I realized at an early age that nothing is better than staring at a big white vinyl screen with a cascade of vivid images shining onto it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Film is so deeply engraved into my heart that it shapes me. Deep down, I always knew working in the film industry was my calling. Coming from a small town, I had literally no one with dreams like mine \u2014 college was my fresh start to indulge in the topics that made me, me. The initial excitement of meeting people with similar interests to mine was intoxicating.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, I\u2019ve met with the challenge nearly everyone majoring in the arts or humanities encounters \u2014 being looked down on by STEM majors. These individuals believe that having \u201charder\u201d majors somehow gives them the right to talk down to students pursuing anything slightly outside of it. Just in my short couple of months at Pitt, I\u2019ve had to say time and again that majors in the arts and humanities need to and should be appreciated more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Throughout my senior year of high school, plenty of people had questioned, judged and outright denounced my dreams as unrealistic \u2014 though in high school, it was just petty remarks. In college, the comments are more excessive and in your face \u2014 there\u2019s a certain superiority that STEM majors have when speaking to or about non-STEM majors. One big example of what I\u2019ve encountered is passive-aggressively asking, \u201cWhat will you actually do though?\u201d as if there\u2019s no possible way I could ever succeed in film. Moreover, I\u2019ve had a few react with an instant superiority complex, as they let the conversation die and leave. Now, not all STEM majors think this way, and there\u2019s many that are creatives as well, but I\u2019ve encountered a lot of these creatives in my first semester so far.<\/p>\n
As a film major, I\u2019ve heard so much about how easy it is, that it\u2019s pointless and, of course, that I\u2019ll be unemployed. These basic stereotypes all seem to boil down to what STEM majors believe the financial situation of my future will be. Majors in the arts and humanities are strongly associated with the trope of the \u201cstarving artist\u201d \u2014 an easy insult often used against students taking this path. STEM majors, on the complete opposite side of the spectrum, are seen to have a clear path to a more financially stable future. Choosing a more stable option doesn\u2019t make someone smarter or better in any way \u2014 everyone has the right to choose their own path and what\u2019s best for them. For some, their path isn\u2019t the one that will line their pockets immediately, but that doesn\u2019t make it wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t want to make STEM majors feel guilty by association for their bad apples. STEM is incredibly important, and having a mother who\u2019s an ER nurse has given me a deep appreciation for their strength and ambition. Still, those in the arts and humanities are important as well. Film is an unbelievably competitive industry, so the fact that I\u2019m even willing to take the risk to try to break into it shows that I have just as much, if not more, ambition within me. Creativity is an overlooked skill in today\u2019s society of quick entertainment and AI tools, but it\u2019s a necessary one. Art and human expression are as integral to society as structure and science are.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nobody should be shamed for following their dreams \u2014 whether it\u2019s a dream in the arts or STEM. Personally, I need to create to feel fulfilled, and I know others who feel the same. I\u2019ll never be satisfied working in a cog-in-the-machine kind of environment where I produce the same outcomes as everyone else. Others might see it differently, and that\u2019s OK. We all have our own unique viewpoints on the world that fuel our purpose, and I see no need to put others down for what they decide to do.<\/p>\n
I think it\u2019s better to focus on unity rather than creating even more needless divides in our generation \u2014 we are the future leaders, creators and foundation of tomorrow. To make our future better, it\u2019s necessary to build a foundation of unification free of bias. People who look down on others aren\u2019t doing what makes them happiest, but rather putting their ego the highest. To those who still think the arts are pointless, I hope you enjoy the movie you\u2019ll watch this weekend \u2014 the one that was made by people who don\u2019t have real jobs.\u00a0<\/p>\n