Are you sick of people asking you this when you say you’re an English major? You’re not alone.
Hannah “Coolgirl” Domonkas:
Let me set the scene for you: I’m at my boyfriend’s house for Thanksgiving. I’m drinking apple cider out of a festive paper cup and everything is going great, but I’m still on high alert. I know that IT could still happen at any time.
From across the room, I see my boyfriend’s mother lock eyes with mine. She begins to weave herself through the crowd towards me.Oh no! I try to escape by turning around and pretending to be very interested in the floor lamp behind me. It doesn’t work.
“Hannah!” she cheers, as she spins me around, “I nearly missed you standing over here!” She glances at the lamp. “How are you?”
“I’m great. Mrs. *******, how are you?” [Name Redacted to Protect the Innocent. And my relationship.]
“Great, how’s school?”
Tread carefully, Hannah. “Great.”
“Aww that’s great! Remind me, what’s your major again?”
The sky darkens and the earth opens up to swallow me whole on that very spot. Time stops and begins to run in reverse. Fish begin to fly and birds begin to swim. It’s happening, it’s all over now.
“Oh, It’s… English.”
As if in slow motion, I see that words begin to form on her lips. “Oh, so you’re going to teach?”
No. No I am not.
I can say without a shadow of a doubt that every English major has had this interaction. (And if you haven’t, you will.) Other such remarks that undermine my major as a discipline include, but are not limited to:
- “Well, you still have time. You can still switch to something else. Like economics.
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“Oh.”
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“Do you have a minor?”
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“Reading is more of a hobby, isn’t it?”
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“Why?”
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“That’s nice. It must be so fun to major in something just for the fun of it.”
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“What do you plan to do with that?”
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“You must have so much free time on your hands!”
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“Have you written any stories?”
Jackie DiFrangia:
“Actually, I want to write for a magazine,” is the response you’ll hear if you ever ask me that question. I only ever considered teaching when I had to fill out the lame “Intended Major” section on those college visit forms that listed everything I wasn’t interested in. After I wasn’t allowed to major in Music Education, I figured the second best thing would be English Education because I’m really in it for the money. When I visited Carroll, I changed my “Intended Major” completely to Communications. Now I really had a clear goal in mind. So I went through my freshman and sophomore years taking a bunch of Intro classes on subjects whose notes will one day make great campfire kindling. Except for one. I loved my Major American Writers class, and I knew I was in trouble. Over Christmas break my sophomore year, I asked everyone I knew about their experience as an English major. What do you do with an English major? What jobs are there? Can you really live comfortably on an English major’s salary? Then I heard a great piece of advice: “The major you choose in college does not mean you’re choosing your career path. Right now, you’re choosing to learn more about something you love.” Yeah! To hell with the jobless future ahead of me! I’m going to be an English major! (Just a short interruption: someone is talking to me right now about how I should look into some business classes for my last semester of college instead of taking English classes. Right now I’m having this conversation. I bet a Business major couldn’t point out the irony on this one). But I shouldn’t be scared of not finding a job after graduation. A degree in English is so versatile, there’s no way I should have to limit my future to teaching it. The world’s mine oyster. I’ll take the road less traveled by. You’re the boat borne back ceaselessly into the past.
Natalie Bozimowski:
Deciding to work towards a major in English is a beautiful thing. Not everybody realizes the skills that you pick up from the many writing intensive and literature classes that are required. Having the ability to convey your point effectively through written communication will get you very far in life, no matter what career you are going for. This is a skill that everyone should pick up, regardless of your major. Not to mention, all of the time spent participating in stimulating conversation about literature helps to acquire communication skills. All of the endless hours spent reading and pouring words out onto paper for the piles of giant essays causes a development in the skills needed to analyze. With all of the texting and shortened sentences used everyday (u no wht i mean), these necessary talents are highly valued by employers because they are becoming rare. Nobody wants to receive an incomprehensible email or report. While there are many perks that come along with being an “English Major,” such as spending time in class with those who have vast cultural knowledge and are capable of thought-provoking conversation, there are also ridiculous questions asked and assumptions made that you must be prepared to deal with on a regular basis. For example, the common automatic response that I receive when I tell people that I am working towards a major in English is, “so you want to teach?” No, I do not. What do you want to do with your major in chemistry? Become Bill Nye the Science Guy? Teachers are wonderful and respectable, but I do not have the passion or patience to become one. After I give my answer, if it has not already shown after announcing my major, I will often be given a perplexed—and sometimes quite rude—look. When it comes to dealing with people who are uninformed on the many possibilities that those with majors in English are given, you have to be able to simply roll your eyes and move on because it WILL happen. People are surprised to find you might even consider choosing something that does not provide a set path. But then again, do you know precisely what you want to do with your major in management? Planning our lives that specifically is just not feasible. I do not know where life will take me after college, most people don’t. However, I am confident that I will be able to acquire a job because I am earning a major in something I love and something useful.