Psyching around: A rant session.
10:00pm, 15th September 2019
Hey there :) (yes this is my standard greeting now)
I know I owe you guys a review of 'Turtles All the way down' but a lot has gone down in the past week or so and I've found myself with little to no time to write down my thoughts on the book (I will soon tho! spoiler alert: I love the book greatly and it holds a special place in my heart).
This post, however, will be based around a personal rant (i figured that this is what the general public is keen on reading so imma exploit these views).
I've recently enrolled into University for a Bachelors Degree in Psychology and the amount of backlash/back-handed compliments I received lead to a few mental breakdowns (a couple dozen, no worries) and I realised that most of these said 'concerns' come from a very exclusive perspective.
Although Higher education in Arts and Humanities subjects have seen a significant increase, the stigma around pursuing such subjects have yet to dissipate. Subjects that are considered 'logical' and 'objective' (such as, but not limited to, Sciences and Finances) are preferred fields of study because they have always had a solid foundation and have created a belief in people that they 'secure' you a place in this world because you can't go wrong with something that's already set in stone. It is true that they are developing fields of study as well but the developments are usually positive and always follow a pattern. Arts and Humanities, on the other hand, are rather subjective and are ever-changing with the tides of time as theories are still being produced every day; some that end up opposing popular theories, actually.
It is this 'guarantee'-issue that tampers with our perception of what's a better degree to pursue. While most adults in our life have our best interests in heart, they can often think with a societal perspective rather than one where you play a pivotal role. I'm not saying this is bad, after all society does play a large part in the rulings we follow as humans, however, it can be quite a backward way of thinking which leads to a trapped lifestyle.
The truth about things is that the Arts and Humanities are what drives the world in a creative and innovative direction. These subjects take what exist already and develop them to make the world a better place, much like the subjects that are seen to be of a 'higher' standards so why are they treated to be less important?
The answer lies in the ever changing job market and economy-based thinking. While jobs in all fields are equally important, preference is given to those that come from the aforementioned 'logical' subjects for the simple reasoning that they are more 'difficult' to attain. Funnily enough, this 'demand' for jobs and popularity of the fields have a positive correlation; they increase together, so really, we're stuck in a cycle of 'which came first, the chicken or the egg?', or in other words 'does the subject define the job or does the job define the subject?'
Popular job offers surrounding the Arts and Humanities revolve around the field of Education and 'Advocate' positions, meaning that they often include teaching of the subject area or further research into the subject area. This is what society considers 'Social service' in other words, things that most people believe 'everyone' is capable of doing, therefore the price tag attached to these jobs often fall many zero figures short in comparison to those of people with jobs in the 'logical' fields.
Subjects like Psychology have no defining field but people tend to mislabel it as a 'Arts' subject simply because of its supposed 'attainability' which is a load of bullshit if you ask me, considering the fact that the workload is as strenuous and the 'fruits' of it are barely nothing in comparison; all we have is the satisfaction that we're serving society and that would have been enough to appease us a few dozen years ago but in the state of economical crisis that we've found ourselves in, it makes no sense to pay our efforts off with a 'thank you' .
This schema often leads to teenagers like myself who have always felt a keener interest towards these free-spirited yet personality defining subjects feeling as though we are achieving less than we can and especially less than our peers. In simpler terms, people can make you feel 'dumb' for selecting an Arts subject over a Science which makes absolutely no sense because your subject area does not and should not define your intelligence or worth. You can be as brilliant as Shakespeare in Literature but that somehow does not matter if you aren't as brilliant in Biology or Mathematics or Accounting. In fact, the opposite is not expected; no one cares if you're bad at Language if you're a genius in Mathematics, it's not a requirement for you to be good at both. This double standards and pinning of one subject intelligence over the other has shattered more children's hearts than statistics can show you but no one likes talking about it because it has become a NORM to undermine the intellect of students who show brilliance in unconventional subjects. This is not just a personal concern and if you perceive it as such, chances are, you've been pulled into the societal way of thinking that the arts subjects aren't as difficult as the 'logical' ones, which I don't blame you for: a schema, if you didn't know, means something that is embedded and it isn't easy to remove with a single blog post.
A degree is a degree; something to elevate your intellect while also helping you earn an income in a field you have an expertise in. There is no 'value-less' subject; it makes no sense for people to establish or formulate a subject that has no value.
