Are you a college student who is constantly bombarded with questions that ultimately just frustrate you? Questions about life, your major, your plans after college, and so on? Well hopefully this list helps those guilty of always asking these questions, and why they’re so irritating to answer:
1. “How’s life?”
How’s life? Really? Well, chances are life is either really great or not great at all -- there isn’t really an in-between. Unless you want to hear about the struggles juggling classes, work, a social life, and this foreign concept called “free time,” then never ask this question. So spare students the tears and avoid this question as a whole. Always.
2. “What’s your major?”
We were asked this question before we started college, about a hundred thousand times while in college, and we will continue to be asked it after college. It’s like this question has turned into a weird “end all, be all” question in which you hope you made the right answer. There can be a lot of different connotations that go along with what major you choose, so make sure when someone asks you, you pay close attention to their reaction to tell how they really feel about it.
3. “What do you want to do with that major?
Most of us choose majors we are passionate about and frankly have no idea what we’re doing more than half the time. We hope just as much as you do that we get a job after graduation. It is safe to assume we probably want to do something within that field, so save us the stress and skip this question.
4. “What are you doing after graduation?”
If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone ask a graduating senior this question, I would be a millionaire and could afford to drop out (just kidding, Mom). But really. Most of the time the college student doesn’t even know what they’re doing yet; they just make something up to avoid extreme public embarrassment. No one wants to say they’re moving back to their parents after graduation to work their usual summer job, so try not to get them as worked up about this question as much as your curiosity already is.
5. “Why are you an English major again?”
"Do you want to be a teacher?" is the most common question I get after telling people I am an English major, and the answer is no, I do not want to be a teacher. All majors are difficult in their own way, and just because English is in the humanities should not undermine its difficulty. So stop asking what they want to do with it because chances are they are confused and anxious about the future, and you drilling them with questions probably doesn't help. I am studying English because I like to write, and I enjoy it. Simple as that.
6. “Have you done the readings?”
From personal experience, I know that I only ask this question when I haven’t done the readings myself, so don’t annoy the student next to you because chances are they probably haven’t done the readings either.
7. “Did you study for the exam?”
Again, what’s the point of asking this question, exactly? No matter how often we study for an exam, this question only reminds us about all the more studying we should be doing but continue to watch Netflix and eat ice cream, so don’t remind us!
8. “What classes are you taking?”
Speech and hearing science, qualitative analysis of 18th-century literature or chemical engineering ring a bell? Probably not. You probably aren’t all that interested in my class schedule, and I’m probably not all that interested in yours, either. If you're deathly curious about the misogyny present in Jonathan Swift's poems, then you’re in luck. But other than that, stop asking this pointless question that we both know isn’t going to get us anywhere.
You'd think after hearing these questions a million times that the times you actually answer them would ultimately dwindle, but who knows? There's always that one person. So, hang in there, and try to dodge these questions as much as possible to avoid frustration.
