“You’re majoring in what?”

This is the reaction I’ve come to expect after I tell people I’m majoring in earth science with a concentration in geology. The Earth Science Department at Rice, although well respected within the academic community, is little known by students of other majors or even faculty of other departments. Here, I hope to shed some light on what it’s like to be an Earth Science major—the small challenges and victories we face every day.

1. Too many people possess a skewed understanding of what you study.

“So…you just stare at rocks?” This is when you gear yourself up for a long conversation.

2. This means rock puns. Lots and lots of rock puns.

Please stop sending me pictures of “The Rock” to study.

3. Some people are just plain demeaning.

Tell me one more time that geology is not a real science. I promise it’s more tangible than your B.S. particle physics.

4. Your major prerequisites bring major suffering.

You mean my freshman year schedule will look like an engineer’s? Oh joy.

5. Asking questions can lead to minor disagreements among your professors. Sometimes you end up even more confused.

The mineralogist will disagree with the sedimentologist who mostly agrees with the structural geologist but for one caveat.

6. The Internet is not your friend when it comes to homework.

What do you mean Google can’t find a stratigraphy map of the French Mediterranean continental shelf?

7. Microsoft Word doesn’t speak your language. Your academic papers look extremely unintelligent with those red squiggles everywhere.

For the last time, porphyritic is a word.

8. You get to freeze your butt off and pee in the wilderness on a field trip.

Hooray! Nature!

9. You get to fly to another state and study samples that are millions of years old and have been spit up from the Earth’s interior.

Hooray! Nature!

You don’t actually need to journey to the center of the Earth to know what it’s like. Mind. Blown.

10. All the earth science majors get to nerd out together.

“That garnet sample was out of this world!” “Yeah, that’s crazy! I can’t believe it retained its dodecahedron cleavage in that river with such minimal weathering!”

11. Your professors are superstars in the earth science community.

Sometimes you can’t help but be star struck.

12. Despite all the challenges, you know that you’re doing what you love. The struggles are completely worth it.

The haters are going to hate, but you don’t care. Your major seriously rocks!

And so to summarize...