People tell me English is a ‘non-major’

We came to the University of Arizona to pursue a study that we are truly passionate about

Science is hard — I mean really, really hard — for those who don’t have a knack for it. Even taking a freshman level general education class about weather and climate has certain individuals riding the struggle bus all the way to the last stop. But give those same people an English class with a good book or an interesting analytical paper to write, and they’re totally in their element.

It seems as though on this campus, these people are the exception to the rule, rather than the norm. Everywhere I look there are people who have been worrying about how to get into medical school since the first day of their first semester. There are those people who want to be entrepreneurs and businessmen, making tons of money and living lavish lifestyles filled with tailored suits and fancy cars.

Then there’s us. I’ve met very few English majors besides myself, and a sense of fellowship always arises because “non-majors” know the struggle of studying something others see as pointless.

Now, it’s not like we’re not smart. It’s not like we chose something that’s easy. We still have to bust our butts to write an essay or get that 1000-page novel read. You would be surprised how often we get looked down upon and asked what type of future we could hope to have with the education we’re pursuing. We’re asked common questions like “Isn’t that kind of a non-major?” or “Your schedule is not really that demanding is it?”

To this we say, “No.” It’s a very real major with many real-life applications. We are learning to observe our world critically and analytically. We learn so many viewpoints and discover that there is always more than one right answer. Studying English might not be that yellow brick road that leads to one destination that is the job with the highest salary, but at least we enjoy it.

As far as the demandingness of our studies, we might not have quite as many prerequisite classes, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a full course load. The nice part is, though, our majors might be more flexible, which allows us to do other things. This might include actually spending time with close friends rather than being shut away always studying and doing homework. We can pursue other passions that could be far more rewarding to us than time spent in a classroom. These are things we could not do if we were constantly thinking about how to be more competitive when trying to get into grad school.

Many of us have never been stressed over class registration. We don’t ever have to worry about getting into that O-Chem class or how far away the Eller Island is from our other classes. We are the ones sitting in class listening to complaints of “Why do we have to write another paper?” or “This is a useless class” from non-English majors while we’re thinking to ourselves, “At least its not science”.

I’m not saying I’m hating on science or business or whatever field people have chosen to study. What I mean is that we are doing something that we can see ourselves enjoying for the rest of our lives. We are doing what we came to the University of Arizona to do — pursue an area of study that we are truly passionate about. The world needs doctors, lawyers, and businessmen, but it also needs people like us. So we should — and will — remain unapologetic and unashamed of the path we have chosen and will continue toward the degree and future we want.