"I don't have to be psychic to see that something's bothering you. " Professor Charles Xavier [X-Men: The Last Stand]

My good friend Kelsey Johansen posted this at her blog a while ago, and I thought I would just reiterate what she said and add my own spin on things.

Also, I'm actually going to go off on a pretty big rant right now, so if you're not in the mood to read it than don't.

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So everyone says pick a major or job you love, that way you won't lead a tortured existence where you just hate what you do every day of your life. However, what they fail to tell you is that if it isn't something 'respectable' or 'serious' than they will judge you and think that you are wasting your time and your talent.

This is one of the reasons why I always hesitate to tell people what my major is. I mean, saying "theater" is one thing, but then going on to say "makeup" well...

Like, Kelsey, I am sick and tired of people saying things like “is that really a class?” in a condescending tone or "well that's cool, but are you taking any real classes?". MY CLASSES ARE REAL CLASSES TOO. I know you're just bitter/jealous or whatever because you're dying from the amount of papers you have to write or books you need to read and tests you have to take in the testing center but that's not my fault. Taking those classes were entirely YOUR decision, and you're taking them in order to (hopefully) do what you love JUST LIKE ME. My classes may sound fun (which they are) but they are no means easy. They're just different. Just because I don't read chapters and chapters out of conventinoal textbooks doesn't mean I don't read. I read plays. Lots of plays. And journal articles. And instructional manuals. Watch instructional videos. Read magazines. All to be able to try and keep up with what is happening in my industry, JUST LIKE YOU. I watch videos, interviews, films, and television to try and see what is being creatively thought of in the world, JUST LIKE YOU. I spend hundreds of hours a year outside of class practicing, working on projects I DON'T get paid for, sitting backstage during performance, staying later than most people after performances, and taking seminars to try and get a little bit of an edge. So, while I'm not spending time at the library, I'm certainly not spending it lounging around my apartment, contrary to popular belief. So, now can you understand when you say that my classes aren't real that I might get a little upset? They ARE to be taken seriously and they are NOT lesser than yours. I just happen to do all of that hard work and almost (I'd say 85-90% of the time) always HAVE FUN TOO. Which I think is awesome.

I'm doing what I love, just like everyone told me to do. And I don't understand why that can't be important either. 

Also, if you think that I won't be able to "do" anything with my degree/experience you are also wrong. Makeup design is a legitimate profession. Weddings, photshoots, movies, television, theater, opera, musicals, the nightly news - you name it. There are lots of venues for me to explore.

 

If you think that I'm wasting time and money studying something that's going to leave me broke and make me a 'starving artist' than that's not true either. If I wanted to be a makeup effects artist for movies or commericals, I could get paid THOUSANDS of dollars a day in one of the world's highest paying industries. Does that mean I won't have to work my butt off in order to make it there? Nope. JUST LIKE YOU I'll have to work my way up. It's not an 'instant' 'anyone can slap a little makeup on someone's face' 'you don't even have to go to school for it' job. It's a shark tank. Like any other business. And I'm giving myself survival skills to help keep me afloat.  

My major teaches me about myself in so many ways and gives me the tools to help others. If, after you read this rant of mine, you still are, as Kelsey calls you, a 'nay-sayer' than I'm like to present you with a little article written by Michael Key, editor-in-chief of Makeup Artist magezine and professional makeup artist:  

 

Its just make-up? I would like to leave you with a few thoughts about what we do. When discouragement rears its head and tells us its just makeup, we should remember that makeup artists have the power to:

•  Transform a wimpy actor into a ferocious warrior, or a plain-jane actress into a striking woman who turns every head
• Take brief descriptions of characters in books or scripts and bring them to life far beyond what the writers ever dreamed they could be
• Create the evil monster who strikes fear in the heart and allows the hero to be brave and victorious
• Help emergency personnel prepare to face real-life situations
• Enhance blushing brides and create looks that will be cherished for a lifetime
• Help those dealing with injuries or illness to look and feel better
• Enable those with birth defects and disfigurements to feel whole
• See the potential in someone’s face
• Make it possible to believe

I know that I won't walk out of college being able to do quadratic equations in my head, be able to save an ecosystem from dying out, or know a detailed history of WWI, but I will have come out of college being abe to relate to people. To be able to asses their needs and weakness, and try to come up with ways to help them. I will have magical problem-solving skills. I will know how to make someone's face out of plaster. I will be able to have symptahy for what people are going through. I will be able to comunicate effectively with people both in and out of the professional world. And, if nothing else, I will be able to tell my children amazing stories, and give them the best Halloween costumes they could ever dream of.  I'll also be slightly annoying constantly be critiquing the directing/costumes/makeup (most of the time inside my head, but out loud sometimes too). 

But even if that’s all, isn’t that ok? Why can’t that be good enough for me? Who knows when these skills will come in handy? You need to stop telling me that they are a useless, waste of my time, and that my major and my goals and my dreams are "nice" but "pointless" and start thanking me for following my heart. 

My major is not unimportant. Not to me.