One of the first questions I get asked when meeting new people at Hopkins is "What's your major?"
When they hear the response, "English and Art History," some people are intrigued, others are confused, and many are skeptical.
"So how are you going to feed yourself after college?" they ask me, only half jokingly. This is a question that I have also asked myself over and over again.
Though I have yet to find the exact answer to this looming question, here is what I have come up with so far.
I first knew I wanted to major in English when I was a junior in high school. I had this amazing teacher who truly loved the written word with a passion that was contagious. I, too, began to fall in love with literature and decided that literature was something that I wanted to pursue in college. My other passion in high school was art, a passion that didn't really develop until my senior year, thanks to another amazing teacher and a completely new and demanding environment.
When college application time rolled around, I was truly torn between applying to fine arts institutions and liberal arts institutions. The factors that ultimately made me decide to apply early to Hopkins were the strong English department and the opportunity to continue taking art classes, either at Hopkins or at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA).
Once I got to Hopkins, I began taking Art History classes simply out of interest and curiosity, and I loved them.
As a student, I am much more comfortable in a small, discussion based classroom than a huge lecture hall, but amazingly, I was able to sit through an hour and a half lecture, fully attentive and interested the entire time.
As the semester progressed, the history of art and the work produced by other artists began to intrigue me just as much as producing my own work, if not more.
By second semester, I knew that Art History was something that I loved and really craved just as much as literature, making my decision to double major almost reflexive.
And now here I am, a sophomore double major in the humanities at Hopkins, with no idea of what she wants to do after graduation. So really I haven't even come close to answering that ominous question of supporting myself when the time comes.
I think I have, however, answered the question of "why?"
Simply put, I love it. I love the written word. I love art. Both evoke such a sense of awe and stillness in me that I don't even mind the hours upon hours spent slaving over papers, doing close readings, reading and rereading, and analyzing why exactly the artist chose to use that particular saint in that particular corner of that particular painting.
In fact, I love that too.
So while others scoff and turn their noses up claiming that the abstract and beautifully simplistic work of many modern artists, like Piet Mondrian, isn't "real art", or that Faulkner was crazy for using thirty page long sentences, I think that they are brilliant.
So I guess you could just say I have a different perspective. For me, my major has nothing to do with any concern I have for my future and its security, a fact that my parents aren't too thrilled with.
Knowing exactly what you will be doing after college and exactly what job you will be working and exactly how much you will be making at the age of nineteen is ridiculous, unrealistic, and frankly quite dull.
Yes, having financial security might pay the bills; after all, money is what makes the world go round. But doing something you love and care passionately about is what makes life interesting, fulfilling, and yes, fun.
So, even though money is what makes the world go round, pursuing your dreams and self-achievement is what gives it that extra special twirl.
