After coming home from college Ashley informed us she no longer wants to be a set designer, but instead wants to study psychology.
Um...okay?
I'll admit, I did not handle the conversation well. "Why psychology?"
"Because it is more practical than set design, the pandemic has shown me theater is not a stable career."
Cue thoughts I had when she first told me she wanted to be a set design major -- mostly that it is not a stable career.
"What do you plan to do with a psychology degree?"
"I don't know."
"Do you plan to earn a doctorate and become a psychiatrist?"
"I doubt it."
"I don't want you to abandon art because you are so good at it."
"I won't. If I could juggle theater, AP classes, and working part time last year all while still finding time to draw, I'll always do that."
"Talk to me in another 15 years when you add in a family."
As you can see, this did not go well. I'm trying to figure out why I care that she is dropping something impractical. Perhaps it is because I defended her decision to others when they told me it was impractical. Perhaps it is because the search for a school with a strong liberal arts program PLUS a strong theater program meant visiting schools a couple of times so we could both tour it and return to see a show. Perhaps it is because if she had said she wanted psychology, the search would have been completely different.
Or perhaps it is because of the revelation that came out a couple of days later: Muhlenberg changed their theater degree program and no longer offers a concentration in set design.
BOMBSHELL
How did we miss this change (which is new for her class)? What does it really mean? Who can we talk about this to? When did you learn about it?
We missed the change because it happened mid-pandemic. Had we been able to tour the school and talk to professors in person (rather than through emails) we likely would have heard about it sooner.
The change doesn't seem to mean much, the classes are still being offered, and there is greater chance to have two specialties (say set design and stage management).
Ashley won't let us talk to anyone about it because she doesn't want any professors taking it out on her. Fair enough, but we are the ones paying her tuition.
The last question is the kicker... she learned a couple of months ago, but didn't want to tell me because she knew I would be mad. So that explains why she has been avoiding me for the past couple of months when I've tried to reach out to her.
The current plan is a double major in psychology and theater (which we tried to encourage when she applied) because understanding psychology will make her a better artist.
Now for the next bone to pick with the school ... how could so many other schools safely put on faculty-led productions, but not Muhlenberg? Looking at their website, they are not planning to do any productions until there is a vaccine. Now instead of having four years of college theater experience, she will graduate with only three. I'm disappointed her lighting class did not cover things like how to light online productions (including Zoom). It focused on stage lighting, and the second half is about aesthetics (such as ancient architecture). To be fair, the class is called Lighting and Aesthetics, but we thought aesthetics were about how to use lighting to make the production more aesthetically pleasing. It is a required class, so in that sense, nothing was lost. But also, nothing was gained.
Before you suggest she take a semester off, she did make the most wonderful friends and is not open to that suggestion. Especially now that she wants to switch to psychology.
The saddest part of the conversation was when she said she can't imagine living in a non-pandemic world.
Ah, the life of a mother with an 18-year old living during a pandemic.
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