Generals

Sitting in my physical science class yesterday, I kept wondering why in the world BYU would require all of its students to take required classes that cover a large variety of subjects. If someone has already found their major, why do they need to take these other classes that won't have anything having to do with their future? Then I remembered something that my dad said, going along the lines of, "If you're a mathematician, take poetry. If you're an artist, take physics." I was confused as to why my dad would say such a thing, but now I finally understand what he meant.

When we find what we want to do in college, we seem to develop tunnel-vision and only focus on finding the quickest routes to graduation. The generals here at BYU make it a lengthier process. However, when we broaden our scope and take classes we wouldn't usually take, we are bettering ourselves. Only focusing on one subject of knowledge for the rest of our lives is a disadvantage to us. The knowledge we gain here is one of the few things we take with us when we leave this life. So why restrict ourselves? Why suppress our learning just for the sake to get things done quickly? We need to culture ourselves, develop new perspectives and appreciate the beauty in life. Taking classes that we would't usually choose to take broaden our views on various subjects and help us to be more understanding. We need to step out of our comfort zones to get an accurate read of life. We can't stay cooped up and blind.