I thought lightly of all the arts classes I had to take in school and that my parents wanted me to take for "a well rounded education". Drawing, painting, ceram

I thought lightly of all the arts classes I had to take in school and that my parents wanted me to take for "a well rounded education". Drawing, painting, ceramics, piano... It took me almost 10 years after high school to realize how useful it's been for me in so many random little ways. Everything from being able to craft some of the things I needed for my wedding (designing my ring to sewing a ring pillow and painting table numbers) to just everyday mundaneness when I'm meeting with a client and I can just draw out what they're thinking and get the point across easily. The piano especially useful because it's so relaxing and good for taking my mind off stress/pain better than painkillers. Never in a million years as a kid would I have thought sitting in an art history class or 10+ years of playing a piano would come in as handy as all the obsessive studying I did of science, english, math and other classes. I'm so disappointed courses like that are disappearing (along with home ec - never had that, but my husband can't mend clothes or cook...) but so many people are struggling with basic math/language skills that I can understand why.