For dinner last Saturday, I went to Fuji San to eat sushi with my friend, Kevin. Midway through the meal, we got into a discussion about college majors and career paths. He, being an accounting major, was interested in my rationale for majoring in philosophy.

“I just love studying it,” I told him. “It was a very easy decision for me to make.”

He agreed that philosophy was indeed a fascinating study, but was still unclear as to why I would decide to major in a discipline which serves little practical purpose today. After all, this is 21st century United States, not fourth century Greece. Perplexed, I returned to my shrimp roll, and the dialogue soon shifted to other matters.

Now, reflecting on our dinner conversation, I realize just how strikingly dissimilar the curricula are between Harpur and the School of Management. This is not to say that SOM students are in any way less intellectual or more money-hungry than Harpur majors — after all, I’m in SOM myself — but I’d like to dedicate this article to the Harpur kids. Many of these students, I’d like to believe, have foregone the security of a definite post-graduation paycheck in order to more passionately investigate the studies of literature, philosophy, art and history. The arts and sciences are unique in that they are not vocational, but rather limitless and open.

So please, fellow students, let us not be afraid of the liberal arts. Of course, finance and marketing are valuable disciplines in their own right, but why is there always this certain stigma surrounding the humanities and social sciences? We’re all bright kids, and I feel confident that in some way or another, we’ll all find a rewarding career that fits us well. So, with that said, let’s not hesitate to read some Nietzsche or learn more about impressionist art. Take an ethnomusicology course, and see if something strikes your interest.

To quote Cynthia from the film “Dazed and Confused,” “I’d like to quit thinking of the present, like right now, as some minor, insignificant preamble to something else.” Now I am not suggesting that we all start bathing in Jose Cuervo every night of the week and dismiss the fact that we will, one day, be “grown-ups,” but I do feel that there is a happy medium — a crucial medium.

The purpose of education, in its purest form, would be education itself — the imparting of knowledge. Unfortunately, many students today see education as only a stepping stone to landing that first job interview. Fortunately, it’s not too late for us to change. The undergraduate experience is a blessing in disguise of midterms, GPAs and “true or false” questions. Now is the time to experiment, get dirty (in an academic sense, you perv!) and discover your passions.

And if the Romance languages and literature major doesn’t end up working out for you, just ask me for Kevin’s phone number, and he’ll take you out for sushi.

Brett Schwartz is a sophomore philosophy and business double major. He once saw Hanson’s tour bus at a rest stop in Modena, N.Y.