Conversations on the Value of Writing

Last week I discussed the value of writing, and the reason why it seems like so many people can no longer see that value. I am eager to move forward and continue my series on "why writers write" and exactly what I believe makes writing so worthwhile for those just getting into it, but I recognize that in the previous post I only briefly touched on something about which I care deeply and find very personally relevant, and want to devote a little more time to it. That concept is the very tricky, often frustrating type of interaction that I see more and more often, whereupon a writer or someone who expresses deep interest in a topic within the humanities is often treated like a hobbyist gone too far by their more STEM or pre-professionally oriented peers. Of course, I say this as someone who has been asked how I could possibly hope to make money as a humanities major a million times, but I have also heard countless stories from friends and peers of similar things happening to them as well. It is often tough to know how to act in these sorts of scenarios, when you find yourself feeling perhaps a need or desire to educate another person about why your passion is not just a waste of time, or is of tremendous value to society, or maybe even is potentially lucrative after all. I find myself struggling to come up with the right response so often that I tend to "miss the opportunity" to really drive home the importance of the humanities to anywhere near the degree I feel have been able to do in essays such as the one published in "The Seattle Times". However, in my experience, here are some ideal responses to various degrading questions one may be asked as a serious writing/"humanities kid". I share these simply out of a desire to help my young peers, and with no malintent towards the people that ask these sorts of questions. Often, they come from a place of genuine misunderstanding, and that is not worth getting angry with somebody over. Well, here we go:

First, the classic: "XYZ humanities interest? How do you expect to make any money?"

So many possible responses. Obviously one could whip out a speech about how passion matters more than income, and can ultimately be far more rewarding. Sadly, to the majority of the population this makes you sound crazy. So, maybe it is time to give some spiel about how an understanding of the humanities/good writing skills are essential and versatile, can prepare you to be an executive and have good people skills, and so on. This is the most common but also least fun question to answer, because the humanities are essentially non-preprofessional and to view being an English major as job training means having exactly the wrong idea.

This is one I am beginning to hear more often. "I like English class, but isn't science and technology just way more progressive? You can get somewhere and aid society way more clearly." This one is interesting. Yes, it is probably true that STEM lead to more concrete developments and benefits to society, and technological advancements are probably the things most associated with progress. But you would be hard pressed to say that artists, philosophers, and politicians are not capable of achieving the same, if even greater, change in society.

What's really the benefit of being an English/History/Foreign Language major? What practical skills do you actually learn? This question is one I actually really like to get, because it often comes from a place of genuine curiosity. However, the answer is highly complex, and this post is getting very long... See my post titled "Why Write" from two weeks ago to see some options for a response!