It seems that no matter where you wind up in life, there is always a seemingly “better” or more prestigious path to take. Maybe that different path could have landed you a higher paying job or more stability, but really, what does that matter if your heart’s not in it? As a collegiate student, navigating through life is already hard enough. We are forced to be stuck in the grey area of real independence vs actual adulthood. We are left on our own to decide what in this life is really for us, and we are judged no matter what we may decide to do to better ourselves.
In the collegiate world, I have noticed endless room for judgment. The attitude of elitism actually is so surprising in a college setting. You’d expect almost everyone to understand that we’re all working through this differently in the best ways for us. Right? Wrong. People will assume the outcome of your whole life based off of fundamental decisions like deciding to go to a Historically Black College/University vs a Predominantly White Institution. As this judgment intensifies, people will narrow down your potential of success based on one key thing: your major.
The category of your major will literally entice completely different reactions from your peers, your relatives, and even your higher-ups. Have you ever noticed how when someone proclaims a major in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics) field, the entire room will gasp in awe. Comments will float around stating things along the line of: “That could never be me”, “Oh, you’re smart, smart”, “That’s money”, etc.
However, on the complete opposite side of the spectrum, a Liberal Arts student can announce their major in Art History, Mass Media, Fashion and so on and then get almost the exact opposite response: “So, what do you plan to do with that?” Just like that. Nothing more, nothing less. No applause or amazement, because really what does creativity do for the world? Right? Wrong!
The perpetuation of the starving artist syndrome based on creatives who are college graduates or not has allowed room for the creation of a strong sense of elitism within the collegiate center. The biggest issue with this is that it diminishes one’s outcome for success based on the fact that their nature is more creative than most. As if the world doesn’t thrive off of creativity as much as it may thrive off of advancements in the STEM field.
Supporting the nature of this energy only allows room for it to intensify, which ultimately serves as a divide in the workforce. The concern with this is that, within a divide, people are unable to understand what they may be able to respectfully and skillfully do for another. For example, a doctor’s cure cannot be broadcasted without journalists. A business person’s company cannot be marketed without artistic creatives. So on, and so forth.
The more respect that we can build for each other and cycle into the word, the better because, in reality, we need one another. No one major or profession can handle the tasks of a whole community and no single profession should be expected to. However, what needs to be expected and is an end to the elitist nature we pose as intellectuals in an academic setting. At the end of the day, we are all paying tuition, we are all putting in work, we are all planning to contribute something bigger than ourselves to the world. We just need the support.