Why Québec?

Lauren and I have been officially accepted to attend l'Université Laval in Québec City this summer!  Huzzah!  This is a major thing for us, and we're both very excited.  However, our excitement has been slightly marred by various things.  First of all, the fact that this is a small program and in charge of it is a certain professor here at Truman.  The process of applying and everything has been guided by the professor, not the study abroad office here at Truman.  We thought this was normal since the program isn't run through any of the big organizations like the ones that go to France and other places in South America and Europe.  However, this is not the case.  Turns out we were missing a big chunk of important information (as well as money that needs to be shelled out) that the professor either didn't tell us about or told us not to worry about.  So Lauren and I went to go to talk to someone in the study abroad office to get things sorted out, which is another headache in and of itself due to its confusing nature, but one thing that bothered me was the question "Why Québec?"  It wasn't politely curious like most questions.  It was more along the lines of "Why would you go to Québec for five weeks instead of spending a semester in France?"  The person we spoke to also tried to push spending a semester in France on us, which is significantly more expensive what with immensely more costly airfare.  The other problem with it is the mere fact that we don't want to go to France.  At least not right now.

Most of the time, questions pertaining to Québec are more polite.  I guess it's understandable that most people at my school go to France our at least some francophone country in Europe.  After all, that's all we study here.  We study French literature, French culture, French business, etc.  People here often develop a single-minded kind of thinking because it's all we're ever taught.  Sure, there's an elective francophone literature course, but the only time that's about Québec's literature is when it's taught by a certain professor, and that's every few years and not required like the aforementioned courses.  Of course, I'm not saying France isn't important.  As the origin of the language I study, of course it's important.  But for students, like myself, who are drawn to other cultures, it can kind of suck.

How did I "discover" Québec?  One could argue Céline Dion since I loved My Heart Will Go On and knew only that she wasn't American.  But the actual story is long and most people know it.  I discovered the musical Notre-Dame de Paris thanks to Lauren.  Bruno Pelletier became my favorite singer out of the 

whole troupe, and I quickly delved into his solo stuff.  Miserere was the first album I bought in French, despite the fact that I couldn't understand a single word.  Because I discovered all of this after high school, I had no way of learning French like I had for half a semester in my junior year.  I knew I wanted to understand all of the French music I had fallen in love with, most of the musicians being from the troupe of Notre-Dame, but, most specifically, Bruno.  A few Google searches led me to different websites where they would teach you grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation, and I began studying it vigorously.  As I took two years off after high school, I had nothing else to do with my time, and French quickly became fun for me, and it wasn't long until I was very passionate about it.  Understanding, writing, reading, and speaking such a beautiful language was and is an amazing experience for me.  When I began looking at universities, a French major was my main concern.  One of the reasons I really didn't want to go to BYU-I was because they didn't offer one.  My career goals have changed multiple times since I started thinking about college.  I've wanted to be a writer (still do), a journalist, a teacher, an interpreter, a linguist, and a translator.  Yet all of these majors were considered in mind with a French major.  I would never be just an English major or a Communications major with a concentration in journalism.  It would always be that and a major in French.  I can't picture myself not studying French.

q

Québec City, Québec

Okay, so there's my love of French.  But why Québec?  It's possible that I feel like I am so drawn to it because it's the first French I studied and began to understand.  My trip to Québec in 2009 to see Bruno Pelletier in concert was unforgettable.  Montréal is the most beautiful city in the world to me, even if I didn't get to spend that much time there.  I feel the same way about Montréal as so many people feel about Paris.  Québec is the most wondermous place I have been, the people there are some of the friendliest I have known, and the way they speak is the most beautiful French dialect I know.  It's my favorite dialect for sure. (You know, kind of like how people often say, "Omg I loooove British accents!")  Well, it's the same thing for me.  I love the Québécois accent in both French and English.  I wish Québec studies were more prevalent in my school.  Who knows?  Maybe I can change that one day.

Montréal, Québec

So there's your answer, everyone.  'Tis a question I get asked often.  Why Québec?  Because I love it, plain and simple.

"I don't always talk to art majors, but when I do, ask for large fries."

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.