I am an English major and I am proud. As any liberal arts student knows, our society is very quick to promote certain areas of study while frowning upon others. Maybe this is one of the reasons why I felt the need to switch my major five times before returning to what I started with: English. I used to be ashamed of the puzzled and concerned looks that would follow my “I am an English major” statement, but now I've grown accustomed to them and am even entertained by the predictability of the questions that accompany the looks. Typically there is a tie between, “Do you want to teach?” and “What are you going to do with that?”
I don’t want to teach, and I don’t have one specific answer as to what I want to do with my life, but I finally feel like I am doing what I love and I trust that the rest of the pieces will fall into place. Some people are born knowing they want to be doctors or lawyers and they spend their entire lives chasing after those dreams. I have nothing but respect for people like that, but I also have a tremendous amount of appreciation for those who were not always sure, and tried out a different major each semester until they found the one that made them feel like they were at home.
College isn't about finding one specific answer - it’s about first learning the questions that matter most to us and then answering them from every possible angle. What I mean by this is that most of us come into college not fully knowing what we are passionate about or who we even are as individuals. We choose to further our education, not because we have to, but instead because we desperately want to find that one subject or cause that motivates us more than anything else in the world. At the end of the day, our passions differ, but our longing to find what we are passionate about is a desire we are all familiar with.
What do you love? What makes you jump out of bed in the morning? We discover these answers, whether they be in the humanities, the arts, the sciences, or even business, in our own way and on our own schedule. Liberal arts majors like my own tend to get a bad reputation, but studying English has taught me more about the world and myself than I would’ve learned in any other major. It’s taught me how to think, rather than what to think, while exposing me to different disciplines and pushing me to find the connecting threads between them. I’ve always struggled with the idea of doing one thing for my entire life and each time I’ve declared a major with only one possible outcome, I’ve felt boxed in.
This past year has taught me how to accept the uncertainty of not knowing exactly where I’ll be, while also embracing the possibility of being able to walk through every and any open door I come across. Most people view your major as a definition of who you are, but the truth is, you are the one who defines your major and where you can take it. I studied English and somehow managed to land a marketing and communications internship this summer, not because I am special, but because I put myself out there and took a chance. Your major, no matter what it's classified as, is significant.
Without English and Journalism majors, we wouldn’t have any media outlets to keep us informed and up to date. Without art majors, we wouldn’t have paintings and sculptures to be in awe of. Without science majors, we wouldn’t have people to treat and cure us during our most vulnerable moments. If you take away only one thing from this, let it be that no matter what your major is, you will leave your mark on the world in ways that have never been done before, and a disapproving look or comment should never deter you from building your own path around what you love.
