‘Walang pera diyan!’

A grin was on my face as I looked at my grades in my history subject for the semester: 100.58 — flat uno. I thought this was just the beginning of many more accomplishments. I thought wrong.

Upon showing a stunning GWA of 1.2500 to my father, he sighed in disappointment and mockingly chuckled: “Eh madali lang naman ‘yang course mo eh! Naglalaro ka lang diyan.” (Your course is just easy! You’re practically just goofing around!) That struck a nerve. My hardships suddenly went down the drain and that proud smile eventually turned into a frown of self-doubt and disappointment.

I’ve always been aware of the stigma attached to arts degrees. “Walang pera diyan!” “MasKom: Mas Komportable sa Bahay.” “CommArts? Sulat-sulat lang ‘yan eh!” This mentality has led to the collective thought that collegiate degrees related to media (journalism) and arts (music, literature, fine arts, theater, film, etc.) are deemed as “useless” or have lesser “value” compared to those degrees in business, economics, or science and technology. In fact, according to a PayMaya survey, the most in-demand jobs in the Philippines’ new normal were in the field of health care and technology, none related to liberal arts.

We Filipinos are known for being practical and we apply this even to our life decisions. We always want the easy way out. We always want that in-demand degree due to its fat paycheck or the honors and recognition usually associated with it even if it doesn’t align with our skills, talents, and/or abilities. Arts degrees are basically regarded as “hobbies” or “passion” converted into formal curriculum. Many do not take these courses seriously due to the presumptive thought that they’re no more than a hobby done out of boredom and taken up when in need of a creative spark. There were times that shifting to a science and technology course, such as a career in the medical field, had crossed my mind. As my mother, a former OFW nurse, would put it: “Maraming pera diyan!”

In today’s generation, employers would usually look out for your course rather than your capability. When I say I am in the field of media arts, most of the time I’m asked: “Anong trabaho mo diyan?”

The truth is, pursuing a degree in the liberal arts is technically complex due to its diversity and abundance of creative outlets. But not everyone is prepared to hear this since most of them are blinded by corporate hypocrisy.

Lack of funding and educational and employment opportunities are the main reasons that come to mind why the artistic industry in our country is plummeting. Artists do not get paid enough because their craft is not valued as much. Because of this stigma concerning the arts, people underestimate the skills of artists, calling the craft easy and could be easily accomplished with minimal payment. Educational opportunities for students pursuing the liberal arts seem out of reach and can only be accessed internationally, which unfortunately even if we wanted to, most of us couldn’t even afford.

This remains to be the prevailing view up to this day, though not as blatant but still can be felt indirectly. There are times that I feel left out when my friends pursuing engineering or medicine talk about their shining careers and educational experiences, and take skills like writing, speaking, public relations, etc., for granted. It is saddening that even in this day and age when information is abundant and accessible, people working in these knowledge-producing areas are still being undermined and underestimated.

But I am still thankful for being surrounded by people who never fail to remind me of the intrinsic value and the purpose of this field I chose to pursue — that MasKom isn’t “mas komportable sa bahay,” rather “mas komportable sa katotohanan at serbisyo ng sambayanan.” For sure there is someone out there who, like me, has chosen to embark on this path. This story isn’t just mine to tell.

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Zarena C. Hermogeno, 20, is a communication arts student at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. She is fond of books, opera, coffee, and the “Big Bang Theory.”