I'm a senior at Meredith College and going for my BA in Mass Communication. When people ask me what my degree is, I really feel uncomfortable telling them. I'm not ashamed or embarrassed of my degree -- not in the slightest, I love my degree! However, not many people know what it is. I get uncomfortable explaining my degree to someone who has no idea what it is because they tend to ask me ridiculous questions that offend me or they just simply don't get it. Typically, any student with an atypical major gets this same treatment. Here's what all of us are getting a little bit tired of hearing.

1. "What can you do with that?"

Mass Communication? What can't this degree do? Journalism, news anchor, event planner, sports broadcaster, public relations specialist, news writer, etc. This is one of the most versatile degrees that exist.

2. "What are you going to do with that?"

It shouldn't really bother you what I intend to do with my degree, but I do want to go into public relations and eventually work for a large video gaming company -- like Bungie or Square Enix.

3. "Is there a job market for that degree?"

Is there really a job market for any degree?

4. "Is that really what you like?"

No, I'm spending almost $40,000 per academic year to earn a degree I kinda like.

5. "Will you like that in 20 years?"

Who knows, that's 20 years down the road. My tastes may change by then and I may want to change my career, but that's my problem when I get to it. For now, though, this is the degree and career field I want and will earn come May 2016.

6. "You won't get a job right out of undergraduate school."

You're probably right. The economy isn't the greatest right now, but that doesn't mean there are no jobs at all for me and my degree. Not many undergrads get a job in their field as soon as they grab their diploma. It's not abnormal not to. If I have to keep my college job even after college, well, that's fine.

7. "What is that, anyway?"

This is what I get uncomfortable with. More than likely you won't understand, or won't care about what my degree actually means. It's apparently one of America's best kept secrets because no one knows what it is.

8. "I wish my degree was as easy as yours!"

Oh please, I'd like to see you write a 25 page thesis on the agenda setting theory when applied to media censorship of the '60s and '70s, or even try to tackle communication theory and research. No degree is easy, and to think a classmate's is less work than yours...you might want to take a step back and think about that before you say it to them.

9. "But everyone knows how to communicate."

Communications degrees aren't that generic, and there's more to the degree than just sitting down with tea and having a conversation with someone. There are concentrations in the department like Interpersonal, Mass, PR and Journalism. While they all teach us better ways to communicate with others, that's not all there is. It's a dynamic degree that teaches us so much about the world, our relationships, our media and ourselves. It prepares us professionally, and it is one of the best degrees to prepare us for the "real world."

10. "You're just learning how to talk better to people."

OK, sure.

11. "Journalism is a dying career."

I can agree to disagree. Journalism is always changing and growing. Yes, certain aspects of journalism are going out of style, but not the profession as a whole. And communications degrees aren't just journalism. That's like a minuscule faction of what it actually is. It's a misconception of the degree as a whole.

So to round this list up, don't say these things to a communications major, and we can all get along.