When it comes to talking about your major with other people, there are a handful of questions that always get asked. Yet, when it comes to being an English Literature major, there are a lot of questions that are a little out of the ordinary.
1. So you want to be a teacher?
A lot of people always ask if I want to be a teacher when I tell them that my major is English Literature. That is actually the complete opposite of what I want. I mean yes, you could be a teacher with this major, but this is more centered around writing.
2. What does YA mean?
When I tell people that I want to use my degree to be a YA writer, a lot of people always ask what does YA mean. Well YA means young adult. After this is explained, the main response is #3.
3. Oh that means you want to write the next "Twilight."
Okay yes and no. YA fiction is the genre that "Twilight" is in, but I don't want to write "Twilight." I want to write a series that will be popular and so on, but I want to make it my own work. This means it would be something that is new and different, not something that has been done before.
4. Why?
I don't get why people feel the need to ask me why I chose English Lit as my major. I chose it because it is what I want to do.
5. Oh that's interesting
Other times, I will get people who are genuinely interested in what being an English Lit major actually entails and what it really is. By this, I mean that an English degree and an English Literature degree are different things.
6. Don't you have to write a lot of papers?
Yes, I do, but not all of them are hard. Also, people tend to think that all I do is just write papers, but actually I read a lot. In my experiences, I actually read more than I write papers.
7. What is your major again?
A number of times I get asked this question is kind of sad. People remember nursing or business, but for some reason, I end up getting a lot of people that forget what my major is. This then leads to explaining what it is all over again.
8. What kind of jobs can you have with that degree?
This is a question I get asked a lot from adults. There are actually a lot of jobs that are available to English Lit majors. From teaching to editing and on to writing, there are a lot of jobs that are open to this degree.
9. Are there a lot of people in your major?
People usually ask this but don't think that this major has a large group of people in it. Those people are actually correct. There are barely any English Lit majors left here at GCU.
10. You must read a lot...
This is an accurate statement. Whether it be for personal reading or for class. As an English Lit major, I read so much. I have reached the point where most of my homework is reading.
Next time you talk with someone who's an English Literature major, don't ask them why. Ask them what they love about it!
