A Confession...

Ok. So here I am. A brand-new blog. A brand-new year. And…I guess it’s time to confess to the world something that I should have always been up front and honest about.
I…
I…am…
I…am…a…
Wow. This is a little harder than I thought. No, wait, I can do this. Whew. Here goes.
I am an English Major.
*peeks out* You’re still here? We’re still friends? Hey now! That wasn’t too bad.
I started thinking about this yesterday during my first day of my LAST SEMESTER IN COLLEGE! Mwa-ha-ha. Erm, yeah. Anyhow. In one of my classes we discussed the kinds of responses we tend to get when we tell people we’re English majors. The most popular one is, “Are you going to teach?” which is usually followed by, “Uh-oh! I’d better watch my grammar around you!” Or my personal favorites, “What can you do with that?” and “Oh. I am so sorry.” (“And you are?” “Oh, I’m a political-science micro-nuclear degenerative nano major with a minor in thermo-dynamic chemistry” “….Oh. Lovely.”)
Another question was answered by my awesome friend Kim which was, “So are you going to write a novel or something?” with a very enthusiastic, “Heck yes! And it’s going to be awesome and amazing! But, until I get it published and everyone else out there sees how awesome and amazing it is I’ll be supporting myself with the other awesome English skills I’ve got.”
And in case you’ve ever wondered just what in the world we learn in English classes besides grammar let me enlighten you! We discuss politics, and science, philosophy, psychology, history, and a myriad of other topics. You’ve got to know background information before you can make any kind of accurate assessment about the piece you’re reading. You’ve also got to know about the biographical information of the author, what the politics were at the time they wrote their poem, or their novel. We usually bring in some kind of psychological analysis of the characters, trying to understand their deepest desires and what motivates them. We have to know the history of the time period. Is the writer a man or woman? If it’s a woman, no big deal right? WRONG! Women writers were few and far between up until the modern and post-modern era. If she is a woman writer published before and during the Victorian era then pay attention! It’s probably a big deal.
…And that’s why you shouldn’t let an English major try and explain any of that. We tend to get fairly excited about the whole thing. But I’m a nerd. It’s ok.
So really though, are you still wondering what I’ll do with an English degree? Well, for starters I could teach school (which is definitely a direction that I’m thinking about). I could even help write and edit the textbooks they use in the schools. English majors have the option of working in publishing for newspapers, magazines, and books. I could even decide to work at home if I so chose.
Which is why you might be confused as to why I’m so nervous if there are so many options. I just want to be sure that I’m going the right way, the way that Heavenly Father wants me to be going. Even if my first job after college isn’t what I do for the rest of my life, it’s going to be the first step which hopefully will lead me in the right direction.
So friends, until the next time…wait a second! Aw man…I just realized that I’ve got to be consistent now and blog on a regular basis! Wish me luck!