Hatred against art majors, theatre majors, music majors, and writing majors has been going on for a very long time. Recently, however, it seems to have reached its pinnacle. As the best friend and roommate of someone who is majoring in Visual Communications, comments such as the one above are getting increasingly annoying. Now, I'm not an art, theatre, music, or writing major. I like acting, I love singing, drawing is pretty fun, and writing is my passion, but I would never be able to dedicate four years of my life to such things. Doing so takes very hard work, skill, and incredible dedication and sanity. Me, I'm a French and English major. Yet I've seen first-hand just how much work and time goes into being a Visual Communications major.
Take my best friend and roommate, Lauren. She is an incredible artist and creator. I'm not entirely sure how her mind works. An assignment will be given to her and she can come up with the most interesting, obscure, beautiful concepts with just a simple sentence to work off of. I can never fathom how she does it. I have seen her spend sleepless nights on assignments, cry because of the pressure, and beam with pride when she sees one of her posters displayed on campus. Art is something she has always done, something she was meant to do. And for people to say that she's an idiot for being an art major, or that she'll never amount to anything more than a cashier at McDonald's is absolute bullshit.
Think of the poster for your favorite movie. It was designed by a graphic artist. Or the cover for your favorite book. Or the CD booklet of your favorite singer. Or the Starbucks logo. The image on your favorite t-shirt. All of these were designed by graphic artists. Think for a moment how boring and plain the world would look if we didn't have people like Lauren to fill everything with color and beautiful, clever designs. It's people like her who make the world interesting. And you'd better believe that graphic artists get paid pretty damn well for what they do.
It's not just art majors who deserve credit, either. Theatre and music majors work their asses off just as much as everyone else, if not more. You've sat through productions like Little Women and Spring Awakening; don't tell me that theatre majors don't do anything when you know perfectly well how hard the actors and every member of the crew worked to pull those off, in addition to everything else they do as students here at Truman. I know how difficult music can be, just through the limited experience with it that I've had. Also, think about your favorite book, poem, or short story. I can't imagine the hours and stress that goes into making a living out of it, of rehearsing a piece to perfection, of making sure that every note is absolutely right.
Personally, I don't think I could handle a major that was about competition, knowing that I am essentially competing against every single one of my classmates to be the best, both in school and out in the real world. More than anything, I wanted to be a creative writing major, but I was too chicken to even apply for it. (As a BFA, you can't just declare the major - you have to be accepted into it.) I was too scared to follow my dreams of writing because I didn't think it would get me a job. Though I love French, I wish more than anything that my double major was Creative Writing and not English. (Don't get me wrong, I love literature, too - I just love fiction writing more.) My concentration for my English major isn't even composition, but linguistics. Why? Not because I think linguistics is the grooviest subject matter in the world, but because I need to get a job after school. Art, theatre, music, and creative writing majors are all out there following their dreams and making something real out of their dreams, something most of us are probably too scared to do.
So when you're out there handing a large carton of fries to someone, just remember one thing: an art major designed that carton.
So when you're out there handing a large carton of fries to someone, just remember one thing: an art major designed that carton.
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