Let it Be

I'm sick of the hate towards people who are not majoring in or pursue STEM careers (STEM being Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.)

A very vocal minority of STEMs believe it okay to openly express their disdain for non-STEM majors, especially those who pursue majors that don't have a lot of post-graduation job security. They believe that because these non-STEMs will not be able to jump right into their major or make over $100,000 a year that these majors are worthless.

I'm not saying that every STEM major goes into the field because he doesn't like his field. But no one takes a gender studies major as their security blanket. The opposite is more common; more people enter the filed of say, engineering because they were good at math in high school, it pays well and there's high job security.

I bring this up because there are days when I feel like a failure for being a vocal performance major. I love singing and I love music and I know for a fact that I could never bring myself to enjoy a job in the STEM field. A lot of this perceived failure comes from set societal norms. You have to go to college, you have to get a degree in a field that pays well, you have to get married and have a child before the age of 30, you have to have a white picket fence, you have to work at your job until you're 70, and THEN AND ONLY THEN are you allowed to enjoy the gift of life because you have paid your dues.

Being a musician is not going to be fruitful in terms of money. It will, however, be fruitful in terms of joy and experience and happiness. Not everyone in the STEM field can say that.

And again, I don't mean to bag on people who are pursuing STEM careers. I commend you, society needs those jobs. And many of you probably love your jobs. That's wonderful. I just don't think individuals should be afraid to pursue their dreams just because they're afraid of not being financially secure or because society will look down on them.

We need technology and we need science and we need math. But in the same vein, we need the arts. I know literally zero people who dislike music. It provides joy and happiness and an escape, even if only for a few moments. We are not useless. People like to ridicule the guys who work the counter at McDonald's or the register at Walmart. If every counter worker went on strike at this very moment, the world would be in chaos for at least a little while. Every job has its place. Every bolt and screw and gear has its place in the machine.

Money does not buy happiness. It helps, but if it were an infallible saying there wouldn't be celebrities overdosing on drugs or putting bullets in their heads. Performing and making others happy because of my singing is my source of happiness. STEM majors, gender studies majors, historians, lawyers, we shouldn't shit on each other's happiness. Who are you to make someone feel bad for being daring enough to pursue their dreams?

As The Beatles so nicely put it, just let it be.