That being said, there is also a sickening scenario where most students are often forced into learning a subject that other people perceive to be more 'useful'. This might be helpful for them in the 'long run' as they say but at this rate of earth decay, are we really going to force ourselves to spend time learning things that do not spark our interest in the least? I understand that not everyone can do what they love due to physical and financial disabilities but what stings the most is that people who are truly passionate about certain subjects are talked into pursuing others all because of the 'job market' influence. While maximum income is an attractive thought, it isn't as easy as you think it is; in fact, most often, it is exhausting and it drains a good lifetime out of you, so imagine stepping into a field that you don't necessarily like to begin with and having to force yourself to be at a job that you can't find satisfaction in doing. Some research into it should tell you of the endless list of side-effects that come from doing so. Borderline: less satisfaction in what you do leads to less efficiency which in turn leads to potential sacking and you're back to square one.
Some adults I know have argued that doing something you claim to love doesn't always go the way we imagine either and I understand that point of view. It makes sense that our expectations may not always be met with as much precision as we would like them to, however it still stands that a fondness for the subject area can make dealing with a 9-5 job more tolerable. It may not be easy (no job is easy) but it will be enjoyable to some extent. There is something quite rewarding with the idea of doing what you love and earning an income from a profession that you chose for yourself. It stands that there is no one who knows you better than you know yourself; what everyone else perceives is the tip of the iceberg, after-all.
I don't know the secret behind increasing job demands in the Arts and Humanities field or how to slice through the stigma but I do know that educating as many people as you can about the reasoning behind the stigma and the alternative way of thinking can help ease the air around the conversation and potentially simmer the stigma down to nothing but old waters.
I would like to point out that advising people on their subject choices is very helpful for the individuals concerned, however you have to keep in mind that there is a fine line between 'advising' and 'dictating'; your words should not make them feel as though their choices are limited or that they owe their choices to someone else (especially to their parents). They may acquire their financial needs from their parents, however, that does not mean that they have to base their future around them. Their parents have lived their lives, it is now time for them to live their own. This doesn't mean they have to forget about their parents' advice altogether; it simply means that they should be allowed to make an independent decision regarding this phase of their lives, granted that they are given a full run-through of the pros and cons of said subject area.
Conclusively, I would like to wish everyone a wonderful school year ahead (College/ALevels/OLevels and otherwise) :) Every subject is equally important and equally draining (yay for deadlines!) so don't worry yourself out of your wits about what others have to say about your choices: I believe that our lives have been planned for us since day 1 and our choices are what dictate who we end up being. All the best with every lecture/assignment/exam ahead of you! May we all learn to accept ourselves and our choices a little better over time :)<3
All my love,
N x.
Hey there :) (yes this is my standard greeting now)
I know I owe you guys a review of 'Turtles All the way down' but a lot has gone down in the past week or so and I've found myself with little to no time to write down my thoughts on the book (I will soon tho! spoiler alert: I love the book greatly and it holds a special place in my heart).
This post, however, will be based around a personal rant (i figured that this is what the general public is keen on reading so imma exploit these views).
I've recently enrolled into University for a Bachelors Degree in Psychology and the amount of backlash/back-handed compliments I received lead to a few mental breakdowns (a couple dozen, no worries) and I realised that most of these said 'concerns' come from a very exclusive perspective.
Although Higher education in Arts and Humanities subjects have seen a significant increase, the stigma around pursuing such subjects have yet to dissipate. Subjects that are considered 'logical' and 'objective' (such as, but not limited to, Sciences and Finances) are preferred fields of study because they have always had a solid foundation and have created a belief in people that they 'secure' you a place in this world because you can't go wrong with something that's already set in stone. It is true that they are developing fields of study as well but the developments are usually positive and always follow a pattern. Arts and Humanities, on the other hand, are rather subjective and are ever-changing with the tides of time as theories are still being produced every day; some that end up opposing popular theories, actually.
It is this 'guarantee'-issue that tampers with our perception of what's a better degree to pursue. While most adults in our life have our best interests in heart, they can often think with a societal perspective rather than one where you play a pivotal role. I'm not saying this is bad, after all society does play a large part in the rulings we follow as humans, however, it can be quite a backward way of thinking which leads to a trapped lifestyle.
The truth about things is that the Arts and Humanities are what drives the world in a creative and innovative direction. These subjects take what exist already and develop them to make the world a better place, much like the subjects that are seen to be of a 'higher' standards so why are they treated to be less important?
The answer lies in the ever changing job market and economy-based thinking. While jobs in all fields are equally important, preference is given to those that come from the aforementioned 'logical' subjects for the simple reasoning that they are more 'difficult' to attain. Funnily enough, this 'demand' for jobs and popularity of the fields have a positive correlation; they increase together, so really, we're stuck in a cycle of 'which came first, the chicken or the egg?', or in other words 'does the subject define the job or does the job define the subject?'
