I guess they are cutting the funding to the intermediate creative writing classes. Maybe even the poetry. I go to a scientific school concerned only with math and science, it is no wonder that they fail to see the importance of fictional writing. Yet I can't help but feel more than disappointed and alienated (more so than I already do). Writing was the one thing I cared about this quarter. At least they still have the advanced writing classes, but it is a little harder to get into, and I missed the boat for next quarter because I was too busy looking for the intermediate classes.
But that seems to be a common trend anyway lately. In this interval of time our society seems to be placing a much higher importance on the math and science fields. This could be seen in the higher salaries and public opinions and so and so. Don't get me wrong, I dig the products of these fields, and highly respect the people pursuing them, but this is not my field, and so it causes me to become at odds with the overall construct. I tell people that I am interested in philosophy and that maybe I'd like to be a writer, and they scratch their heads and ask me why I'm not interested in business or science or something more practical. Practical in this sense means something that makes more money, I think. And if people out there choose science or business because they really love it, then power to them. I know how they feel. But if what you love might not make you that much money, or gaurantee that much security, well hell, you'll just have to set your priorities. My priority is to be happy, not so much to be rich. I would think I would pursue my priority then.
You see, this aspect should be common sense, but people really haven't figured out how it works, because they don't know how to be in someone else's shoes. I think you should never tell someone that they shouldn't be what they want to be, because they have probably given it very much thought and thought about it very carefully. They probably care very deeply for this decision, and thus it is going to be a very, very soft and tender spot. If it is the wrong field for them, let them figure it out on their own. Give them a little dignity.
