tubes on the daily. And don’t assume I’m not as smart because I’m constantly writing stories.
We’re all smart and talented in different ways. Some of us will be doctors, some of us will be musicians and some of us will be teachers. Some might excel in writing but can’t solve a problem past 10th grade algebra. Some individuals might be creative, while others think in numbers and graphs. Some might struggle to write a research paper, and others might struggle to conduct research. Where would scientists be if the media didn’t cover their newest breakthroughs? You need us and we need you, and I think we both need that paycheck.
Regardless of what my major is, I’ve had my share of late nights in the library and feeling like I’m drowning in a whirlwind of assignments. We all have. We all came to college to launch a career path for ourselves. We are the future lawmakers, physicians, reporters, book publishers, business people — the list goes on. We shine in certain fields but struggle in others. What we decide to study in school, our passion, shouldn’t be judged because it isn’t what everyone else is studying. It just means you took a different route — but never an easier route. Hard work in any field is what builds a successful candidate. Just because you study something differently than others doesn’t make you superior. Just because you spent eight hours on a paper and your roommate binge-watched Season 2 of “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” for eight hours because they were assignment-free doesn’t mean her life is easier. Worry about you, your GPA and your future. Don’t belittle others because they don’t share the same vision as you.
Students share opinions around campus
Are some majors more valuable?
“Yes, different majors give you different opportunities in the work force.”
“Some majors are more valuable in terms of job market... That’s how I look at it.”