Popular job offers surrounding the Arts and Humanities revolve around the field of Education and 'Advocate' positions, meaning that they often include teaching of the subject area or further research into the subject area. This is what society considers 'Social service' in other words, things that most people believe 'everyone' is capable of doing, therefore the price tag attached to these jobs often fall many zero figures short in comparison to those of people with jobs in the 'logical' fields.
Subjects like Psychology have no defining field but people tend to mislabel it as a 'Arts' subject simply because of its supposed 'attainability' which is a load of bullshit if you ask me, considering the fact that the workload is as strenuous and the 'fruits' of it are barely nothing in comparison; all we have is the satisfaction that we're serving society and that would have been enough to appease us a few dozen years ago but in the state of economical crisis that we've found ourselves in, it makes no sense to pay our efforts off with a 'thank you' .
This schema often leads to teenagers like myself who have always felt a keener interest towards these free-spirited yet personality defining subjects feeling as though we are achieving less than we can and especially less than our peers. In simpler terms, people can make you feel 'dumb' for selecting an Arts subject over a Science which makes absolutely no sense because your subject area does not and should not define your intelligence or worth. You can be as brilliant as Shakespeare in Literature but that somehow does not matter if you aren't as brilliant in Biology or Mathematics or Accounting. In fact, the opposite is not expected; no one cares if you're bad at Language if you're a genius in Mathematics, it's not a requirement for you to be good at both. This double standards and pinning of one subject intelligence over the other has shattered more children's hearts than statistics can show you but no one likes talking about it because it has become a NORM to undermine the intellect of students who show brilliance in unconventional subjects. This is not just a personal concern and if you perceive it as such, chances are, you've been pulled into the societal way of thinking that the arts subjects aren't as difficult as the 'logical' ones, which I don't blame you for: a schema, if you didn't know, means something that is embedded and it isn't easy to remove with a single blog post.
A degree is a degree; something to elevate your intellect while also helping you earn an income in a field you have an expertise in. There is no 'value-less' subject; it makes no sense for people to establish or formulate a subject that has no value.
That being said, there is also a sickening scenario where most students are often forced into learning a subject that other people perceive to be more 'useful'. This might be helpful for them in the 'long run' as they say but at this rate of earth decay, are we really going to force ourselves to spend time learning things that do not spark our interest in the least? I understand that not everyone can do what they love due to physical and financial disabilities but what stings the most is that people who are truly passionate about certain subjects are talked into pursuing others all because of the 'job market' influence. While maximum income is an attractive thought, it isn't as easy as you think it is; in fact, most often, it is exhausting and it drains a good lifetime out of you, so imagine stepping into a field that you don't necessarily like to begin with and having to force yourself to be at a job that you can't find satisfaction in doing. Some research into it should tell you of the endless list of side-effects that come from doing so. Borderline: less satisfaction in what you do leads to less efficiency which in turn leads to potential sacking and you're back to square one.
Some adults I know have argued that doing something you claim to love doesn't always go the way we imagine either and I understand that point of view. It makes sense that our expectations may not always be met with as much precision as we would like them to, however it still stands that a fondness for the subject area can make dealing with a 9-5 job more tolerable. It may not be easy (no job is easy) but it will be enjoyable to some extent. There is something quite rewarding with the idea of doing what you love and earning an income from a profession that you chose for yourself. It stands that there is no one who knows you better than you know yourself; what everyone else perceives is the tip of the iceberg, after-all.
I don't know the secret behind increasing job demands in the Arts and Humanities field or how to slice through the stigma but I do know that educating as many people as you can about the reasoning behind the stigma and the alternative way of thinking can help ease the air around the conversation and potentially simmer the stigma down to nothing but old waters.
I would like to point out that advising people on their subject choices is very helpful for the individuals concerned, however you have to keep in mind that there is a fine line between 'advising' and 'dictating'; your words should not make them feel as though their choices are limited or that they owe their choices to someone else (especially to their parents). They may acquire their financial needs from their parents, however, that does not mean that they have to base their future around them. Their parents have lived their lives, it is now time for them to live their own. This doesn't mean they have to forget about their parents' advice altogether; it simply means that they should be allowed to make an independent decision regarding this phase of their lives, granted that they are given a full run-through of the pros and cons of said subject area.
Conclusively, I would like to wish everyone a wonderful school year ahead (College/ALevels/OLevels and otherwise) :) Every subject is equally important and equally draining (yay for deadlines!) so don't worry yourself out of your wits about what others have to say about your choices: I believe that our lives have been planned for us since day 1 and our choices are what dictate who we end up being. All the best with every lecture/assignment/exam ahead of you! May we all learn to accept ourselves and our choices a little better over time :)<3
All my love,
N x.
Well said, Najaha! ♥️
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