Ursa Minor.
-August of 2008-
Wish they told us how silly we were with our arms full of Shakespearean sonnets, early 19th-Century American literature, and a Spanish-English dictionary, Vol. 5. Wish they could have told us that the last final we bombed on Oscar Wilde would never be anything more than the flick of a pen mark staining the page of some weathered grade book that had been tossed aside in a molting cardboard box. And that “A” you received on the paper you spent eight weeks grueling over will quickly reclaim its rightful place at the beginning of the alphabet, and as time wears on, it will become less and less a description of you.
No. They didn’t tell us that.
They didn’t tell us that "Statistics" is more than percentages; that the liberal arts are for the freethinkers, not the moneymakers. That, once you step foot off that college campus, there will be a disclaimer hanging off your back, blinking the words: Inadequate Graduate.
And those bright, hopeful eyes of yours along with that easily jilted swagger will cause people to snort and ask, "Who do you think you are?"
While Business and Economics majors were learning about trade and fiscal policy, safely securing their future position at a major corporation like CitiGroup or accounting firms, we were learning about the nine circles of hell in Dante's Divine Comedy. No, we knew this particular course would not necessarily gain us anything in the present work force, but our thirst for a knowledge beyond practicality propelled us to enroll in the class anyway.
And so our entire academic lives at the university soon came to be about learning--not equations, Einstein's theory of relativity, or corporate strategy--but learning about humanity, about man's innate desires, vices and strengths, about what gives breath to human beings today, what breathed life into them many centuries ago; oh so many ingenious minds did we try to deconstruct simply by reading text. It came to be about enrichment, about not taking words or people at face value. About finding the meanings in life, nestled somewhere in between contradictions and concrete matter-of-fact-ly's.
Learning about the hundreds of mines still laying about the grassy fields of Laos, waiting to erupt at any moment (4 decades after they'd been dropped by the U.S. during Vietnam)...or discovering that Mark Twain was just as much of a progressive thinker in terms of race as he was a popular literary figure. All these things and more opened our eyes to the world we live in, to realities so mind-blowing that the size of the rock you've found yourself living under all these years has only magnified 10,000 times its previous form.
Which of us do you prefer? The English majors? The ones who can find beauty in the shape of a word, who can take a single phrase and apply it to any area of life, who can twist and twirl shuffled letters and sounds into distinct beats and rhythms...
The History buffs? Those who recognize the unmistakable link between past and present, and hence, fear for the future? And yet, the scattered inconsistencies provide hope for us still...
Or do you lean towards the artists? The painters, the photographers, the future film connoisseurs? The ones whose undying passion for art serves as proof that people upon this earth still hold on to the belief that while true beauty cannot be replicated, its meaning can forever be reproduced, so long as you possess the will to keep it alive—in whatever shape or form you deem necessary.
And of course, there are the philosophers. Students of philosophy are students of life forever more. But then again, aren’t we all in some way philosophers? Beings always questioning, always searching, always living in wonder. Always needing to know. We’ll look to the stars, to the past, and/or to our faith. We’ll borrow our mathematician friend’s compass and ruler, or steal a microscope from the Physics department, attempting to unveil some truth in chaos. Maybe we’ll find an answer, maybe we won’t. But we continue to search anyway. And when we realize that measurements and specimen slides won’t offer us any greater amount of clarification to the wonders of life, we can take it upon ourselves to just breathe. Breathe just a little.
True. We didn’t walk out of there with a Bachelor of Science in Statistics or Business Management. We might not have graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering. But we do know a little bit more about humanity and those funny little beings who roam the earth. We gazed into their minds whose matter was spilled upon page after page of plays, poetry, history books, biographies, reproduced paintings and photographs. We studied their stories and listened to their songs. We read their words and smiled, or laughed, or cried—cringed, or fumed or ranted or sighed.
And because we did that—because we stopped to learn just a little bit more about humanity—we began to understand a little bit more about ourselves. Us, the embodiment of life—the "livers"--(pardon my inappropriate use of the word.) Anyway...
Yes, those Wall Street jocks got the jobs, and yes, those computer nerds got their Audis and Acura TSX’s….but we walked away with an invaluable appreciation for life on a level a person without a liberal arts degree may never experience.
So, Humanities majors—past and present. It is time for you to decide how minor you want your degree to be.
11Rachel Zauber, Evelyn D. Dotson and 9 others
Comments
Kim Lee Always loved this post of yours!
March 11, 2014 at 7:28pm · Like
Tracee Suntharaphat I'll have to read this when I'm not driving lol. But yes our humanities majors were worth it! Made us more well-rounded!
March 11, 2014 at 8:43pm · Like
Sheri Wendy Well said. (Besides Artists) wink emoticon - I'd have to say I prefer the English majors....
Seriously Crystal, The poetry in this old post of yours is so beautiful and thought provoking. It's no wonder my son loves you so. You are a beautiful woman with an insightful mind - so smart too! I'd love to read more of your work.
Big hugs smile emoticon
March 11, 2014 at 11:01pm · Like · 1
Grace De Guzman Dacanay Ask Auntie Emee to have your work published!
March 12, 2014 at 7:09am · Like
Kenneth A. Azurin Mmmm, now I want a burrito. ;D
This is, and always has been, brilliant.
December 30, 2010 at 2:48am · Like
Crystal Lancaster aww, thanks, ken! smile emoticon