When my dad told me that I couldn't enroll in DLSU, I really took it the hard way. As in, inayakan ko talaga siya 'cause I wanted to study European Studies. But when I know I had no other choice left but to accept that I am going to be a Thomasian, I thought about shifting...to Biology (it's entirely the fault of Dr. House, he inspired me and I thought I wanted to be a doctor then). Literature was my first choice. But at the time when I wrote it down on the application form, I was thinking about what interests me the most. And that's it. Literature. Books, English, writing. And since there's no Creative Writing, I chose Literature.
So why did I think of shifting?
Because during that time, I was thinking of the future. Biology is a BS course, and we all know that BS courses spell B-I-G B-U-C-K-S. While European Studies can land me a job in an embassy, it can take me to countries in Europe and to other wonderful jobs if I study hard, and that's why I was so disappointed then.
I was thinking about the money.
And why shouldn't I? I'm the eldest and I know that there will come a time when my parents are gonna rely on me to shoulder the family expenses because they're gonna be too old to work.
So going back to Literature, I am well aware of those things that people say, Na wala akong mapapala sa Lit., Mahirap maghanap ng trabaho, etc. etc. blah blah yadda yadda.
Personally, I believe that Literature is out-of-place in this country. Few take up Lit. because this is a third world country, it's all about surviving. People have to work hard and persevere in order to do so. So they take up Nursing, Engineering...careers that could take them abroad, careers that could enable them to make millions.
Whereas, Literature cannot.
That's what people think.
Ok, so I've written quite a lot already so I'm gonna go straight to my point now.
We watched The Dead Poets Society during our Lit. 201 class a while ago. And it is so good that I thought to myself, Why haven't I watched it before? How could I have NOT thought of watching it? It was so brilliant.
So after the movie, it's official: I love my course. I mean, this is where I belong. I don't want to take up Biology and be an endocrinologist (like House) just for the sake of making lots of money. Sure, I have plenty of money, but if I'm not happy in what I'm doing, then never mind. There's also a good chance that I won't be able to finish the course if that is the case.
Our Lit. 101 professor, Ralph Semino Galan, who first took up Chemical Engineering (but then of course he didn't like it) before finally shifting to Literature, said on our first meeting that he'd "rather be a poor, literary person than a rich, mediocre engineer".
From now on, I'm not gonna mind the things that people say. For me, I can find a job and make lots of money as a degree-holder in Literature if I put my heart into it and if it's what I want. Besides, I don't think I would want to look at the world with a scientist's eye, observing the scientific things conatined in it and giving scientific explanations of why and how things work. Rather, I'd like to view it as it is: with all its beauty or lack thereof. In Dead Poets Society, the character of Robin Williams, John Keating said, "...Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for."
Exactly.
Scientists devote their lives in explaining, studying and figuring things out . Writers/poets, on the other hand, observe and appreciate, and then put them into words.