The importance of good grammar has been instilled in me from a young age, starting with my family correcting one another’s sentence structure or pronunciation. This was never meant in a vindictive way, but accurately represents our sarcastic family dynamic. These corrections would include the difference between “who” and “that,” the correct pronunciation of “February” and “picture,” and any missed apostrophes on texts in the family group chat. However, the most heated discussion always stems from the debate over the Oxford comma.
There have generally been two camps in my family: for and against the Oxford comma. My dad and I were always in support of the addition of this comma for clarification of statements, but we were frequently contested by my mom and my younger brother. Eventually, my brother realized the error of his ways (in my opinion) and began adding the Oxford comma to his writing. Currently, it is only my mom who remains in the anti-comma camp. Although the teams are now imbalanced, our friendly banter about this grammatically-correct addition persists. When my friends overhear us bicker about such a banal topic, they are often amused, but I find that it summarizes my comfortable family dynamic well. This culture of friendly teasing has influenced me to be vigilant about my grammar in everyday life.
This placing of such value on grammar has manifested itself in a variety of ways in my life. All throughout school, my father would help me edit my academic writing with his ruthless red pen (or the Microsoft Word change trackers, as it were). I have inherited this tendency and friends often give me their papers to edit before a big deadline. Although they do not always appreciate getting their papers returned covered in ink, they continue to ask me for help with their writing. I have always been known as the one to correct people’s grammar in my friend group at home. What may sound like a condescending comment to others, my friends have learned to brush off as one of my quirks.
This love of grammar and working with friends writing has inspired to work towards a career as an editor after college. When I came to the realization as a child that I could have a job in which I could make a living by reading books and correcting other people’s grammar, I was sold. I have continued working on my editing skills at Kenyon by getting involved in numerous English-related activities, including joining HIKA literary magazine and copyediting for the Kenyon Collegian. As the Collegian uses the AP Style format, it is required to remove all Oxford commas that I come across in articles, which breaks my heart every time. These opportunities have further fueled my desire to become an editor and have inspired me to begin applying for publishing internships and attending relevant talks in my free time.
Although my favorite band Vampire Weekend may ask “Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma?,” I can say with confidence that I, an English major and aspiring editor, give a fuck about an Oxford comma.