Stop telling me I’m unrealistic just because I’m an English major

A huge part of being a freshman in college revolves around exploring various areas of study and getting acquainted with the diverse, yet captivating subjects that are offered. For myself, however, I have always had a strong sense of my passions and always found myself somehow ending up back to my irrevocable love for English. Though I am an aspiring double English and Psychology major, I have noticed, heard and observed the most confusion and ambivalence in regards to my appreciation and interest for English.

For some reason, many people are under the impression that English as a major can only lead to a particular type of work – either a position as an educator of English, or as an aspiring novelist, an occupation that many people believe to not be promising. However, this unfortunately common line of thinking functions such that it undermines and hinders the power of English as not only a subject, but as a plausible career path. One of my greatest issues with the lack of encouragement and seriousness given to English is that it people genuinely fail to see the universal significance of English. It is popularly assumed that individuals with a passion for writing can only really be useful in becoming authors of books that people have somehow stopped reading. But, books are simply one aspect, one way in which the beautiful art of writing can be applied and created into a career.

English permeates just about every possible field that is out there. Yet, somehow a large majority are convinced that studying literature and techniques for writing can not be applicable to anything other than academia and the pursuit of authors and novelists. Just about every product, service, field of study incorporates the use of writing and reading in some way. Whether it be the art of rhetoric in the spheres of marketing and advertising, or the informative nature of newswriting in media, writing makes its way to just about every possible angle, in every possible form. Within every field there is a need for writing skill, creative expression, and the ability to communicate in a way that resonates with the general population.

There is an ideology often used in critique of English as a major, one that fails to comprehend the real-life appliance of literature and the analyses of literature. However, it is no secret that the profound study of nature enhances worldly knowledge as well as the ability of individuals to broaden their understanding of various perspectives. Literature is not only a form of entertainment for all demographics, but can be utilized as an instrument in regards to bringing societal issues on to the table.

Though many people do not view English as a practical area of study, it is undoubtedly a field that contains important skills that underpin many aspects of society as a whole. The skills that are attached to the subject have the ability to make a huge difference and are just as necessary as all other fields.