There’s nothing I’m more tired of hearing than the unavoidable question that follows when a relative or a parent asks what I’m studying in school. “English? What are you going to do with that?”
At first, the question never really bothered me. When I was younger my teachers and parents would always ask me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” And I never really had a definitive answer to that question. I’m sure I went through different pipe dream phases of wanting to become president or an astronaut, but I didn’t wake up one day and realize I wanted to become a physician's assistant or a therapist. I never had a set goal of what career I wanted to pursue. And so, I chose to major in something I’m passionate about, English. Being able to read literature and poetry and write about my favorite authors like Sylvia Plath and Allen Ginsberg gives me the stamina and ambition to do well in school and actually be engaged and interested.
Choosing a liberal arts major like English doesn’t mean I’m going to graduate with zero job opportunities, and it doesn’t mean that I’m not driven. There is a misconception with majors like English, and the people who choose majors like English. Although I do have a high respect my friends who have goals of becoming successful with their finance or nursing degrees, I have an admiration for the students all over the world who chose the major that they’re insanely passionate about without regard to others' opinions. You’re spending four years of your life at an institution that presumably likes seeing their students succeed, so why not let yourself enjoy your studies?
College is not just about receiving a diploma and acquiring a job after graduation. It’s about receiving an education and an experience that you will carry with you the rest of your life. You can’t really go wrong with whatever major you decide to pursue. Many people who graduate with a bachelor's in liberal arts go on to pursue a career in business or even medicine. And many people who graduate with a business degree go on to be social workers or nurses. It’s not the major that you have in college; it’s the dedication, drive, and passion that you have to have in order to be successful in life.
