Being an English Major Saved My Life

What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be a professional soccer player, a ninja, a doctor, a lawyer, maybe an astronaut.

Every child gets asked this at some point in their life. The answer rarely stays the same, and most times it's borderline comical. I want to be a unicorn who saves people by day and becomes a secret detective at night. Or, an astronaut who explores alien planets and space walks with the stars. It's a question that can never be answered until you're finally doing it. Whether that's in a medical field, or technical job, you will never truly love it, until you personally experience it.

College gives you the knowledge needed to work the job. What college doesn't do, is give you the experience of working the job. It is hard to know what you want to pursue, and for some people it comes naturally, others it's like pulling at teeth. Me? I thought I knew. I thought I had every decision planned out precisely; my future set in stone lined with gold, shimmering so perfectly I could lock it in a box and throw out the key. That's not what happened. I later had to find that key.

My acceptance into Michigan State started out with a Nursing Major. This path quickly transitioned into Pre-Vet, then Zoology, Animal Science and then Pre-Vet again. I was quite persistent with working in an occupation caring for animals. I loved it. However, quickly I found myself struggling in science classes. I realized this subject was a weakness of mine, and with all the studying and help, it was impossible for me to rap my mind around the subject. To remember the cycle of chromosomes, or how glucose flows through the body was so difficult to me, I would go home and just lay in bed feeling defeated.

The short version: I took a semester off. I threw out that plan of my future and started a new page, completely blank. I looked back at High School and really analyzed what I was good at. Specifically, what I was good at and I could do for the rest of my life. That's when English came into the picture.

Many people believe an English Major is only good when you want to be a teacher or a novelist. In fact, every person I tell my major to, 9 out 10 times ask me if I'm going to be a teacher. The answer is no I am not going to be a teacher and I'm not going to be a novelist either. People look over the skill of writing and how much writing is needed in every job. I truly feel English encourages creativity and freedom of self-expression and it has led me to finding myself.

"That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you're not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

I have heard some people say that liberal arts students are weird or sometimes extra, well I agree, but only because we spend every day in deep analyses whether that's for a book or class and most often ourselves. English has taught me to be myself. Pre-Vet, Animal Science, Zoology, they were good choices, but I felt restrained because everything in those fields have a definite answer. English promotes weirdness, being unique, having your own opinions because that is what makes a good writer or a good teacher or even lawyer. English has helped me break out of this shell and explore new skills and communities. If I wasn't an English Major, I would be failing college and most importantly, I would be lying to myself. It has saved me from losing who I truly am, and it has opened the door to new opportunities that I thought were unreachable.