An Insubstantial Blog

Today, at my mind numbing job that is cashiering, I talked to a woman who turned out to be a professor at the local state university. She asked me if I had just graduated and what my major was. I told her it was art history.

The reactions to this major have been plentiful but break down into two categories. Dumb people who don't value education think I'm an idiot and can't believe I wasted my money on the degree. And what the hell will I ever do with my life?

The other half are very well educated and the overwhelming response is highly nostalgic. Oh, I wanted to major in that but I decide against it. And suddenly, I'm this amazing person who actually stuck by my useless degree just because, well, dammit, I really do like art history. This is exactly what happened with this woman who went on to get her PhD in Biology.

I can't help but think if more of these people went on to get art history degrees, the world may not be filled with an abundance of hipster New York brats running the art world and writing bullshitty articles that devalue the field. But that rant...is for another post.

But how come art history is the hidden desire of so many people, especially science people? Sure, the job prospects are dismal. The field is filled with the above stated hipsters. But there are genuine art critics and teachers out there, many whom I was thankful to have taught me.

I guess I don't have anything incredibly insightful to say. It's just I never thought of my silly little major as making middle aged women secretly want to live through me.

As for the professor I met today, she plans on taking a sabbatical to live in Florence and look at art all day. Ahh, the perks of being a tenured biology professor. Can't say I'm not jealous. I told her I was moving to London to work in a pub and look at art all day. I guess I'm not that worse off.