I recently came across an article on Facebook entitled something like, “Stop degrading your major.” While I didn’t take a moment out of my mindless scrolling to actually read the article, the title was enough to get me thinking about the way I talk about my major. I’m an English major; when I tell people this, I usually follow it up with, “Yeah, I know I will probably end up jobless for a while.”
It’s a reflex because I want to beat my conversation partner to the inevitable punch line: “That’s not very marketable.” Humanities majors generally have to deal with the disapproving comments from people who think a major in the humanities is a waste of money. It’s easier to say, “Yep, I know I’m going to struggle,” than explain your major is teaching you to work hard and think critically.
I shouldn’t take the easy way out, because my major isn’t the easy way out. Some of my STEM major friends recently reminded me, yes, their work is hard, but mine is too. While they might spend hours upon hours laboring over physics problems, I am matched with the challenge of reading hundreds of pages each night and preparing thoughtful notes. All academic suffering is relative, which is something I never considered.
So why do people think reading and writing as majors will cause us to slum it for a good few years? Perhaps because the rhetoric of popular television shows and other media make me believe I’m destined for a life of coffee serving in Brooklyn. Not that there isn’t dignity in the art of coffee, but I’m supposed to be the next voice of some generation, right? I guess I’ve been watching too many reruns of “Girls.”
Maybe that kind of rhetoric is better, the kind of rhetoric that makes us more confident instead of making ourselves the butt of an academia joke. We should talk ourselves up, no matter what major we are. Even my STEM major friends have their doubts. Will they get into medical or graduate school? How long will it take to achieve their dreams? These are all valid questions. All of us have doubt, even those who have traditionally “marketable” majors.
I don’t know when the future started to look so murky. I’m not going to blame the collegiate environment for harboring so much self-doubt, but it’s difficult to look around and seemingly only see success and feel like you’re failing. But isn’t everyone kind of floundering? Aren’t we all piecing it together as we go along? The future is scary, but that doesn’t mean you won’t shape it the best way you can. It’s something to figure out along the way.
So your major is a constant source of doubt; join every other college student in the club. You chose your major for a reason, and that’s because you love it. There is more dignity in unashamedly pursuing what you enjoy in this life rather than saying, “Yeah, I’m an English major. What am I planning to do with that? Starve.” That joke will only be funny for so long.
