Arts And Humanities
I wasn't sure what I wanted to major in college, but I was pretty sure that I wanted to get an arts education. I grew up believing that the arts and humanities were some of the most important factors in any civilization. My parents used to always take us down to the Museum of Modern Art on weekends, and I could spend hours there just browsing through the different fantastic works. I think that I knew how art inspired people better than most children. By the age of 12, I already considered myself an aspiring artist. My parents would encourage me a lot, and soon I was winning art contests. I didn't know if I wanted to be a fine artist, of course, but I did want to study art history.
I enrolled in an arts and humanities program in college. It was a pretty interesting and unique program. Basically, it was a lot like a literature major except that you would also study the visual arts. It was exactly what I wanted. The emphasis was on how the different arts and humanities affected each other and affected the culture around them. It had a lot in common with art history, but it was more literary and more hands-on. By the time I was done with that program, I had a decent understanding of several fine art styles, a good working knowledge of composition, and an excellent feel for the history of Western culture.
The question was, how could I take my arts and humanities knowledge and put it to work for me finding a job. I knew a lot of arts and humanities students who got done with college and simply went to work in an office somewhere. There was nothing wrong with this in and of itself, but it seemed sort of like a waste of my education. I did have some interesting, specialized knowledge, and I wanted to make good use of it. Working in office all day didn't seem like the best way to do that.
I did a lot of research into arts and humanities jobs, but I kept coming to the same conclusion. The only way that I could really use my degree was to go back into academia. I thought for a long time, but in the end I knew it was what I had to do. Being an academic, I could think about the artistic and creative side of things all day and encourage other students to become excited about it. Looking back, I think it was the best decision I ever made. I am now a full professor absolutely loving my job and I think I make a difference in the lives of my students.
