The stereotypical philosophy major is the person who is lost, has no clue what they want to do in life and had to pick a major because mom and dad are paying for a college education. To go even further, many people think of Philosophy majors as idiots who do nothing but smoke weed and spout craziness. They lack discipline, true academic achievement, and they are lazy.

Well, I am going to pop that stereotype for you. I am a Philosophy major with a 3.944 GPA, made Phi Beta Kappa as a junior, am President of Omicron Delta Kappa Circle at Roanoke College, serve on the Curriculum Committee of Roanoke College, have interned in Washington D.C. at the Attorney General's office, and have aspirations including being a lawyer and eventually a judge. I want to spend my life working with and for other people and I have the drive and motivation to do it. BUT HOW CAN THIS BE??

When I tell people what my major is I get scoffed at, laughed at, asked "Why would you major in that?" and "What in the world can you do with a Philosophy Major?" and those are just the semi-nice responses. So, let me tell you why I LOVE being a Philosophy major and why I will NEVER regret my decision to get a degree in it.

Philosophy affords the opportunity to explore different ideas, perspectives, and motivations. I get the ability to think outside of myself and deep within myself. I get to look at the world through many different lenses and pick and choose what I believe out of all the options.

Philosophy also teaches how to analyze rhetoric and arguments that are made by politicians, lawyers, the media, strangers, and your loved ones. It teaches how to THINK FOR YOURSELF and make logical arguments. Philosophy enables you to dive deeply into the many cultures and perspectives of the world and analyze and appreciate them for what they are.

With Philosophy you can think and feel as if you are someone else. It teaches you to pick out your own biases and the biases of others and be aware of what they are on a regular basis so that you can understand why you and others think and act the way they do.

The greatest gift that Philosophy has given me is peace, inner peace. People ask me all the time how I can stand studying a subject that has NO ANSWERS... Well here is my beautiful truth.

The only stable and solid truth in this life is that there are no answers and that is not only OKAY, but it is beautiful. We cannot know the secrets of the universe and the "whys" of everything and I know that personally I would not want to. Living in this great and mysterious universe is a blessing and I want to leave myself WIDE OPEN to ALL of the many many possibilities that are presented to me.

The minute that I decide that I KNOW the answers... is the minute that I know absolutely nothing.

Last, but not least, to answer your question "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH A PHILOSOPHY MAJOR????"

I am going to live, think, appreciate, analyze, ponder, meditate, and learn everything I can while I am lucky enough to breathe in and out.

I decided to spend 4 years of my life pondering the HUGE questions about life that everyone has, but tries to ignore. I won't ignore them, I thrive off of them.