by Maya Koeppen ‘17

As a senior, I am constantly being bombarded with the questions: where are you applying; what’s your top choice; and, most importantly, what do you want to study? When I respond that I want to major in journalism, the replies are not always positive. I have heard it be referred to as a “dying profession” and questioned on multiple occasions about whether or not I’m worried about finding a job after college. As if the impending death of print newspapers equates to the funeral of the profession as a whole. But why does this matter, anyway? After all, I’m sure I would not have to deal with these responses if I was pursuing a more “respectable” major like nursing or engineering.

So, what defines a “respectable” major exactly? Nothing, should be the answer. No person’s education has more or less value based on what they decide to study. You cannot put a price tag on someone’s passion and if it’s what they love, what does it matter whether they want to become a teacher or neuroscientist? After all, a college degree is a college degree no matter the major.