Choosing a Major for Life
14 Mar 2008 in Education, Employment
Abdullah Al Thawr is the Youth Programs Officer for the Democracy School in Sana'a, Yemen and a MEYI Youth Ambassador.
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When I read a quote for John Adams, the second President of the United States, saying “I must study politics and war, that our sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy”, I started thinking, how does that apply to my country and our current situation, is that really the case here? Am I meant to follow the path of John Adams?
Choosing a college major for any student around the world can be a real headache of trying to join your passion of studying with your own capabilities with your high school transcripts and with your family desires, if there are any, to produce a mixture of decisive elements that make you decide a major. Sometimes, the element of financial circumstances is added to that mixture as well as the primary question of what majors are available in your country. You simply can’t always find a film design major or a fashion major in a university of a developing country.
So in the end, sometimes our real passions of studying what we have dreamt about since childhood (such as art, toys design, history) are dismissed and set aside in front of reality because these do not provide a well-paid job based on our assumptions. We end up behind a 9 to 5 desk doing endless paperwork waiting for that monthly paycheck that will pay our rent and feed our kids. We keep thinking later what if we had studied that instead, what if we had followed our dreams? It is only few of us who really dared and followed their passions and dreams, who find opportunities available just because their energy and happiness is constantly powered from their passions.
But the question is what if these opportunities never come? What if you majored in Chinese Arts because you always admired the Chinese sculptures in your home, and now you can’t find a well-paying work? Or even a psychology major? Or a veterinary medicine major?
John Adams’ above quote surely applies to my country in the need that we have to study politics in order to ‘fix’ our ‘classic’ system and our policies to create new opportunities for the thousands of unemployed youth, and to upgrade the system to a dynamic system where its students can explore all fields of sciences and arts following their passions and not fearing their future. Taking entrepreneurial risks ought to be rewarded because they may lead to innovation which can boost the country’s economy and development.
From Sahar on 4 July 2008, 15:30
Dear Abdullah
I totally agree with you. If politics is fixed in our country then all the aspects of life will be doing just as we wish.
Politics plays a role in education, womens issues, improving living conditions, and even in finding our destiny.
Politics should provide us with real democracy, allowing us to practice our rights with no fear. However, too much politics can make societies "backwards" places, and can discourage all young people from trying new trends due to fear and failures.