Often times, spring quarter means that one specific question is circulated in and out of most conversations:

"So what do you want to do with your degree after you graduate?"

It's a common question that those outside of university studies use as conversation pieces in relation to those who are still in school. While it is a harmless question, I have found that there are multiple layers of assumptions that come with asking such an open-ended question.

Personally, as I have shared that I am graduating in a couple of quarters with a degree in English Literature. Many people have asked me that very question.

"Oh, that's cool, so what do you want to do with a degree like that? Teach high school English?"

I have become proud of my (rather long) answer to that question, and to all the students majoring in Literature who are Jesus followers, I want to share my answer with you so that come the end of this quarter or next, you can be ready to fight back against the stereotyped, assumption-heavy framework most people are (probably unknowingly) operating under.

It's not about how we will use our study of literature in the future. We are currently using what we are learning to become better Jesus followers!

This is my go-to answer, one that always catches people off guard. The typical answer to any degree question is "oh well I think X is important so I want to go on to intern/get a job in market Y and hopefully do career Z."

Instead, field the question with what you are currently using your degree for currently!

For me, this means sharing how the Bible is a unified story that shows how God is working throughout history to rescue and restore our world. In being a literature major, I not only can understand how to read The Bible, but I can meditate, encourage, and coach others in how to engage with The Bible, as well.

Don't get me wrong: you shouldn't answer the question of what you wanna do with your major with solely what you're "doing with it currently." The hope is that you show the unity of college and post-college life. It's important to show people that even our own lives are one, grand, unified story of God working in and through us, to rescue and restore even ourselves.

The hope in fighting back against the "traditional" way to answer this question isn't just to dodge it entirely. The hope is that you demonstrate the relevancy of your major even in your current life. As an English literature major, this means showing just how important literacy is when it comes to claiming to be a follower of Jesus.

In showing the relevancy (and how excited we are to use our majors on a daily basis) we demonstrate the heart of why we should even care about being in college:

Education is not something we take and put on a shelf, it is a process that daily sharpens us as human beings.

To those graduating soon: may this truly help you in navigating the age-old, dullest question in the universe. Instead seek to daily answer: "what am I doing with my degree?"