People don't realize that you can do a lot with an English degree. Many English majors go on to be novelists, editors, and even run businesses. Ohio Northern University's president is an English major. There are some days when words don't express mine and other English majors' reactions to these questions. Pictures really do tell a thousand words.

1. When someone tells you "Have fun finding a job with that degree!"

Yes, I am aware of the stigma that haunt English majors. Majoring in English, or any liberal art, can teach you how to communicate with others properly. What good is a cancer-curing idea if you can't share it with anyone?

2. "I wanted to major in something practical!"

Yes, words are so impractical and no one uses them.

3. "At least you have a light course load!"

Why don't you read the pages and write the essays that cover them?

4. "Creative writing? I like to write stories in my free time!"

Yes, because trying to understand the depths of humans is a piece of cake.

5. "It's so easy to just write a story or essay. I actually have to do work."

Writing a 10-page paper with supporting details to every claim you make is easy. Also, writing a story where the story is compelling and characters are believable is harder than one thinks.

6. "What can you do with a degree like that?"

So many options. So little time.

I hope many people will begin to see English as a respectable major and career path. I hope many teenagers forsake what their parents want them to pursue, and instead pursue something they love. Majoring in English is one of the best things I've done.