I have always been drawn to language. I loved the way that simple words could create fantastical worlds and that stories could reveal inner emotions. Language allowed connection, and studying language allowed me to understand those connections. There was never a time in my life where I doubted what I wanted to study- that is until I started college. At first, I thought college would open me up to people that share my same mindset, and people that can enhance my knowledge. While I did find like-minded people who shared my love for English, I also discovered that many didn’t take my education seriously.
From the second I started college, I was taught to be ashamed of my major. Icebreakers made me sigh of frustration; I already knew that stating I was a literature or creative writing major would bring on chuckles, eyebrow raises, or a haphazard “good luck.” I can’t even count how many people have reminded me that I would make no money in the future, essentially deeming my degree worthless. I plug my ears every time someone mentions that AI can do my job but “better.”
Though nothing is worse than the hoards of people telling me to have a backup plan. Being an English major is nothing but a path to failure in so many people’s eyes. I’ve been told by loads of adults (some who didn’t even attend college) to add a business minor, just to be safe. That led me to ask myself, is English a dying art? Will it just be replaced by computers writing screen plays? Am I wasting my time? Do I need to give up on my calling?
So I tried other skills. I got a marketing internship, took communications classes, and researched adding safer, more “by the book” minors to my degree. Yet, nothing felt as natural or as correct as learning about literature. It wasn’t just not for me, it also just wasn’t me. Nothing about a life in any of those fields excited me the way writing and analysis did.
The truth is, language is the foundation of everything. No one can succeed without a deep understanding of English as a whole. It’s not just writing a silly story and reading a little novel (though those are some fun elements). It’s communication and analysis. It’s reading between the lines. It’s problem solving. I applied all of the knowledge I had learned in my literature classes to the marketing and communication skills I tried. You can’t replace that knowledge, and a computer can’t recreate the human soul.
I feel the most at home in the English department. I love seeing my professors teach the information they’ve spent a lifetime learning, and I love hearing them talk about the books they’ve published. They are real life examples of English student success stories. Artistic expression has never been safe, but the people who quit are the people who don’t succeed. I’ve had to shut out negative comments about my studies, and some days are harder than others. Though there is nothing I would rather study than English literature. English can’t be a dying art if we work hard to keep it alive.