Now...what can you do with that?

The top four respsonses I get when I tell people I am attending a small liberal arts college just outside Chicago and double majoring in U.S. History and American Studies:

4) I thought you were majoring in English/Journalism.
3) Oh. I hated history.
2) Oh? To teach?
1) Now what can you do with that?

I resent all four of these responses for a number of different reasons. Let's dicuss.

Actually, number 4 I don't really resent as much as I become annoyed. The number 4 respsonse usually comes from my parents' friends, my friends' parents, and just yesterday the former business teacher at my high school who had a history of getting sauced on her lunchbreak and also believed I was attending Eastern until last summer. This response, in reality, comes from my being raised and going to school in an small town as well as my successful two year run as editor of my high school newspaper. So in this case, I gently correct people.

I do, however, resent number 3. Firstly, I am very sad and disappointed to hear anyone anywhere say they hated history. I understand that the study of history is not for everyone. And I realized that if I, a double major in history and cultural studies, think the study of history is sometimes tedious, many who don't share my passion for the discipline will feel the same tenfold. However, I do not know why people need to relay this information on to me? Is it to make me feel better? To say "good job, you are doing something there's no way in hell I would do!" or to say "oh...that's completely irrelevant." Either way, I believe that people could find a better way of saying both of these things. Although irrelevant pretty much stings either way.

Number 2 is easy to resent, considering I have heard it about 3,479 times since I entered University (that's a guesstimate). I am not opposed to teaching. In fact, that is what I planned to do up until my spring semester of my freshman year. And I am not ruling out the possiblity of becoming certified later on in my life. But to insinuate that the only thing history majors can do is teach, is pure ignorance. And ignorance pisses me off.

Number 1 is my all time favorite. "Now...what can you do with that" is a phrase that sends chills down my spine. I have heard this so many times, spoken by so many people that I can practically feel the question in the air. A couple of weeks ago, I saw one of my cousin's friends whom I've known since I was a baby. And although making small talk is something I can rarely do correctly, working at a grocery store makes this activity inevitable (although I still maintain the right to walk away from any conversation beginning with the phrase "Do you have a cream for...?"). So we started talking. She asked me the usual questions, including what my major was. So I told her. "Oh really," she replied "Now what can you do with that?" I smiled politely, as I was on company time, and said that I was tentatively planning to attend a graduate school of social work. She nodded and proceeded to tell me that her husband, a lawyer, had also majored in U.S. History as an undergrad and then gone on to law school. And for a few seconds I was appreciative. Hopeful even. It was nice to finally hear someone relaying a good, heartwarming story about the merits of historical study. Until she said it. She followed her miniature anecdote by laughingly stating that her husband just tells people his undergraduate degree is "useless."

Shock.

As annoyed and resentful as I get from all the stupid questions I field regarding my decision to major in history, I have never felt so insulted.

I thought, how dare someone imply that a discipline I am spending upwards of $25,000 a year to study is "useless?" How dare someone tell me that something I have been dedicated to since I was a child is "useless?" How dare someone insult thousands of historians throughout this country that make meaningful and desparately needed contributions to American society and culture by calling their life's work "useless?" I know she was making conversation. And I know she was trying to relate. And I know that she didn't mean anything by it. But it pisses me off.

Education is never "useless." Everything that I have done while at University, every class I have taken, every seminar I have been to has contributed to my growth as a human being and helped me to be a contributing member of society. I have learned from every history class I have ever taken. Three of the most profound educators that I have ever met, have dedicated their life to this "useless" craft.

I could write an entire blog about how history has impacted my life. This country. The world. But I wouldn't want to waste time on "useless" banter. I will say, however, that I maintained a 4.0 GPA this semester. And I worked hard to make that happen. I studied hard. I spent late nights and early mornings writing papers, researching, creating presentations, and studying for tests, midterms, and finals. I spend the night before my grandfather's funeral taking notes. Holiday weekends were spent reading. I went to class when I was sick. I worked hard. I did this because I want to be the best student I can be.

I want to be a good historian. I want to make my life worthwhile by becoming an informed human being and member of society. I want to study past events and decipher their hidden meanings. I want to look at primary sources and uncover what they can tell us. I want to know people and see places and do things through the study of history. I want to understand why our country is in the state that it is now. I want to understand this so I can change it. I want to change the world. By studying history. And if that is "useless" then we're all fucked.