College has been an interesting time for me so far. I’ve been through thick and thin, experienced some of the most trying times of my life and some of the best. But I never liked the way people always talked about high school as the best years of their lives, or even their time in college. It’s not that I’m not enjoying myself here at school, I am just much more in my own element and much more susceptible to the stresses I faced in high school. The only difference is that everyone here at school is a bit more mature about explain their stress that they were in high school, but at the same time, there seems to be this societal expectation that those of us in school are training to be the professions that we want to take up, but not the people in those positions.

It makes it tough, therefore, to be an English major in this society. As an automatic response when I am questioned about it, I have to go one step further and explain what I plan to do with my English major in order to make a living. It doesn’t help that my colleagues, strangers, and even friends, decide that my appreciation of English is enough of a reason for them to degrade me and mock my choice of interests.

I am fully aware that a major in English is not directly analogous to a specific profession in the “real world.” That’s what makes it so versatile, though. A major in English is probably one of the best things to have, because no matter what you do in life, the ability to read and write are always important and vital. You could be the most brilliant physicist, but without the ability to appropriately present your findings, no one is going to want to hear what you have to say. The written word, as I have said many times before and will continue to say, is one of the most important cultural aspects that we have. People forget what others say, but it’s hard to forget what others write. The "Harry Potter" series is loved by millions for more than just the simple reason that people want to be transported to a distant place where magic exists, it is because the words that Rowling uses actually are able to transport the reader into the scenes that they depict. You can hear the deafening silence of the students and faculty as the all crowd around the body of Dumbledore at the end of "The Half-Blood Prince," you can feel the tears run down your cheeks as they did mine when Harry saw Snape’s final tear drop of a memory.

I’m writing a story of my own. It is for one of my classes, yes, but I do not intend on stopping when the class finishes. I hope one day to be able to publish it, and only then will I have the fortune to say to those that have scoffed at my choice of major that I have “succeeded” in it. But doesn’t that seem a bit harsh, a bit lop-sided? Almost as if an English major is considered less than one in the physical sciences, or mathematics, economics, or business? It certainly feels that way sometimes.

This is why I started writing for the Odyssey in the first place, to start to publish work publicly. It just so happened that about a month after I joined, the entire team fell apart, and I was left with a decision. I was coming out of a really bad semester, dealing with my depression and struggling to get up in the morning and get all of the work I had to do for my classes done on time. I liked writing for the Odyssey, but I hate leading groups. I am naturally shy, almost cripplingly so, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take on yet another group on campus (I was already involved with the jazz workshop, concert band, and local pit orchestra).

That’s why I did it, though. That’s why I asked to be the new editor-in-chief for my branch. I can’t say that it has been an easy semester for our branch, either, but we are still growing and I am still learning. I wanted a challenge. I wanted to feel like I could do something in the field that I enjoyed most, and one of my writers just got about 5,000 shares on her first article, so I like to think that I have accomplished the one thing I wanted to most.

Don’t get me wrong, I have enjoyed my time here at Clark immensely, but I merely wish to express how minute sense of expression can affect a person’s psyche, and hopefully provide more of a cohesive understanding of what it really means to be an English major who is engaged in his or her community and is tired of the societally-accepted labels that are put on us. In general, I hate referring to people by their majors. It feels like some form of racial epithet is being flung in my face when people hear that I actually enjoy writing papers more than taking exams.

I only wish to impart my experience of being an English major, although sometimes, I feel like people think I don’t even speak it. I care deeply about my use of language, but at the same time, it acts as one of my biggest obstacles, in certain situations. The Odyssey has helped me to feel a bit more confident in my major choice, and so I wish to continue to impart that solidarity and sense of self-worth on to my wonderful writers, regardless of their interests. Language isn’t meant to be something restricted to a few, it is supposed to be streamlined for the many, for everyone. I just hope that one day, someone will understand this, and begin to dissolve the societal barriers between the different majors. College is about learning how to think, not how to act.