In defense of majoring in the arts, versus more stable options in life
Tuesday night. A small café in Quezon City. Eight of us take a bow to a warm round of applause after another successful improv comedy show. Outside, thunder rumbles and heavy raindrops batter the asphalt in a steady beat. The streets are packed with cars; some roads are flooded. A few of us come all the way from Taguig, Makati, and Paranaque. It is an hour before midnight.
We eat before we leave. Q talks about her new job at a big telecomm company. It’s challenging but fun, involving a lot of managerial and administrative work that weren’t covered in depth in her course in college, which was synonymous to Multimedia Arts. On my other side, M’s boyfriend is studying for his first long test in med school. The entire PowerPoint is about glucose.
M and her boyfriend studied the same course in college: biology. M has entry-level work in a big TV channel. Another girl in our group is juggling acting workshops, med school, and improv. Three of us are still in university.
Tomorrow morning we will show up, bleary-eyed, armed with coffee, but persistent and active at work or in our first morning class. Passion always comes with sacrifice.
