While we may not all look the same or act the same, there are a few things all English majors can agree on. No matter your university, if you're an English major, you understand exactly where I'm coming from.
1. You own a copy of "Elements of Style."
You may have opened it once for a writing workshop or it's dog-eared and highlighted throughout, either way, you have a copy of it sitting on your desk.
2. You can either write fiction or non-fiction, there is no being great at both.
Every English major must face a decision: are you better at writing fiction or non-fiction. This then sifts you into typically the creative writing or journalism routes. Once you find your niche through various intro classes, you tend to stick there throughout your college years. Why rock the boat?
3. You'd rather write a 10-page paper than solve a math equation.
Depending on your institution, and the credits you may have entered college with, you more likely than not only need to take the easiest math classes possible to fulfill your requirements. Your pre-med and accounting major friends look at you in awe that you have to, and enjoy, read and write papers all the time. The funny thing is that if the roles were reversed, we may or may not be able to solve the Pythagorean theorem.
4. "No I'm not going to write your paper for you."
What typically follows after your friends' initial shock and awe over your paper-writing skills is the question "OMG can you write a paper for me?!" No. No I can't. While you asking is flattering, I can't just snap my fingers and create a work of art (or at least a B+) for you. I will gladly edit it for you, though!
5. You may not even want to be a writer after college.
Typically when you tell someone your major, they go "so do you want to be a writer?" That feels like such a loaded question, because anyone who writes and enjoys writing knows in one way or another, they'll always be a writer. When it comes to my career as a writer, I can't say for sure. Especially for the students who use their English or journalism major as a way to wiggle their way around a career in communications. Don't worry fellow English majors, you're not the only one who's going to walk away with a B.A. in English and little clue as to what we'll do with it.
