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by planet-and-halo
1759 days ago
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Not exactly what you're looking for, but I started in Philosophy and could have minored, but I finished my degree in History. Quick thoughts: 1. I gave my siblings the advice after I was done to double major in something you love and something that will guarantee you employment. I graduated with not the most financially rewarding degrees, and while I ultimately taught myself programming and have made a pretty good career out of it, I wish I'd paired my humanities with compsci or business off the bat to make the whole job thing easier. 2. That said, I am very happy I studied those topics. They gave me a perspective that I don't think I would have gotten in a more nuts-and-bolts field. The name "humanities" is right on point: it's the study of what it means and what it's like to be a human being. And while I've been bitterly disappointed by the corruption of the field (which is the main reason I'm not a college professor now), I still think it's tremendously useful to have learned these things. David Foster Wallace's famous graduation speech has a line I particularly like, where he says something to the effect of "in the trenches of everyday life, it's little clichés that will kill you." All of this "obvious" wisdom that seems sort of hokey and unscientific often contains deep and terrible truths about life and what it means to be a person. And having a guidebook for that journey is a damned useful thing, and I feel bad for anyone who doesn't have one. This stuff won't solve all your problems, but it might help you with some of them. Chances are that of all the human beings who have ever lived, one of the great writers or thinkers or historical figures has dealt with something akin to what you will. We aren't all that different from one another. You can get some pretty good ideas out there for free. So I'm very grateful to have access to and a background in those things. |
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