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SBU | Life > Academics

From Shakespeare To Supply and Demand: An English Major Taking Econ101

Abigail Taber Student Contributor, St. Bonaventure University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Not to brag, but I am a 4.0 student. That means that every semester, the pressure gets higher to make sure that I maintain this practically arbitrary number that somehow determines my worth while in school and then ceases to have any meaning the minute I cross the stage. 

This semester, I have taken the leap of attempting to get an A in Microeconomics. This is my first economics class, and honestly, probably my last. 

I hate the class. As an English major, my brain just doesn’t work in terms of supply and demand and graphs and market principles. 

ECO-101 is a class that I am required to take for one of my majors, and I have put it off for as long as I can.

I work hard every week to make sure that I am keeping up and retaining what I am learning in class, but it’s hard. I can’t seem to keep up with the business, economics, or finance majors in the 101 class. 

The thing is: I was really good at Accounting. It fooled me into a false sense of ability when it comes to finance/economics classes. I got an easy 100 and even won the “Accounting Championship” that my professor established. I thought that maybe this class would be the same. 

Oh boy, was I wrong… 

Each class, it seems like we race through topics that I can’t grasp and move on without a glance back. It doesn’t help that my professor has a thick accent, and it can be difficult at times to understand what he is saying. Especially at the pace at which we go through material.

I feel like a black sheep in the Special Instruction (SI) sessions. I know it’s irrational, but I can sense they know I’m not meant to be sitting in a classroom with finance bros talking about price elasticity. My place is in a poetry class, reading aloud words that I think cause friction in my reading, not sitting among business majors talking about cross-price elasticity.

My discomfort is all in my head. I know no one in my SI notices that I am a junior in a 101 class. No one notices that this is my only class in the business building.

Instead, I am working through my discomfort and putting in the extra effort it takes to get a grade that I am proud of in this new field of study. That may not be an A (though I am really hoping for one).

I know myself; I know that I am putting in effort to get this degree and get everything I can out of my time here at St. Bonaventure. If that means taking a class with some finance bros and stepping into a new building occasionally, I am taking that opportunity.

Abigail Taber

SBU '27

Abigail Taber is a third-year writer for the St. Bonaventure chapter of Her Campus. She enjoys writing about culture, entertainment, and the happenings in her college life. Abigail is excited to be the editor for her chapter this year and to be a part of such a cool organization that centers around the work and interests of women.

Beyond Her Campus, Abigail is the Editor-In-Chief of the literary magazine on campus, The Laurel, the President of SBU College Democrats, the Vice President of the Book Club, a tutor at the Writing Lab, and a volunteer at SBU Food Pantry. Abigail has had her creative writing published in both her high school's and university's literary magazines. She is currently a junior at St. Bonaventure University, triple-majoring in English, Literary Publishing and Editing, and Women's Studies.

In her free time, Abigail, or Abbey to her friends, enjoys reading, listening to music, and thinking of her next tattoo. She is a music trivia master and a known enjoyer of any and all romance books. She hopes to work for a publishing house editing novels in the future. Growing up in a small suburb of Buffalo, New York, Abbey hopes to embody the city-of-good-neighbors attitude.