1.) You’re constantly correcting people’s grammar.
Maybe it’s in your head. Maybe it’s out loud, and then you feel like a jerk. You can hardly hold a conversation with someone without correcting grammar. Even your own.
2.) Your friends always ask you, “How does this sound for a thesis statement?”
Yet you ALWAYS help them because you’re a nerd, and you secretly love it when people ask you for help with their writing.
3.) You won’t share a post, retweet, pin, reblog, etc. if there is a grammar error in it.
It does NOT matter how funny it is. You physically can’t. It pains you to think about sharing something onto your own page consisting of that wretched misplaced apostrophe.
4.) Grammar lessons: you love them or you hate them.
I have a strong love for grammar, and there are many fellow English majors like me. There are also the opposites… It’s a love/hate relationship. Sometimes just a hate.
5.) When your friends complain about the three-page paper they have to write, you sort of want to hit them in the face. With a rolled up paper. Of YOUR paper’s requirements.
It’s no doubt that writing papers in a college is a given, no matter what class you’re in. If you’re not an English major, you might have less to write. If that’s the case, I’d advise you not to gripe about it in front of one of our kind.
6.) So. Much. Reading.
It will never end. You love it; you hate it, but it doesn’t end. Whether you’re a freshman or junior, it’ll just keep piling up.
7.) Since you spend so much time reading for classes, you can hardly squeeze in leisure reading.
When was the last time you had time to read your favorite book? There are books sitting on your shelves that you bought two weeks ago, three months ago, a year ago, etc. that you haven’t read yet. It’s heartbreaking for you, actually. But they keep piling up, as do your reading assignments.
8.) Your friends always ask you, “Will you proofread my paper?”
And of course, you do.
9.) It’s hard for you to shop at a store or restaurant if they have a grammar error in their ads, signs or on their marquees.
No matter how bad you’re craving some french fries...c’mon McDonald’s. You can do better.
10.) It’s uber frustrating when people talk about the movie without reading the book.
Book-based movies are way more enjoyable for you when you’ve read the book and have something to compare. Also, the book. Is always. Better. Than. The movie.
11.) You wonder when MLA is going to stop updating their handbook because you can’t keep up.
Once you’ve memorized the seventh edition, you feel like a superstar. Then, the eighth edition comes out and you question everything you’ve ever known. It’s fine. Everything’s fine.
12.) At the end of the day, semester or year, you still get up and go to class because you can’t wait to pursue your little English nerd heart dreams.
Whether it’s teaching a classroom full of pupils about commas, editing for an online journal like The Odyssey or writing for a major newspaper. Whatever they are, we’re all working towards them day by day.
