As
a fellow Liberal Arts grad (and MA—so I bought into it even harder than
you appear to have), I urge you to keep the following in mind:
1.) -ANY- mention of your degree will result in the following:
1a.)
"LOLZ, do u want fries with that?!" This was funny the first million
times I heard it; it will continue to be funny for the foreseeable
future, if the insipid poltroons that keep repeating it have anything to
say about it.
1b.) "Oh? So how do you spell X?"
1c.) "How's retail working out for you?"
1d.) "So you wanted to teach, right?"
Items
1a-1d reflect an incredibly blinkered, myopic thought pattern that is
wholly incapable of self-reflection or recognition of entities outside
of itself; this should invoke pity—rather than disdain—in us.
2.) "Wow, way to be an idiot with your major!"
Again,
this line of thinking reflects an inability to conceptualize—or indeed,
even entertain the notion—that forms of employment beyond, "I r can
reed buks gewd" are available to Liberal Arts majors. It's a failure of
creative thinking—or critical processing—but in either case, it
reflects a fundamental inability to market oneself beyond a very
narrowly defined skillset.
3.) "So do you work two jobs?"
Our
careers can never be profitable. Never. If we were able to support
ourselves, the folks sitting upon their lofty economic perches, pitying
us for our very existence (and our parents for having permitted us to
study the fields we chose) would see their very worlds turned 'pon their
ears.
4.) "I am incapable of a witty, cutting remark, therefore I shall fall back upon items 1 (sub-items a-d) through 3."
It's
a common refrain. As you're only 23, I suspect you're relatively new
to this game, but you've likely already heard your share of the
edu-stratification "durr-hurr, I'mma make fun of a Lib Art major,"
bullshit.
Ignore it. They needed us before, they need us now, and they'll need us again.
I'm
in my 30's, I've been gainfully employed since I matriculated with an
MA in English (and I'm doing just fine for myself economically, too),
and I've not served a French fry since I was in high school.
The
market sucks right now, but you'll make it. Keep at it, remember that
taking a job that might seem "beneath you" is anything but when you need
the paycheck, and bear in mind that those who deliberately denigrate
the fields of others are lacking something in their own lives that
forces them to shit on everyone else to make themselves smell better by
comparison.
http://jezebel.com/as-a-fellow-liberal-arts-grad-and-ma-so-i-bought-into-1590731306