As an English literature major, everytime I tell someone what my major is I get the question, “What are you going to do with that degree?” Most people mean this in a sincere way. They simply want to know what my future plans are and what career I’m headed for after I graduate. The only answer I’ve ever had to that question is an uncomfortable “I don’t know” with a small dismissing laugh. Not everyone accepts this as my answer, and some people even try to advise me as if I’m a lost university student wasting my time and money. At first, this really bothered me. I didn’t like feeling pitied for not knowing what I wanted to do with my life, or shamed into thinking English literature was a completely wasteful and useless degree. However, the deeper I get into my major and the more I learn, the more sure I am that English is the perfect major for me. My homework usually consists of reading for hours and analyzing a story in a lengthy essay. I couldn’t love this more. I get grades to read. If that isn’t amazing, I don’t know what is. The amount of knowledge I’ve gained from learning in the environment of an English class is priceless.
So I’ve started answering the dreaded question with a different answer. Usually, it’s somewhere along the lines of, “I’m in college to learn.” This can be a very confusing response for a lot of people who think that young adults go to college to get specific degrees to begin a specific career–but that’s not why I’m here. Yes, a degree is always a good idea. But I didn’t choose English literature because of the job security it gives me in the future. I chose it because it’s what I love. My future career does not define me, and I think this is a message a lot of other college students need to hear. You should never feel guilty or ashamed of what you’re studying, if it’s the kind of learning you love. You can’t put a price on knowledge. Maybe with my English degree I’ll become an author, a blogger, a thinker, a lover, or maybe I’ll decide to go back for another degree and become a teacher, a professor, a lawyer. I’m not too concerned where I’ll end up with my English degree or what kinds of jobs I’ll have throughout my life because right now I’m in college, and I’m here to learn.