There's a lot of stigma around being an English major.
It's seen as not as challenging as any of the STEM fields -- for any of these skills, there's a common trait: communication. Whether it be a laboratory report or an essay analyzing a piece of artwork, the ideas need to come in a way that makes sense and is communicated clearly.
If you're not an English major and you've said something along the lines of "I wish I could write" or "I wish I could write well," -- guess what: sometimes, so do we.
Sometimes writing a paper is hard. I think we've all been there; the words don't come as naturally as you'd hoped; the connections were harder to make than anticipated. The feelings towards the said-paper are sometimes even harder to deal with.
Having a professor look over a paper you're not proud of is anxiety-inducing.
I don't know about you, but I want to impress my professors. I want to show them that I want to be a good writer, so when I submit a paper I'm not necessarily proud of is the worst few moments of my life.
I pride myself on being able to hammer out a solid paper (or let's face it, weekly articles sometimes) in a short amount of time. It's one of my best skills; I can type fast, and I type pretty well. I love stringing together sentences, building worlds, and characters and relationships; I love that moment I make a connection between two texts -- when I realize exactly what direction my paper is heading in. I get so much pleasure from that "lightbulb moment."
When I decided to change my major to English, I was worried about the backlash.
My community, the ones who love and support all my endeavors — I was worried what they would think: that I was taking the easy route out; I was going nowhere; I would end up working at McDonald's for the rest of my life.
Let's not forget about my parents — the two I wanted to make the proudest; I want them to beam when they talk about me, not be embarrassed about my degree. They were the ones paying my student loans. What would they think when I told them I changed my major?
Would they assume it was too challenging and I was giving up?
Writing brings me joy. I wasted a solid year in a major that didn't fit me, but at least I gave it a shot and learned that it definitely isn't what I want right now. Since the switch, despite all the negative connotations around being an English major, I can say it has been one of my best decisions.
