CREATIVE WRITING - EASY-A

  Creative Writing 

Tutorial Assignment 6 / Easy-A

“I’d say mass communication is a no-go. You’re not going to get a job overseas with that. And I’m sure you wouldn’t want to marry someone just because you want citizenship, right? If you really want to pursue that still, take it with a minor in Law or Social Science…”, said the representative of some university at the annual educational fair in 2016.

Dumbfounded and very much embarrassed next to another friend of mine, I could only nod and smile out of respect. 

Why was my passion looked down on? Why is it still being looked down upon? Why is it that whenever someone hears any arts and humanities course, they would think it is an “Easy-A”? That it does not require any effort, any late-night researches and calculations compared to other subjects. Specifically, sciences and business studies. 

This long-standing and, quite frankly, stupidly unnecessary argument has caused many students to deviate from their intended passions and interests. I for one was one of them. It got to the point where I wanted to become a lawyer for the sake of having the “safety-net future” - great pay, great house, great life. 

Arts and sciences both equally consist of their fair share of difficulties and simplicities.  Art is not just paper and pencil, it goes beyond - graphic design, music, journalism, advertising, film, and the list goes on and on. The same goes for sciences. There is physics, mathematics, artificial intelligence, astronomy, and many others. There are even courses that correlate both arts and sciences together! Architecture, anyone? 

The stereotypical misconceptions of university courses have proved to be deleterious; hindering and limiting potentials everywhere. One does not outweigh nor does it prove superior to the other. Both require just as much effort, just as much hard work, and above all, just as much respect. 

There have been countless stories of fresh grads coming out to do completely different work than what they have studied! An example of those people would be the founders of MyBurgerLab, a famous homegrown burger joint. Two of them graduated with a degree in Engineering while another with a degree in Business and Finance. Yet, here they are years later with six outlets filled with people lining for their sinfully delicious burgers. 

Fun fact: RenYi Chin, a Co-Founder of MyBurgerLab, shared that initially, he wanted to be a clown or a rollercoaster designer! All because of his passion for wanting to make people smile and laugh. 

You see, what we study does not define us as a person but rather what we can contribute back to society. It does not matter what qualifications we graduate from or what states on that piece of laminated paper, nothing guarantees a secured future. However, this elementary concept has been yet to be grasped and accepted into our society despite numerous times of explaining how without arts and humanities jobs and graduates, we will not have what we have today.

 

Time and time again, many are still faced with the crossroads of wanting to please society and choosing their passion. It has been imbued into our minds since the beginning of our education journey that sciences are the superior option. They are the courses that will contribute to your future wealth, security, and societal hierarchy. Especially during annual family dinners when asked what course will you be taking in university. It seems like there is always an automated response of “Wowwww”, “Which university, Cambridge or Oxford?”, “Your parents must be so proud of you, they don’t have to worry about your future”, compared to arts and humanities of “Ohhh” paired usually with a small smile signalling that the conversation is over. 

No. 

Please stop with the discouraging, disheartening, and disappointing looks and comments. We did not share with you our courses for you to wonder and question why this and why not that, nor for you to judge what we know what is best for our future. It is hard enough to have the courage to still pursue what we love with the majority of the society deeming our courses an “Easy-A” and in some cases, “You must have failed your high school subjects for you to enter in such an easy course”. 

Instead, ask yourselves: If our world is without arts and humanities, would that not be as equally detrimental?

(726 words)