There’s nothing quite like being an English major. Going to class and working on assignments aren’t as much of a chore for you because you genuinely love what you’re studying. It’s become second-nature for you to have to explain your choices. It can be a love-hate relationship- one that your fellow English majors understand all too well.
1. You’re always asked if you’ll become a teacher.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for teachers. Don’t get me wrong. But teaching is not for me. If it was my plan to become a teacher, I would have been an education major.
2. You've almost forgotten how to take tests.
For the most part, your professors assign papers in place of midterms and finals. So when you encounter a test in one of your GenEd classes, you almost don’t know what to do.
3. A normal week consists of at least fifty pages of reading and two papers.
And that's an easy week.
4. You bring a pen with you almost everywhere you go.
How else would you write down any story ideas that come to mind?
5. You have a "book problem."
It's not unusual for any extra money you have to go towards a new book. Or two. Or three.
6. You have a favorite pen.
You know the one I’m talking about. It easily glides across the page without leaving smudges. The ink is the perfect shade of blue or black. It looks better than all the rest. It’s like your pen soulmate.
7. You don't let anyone use that pen.
What if they lose it? Or break it? Or it runs out of ink?
8. You're always reading something.
Whether it’s an assignment for class or something for fun, you’re always in the middle of reading a book. It doesn’t feel right if you aren’t, even if you don’t get the chance to read ever y day.
9. Bookstores are what you imagine heaven look like.
Countless books in every direction that you look...what could be better?
10. You see subtext everywhere.
Your classes have taught you to look beyond what the writer is saying to figure out what’s going on in a story, novel, or poem. Naturally, that carried over into the rest of your life as well.
11. In your moments of doubt, you've questioned if you should have chosen a more "practical" major.
With all of the questions you get about what you can do with an English degree, it can be really easy to start questioning yourself. Sometimes you wonder if you should’ve chosen business instead, or if English should’ve been your minor.
12. But at the end of the day, you wouldn't change a thing.
You genuinely enjoy what you’re studying. It makes college (and life) worthwhile. You couldn’t imagine spending every day learning how to run a business, how to code, or how the brain works. English is something that you love, and discovering new worlds and creating ones of your own thrill you to no end. You live a thousand and one lives. And you wouldn’t trade that for anything.
