A Correction on English

I know it's been a while (again) but I have a fantastic reason (again). This one. 

Aren't they just one of the cutest families you've ever seen? They're just so happy and perfect and I love it! Little Alida is getting cuter by the day and Trey and Pam are loving being parents. 

We even talked Trey (who is the most protective father I've ever seen, in a super cute way) into a game of Frisbee Golf with her. I think he mostly agreed because he knew he could beat me in an absolutely spectacular fashion.

And my dad got to play his all-time favorite pinball game -- The Addams Family. To some, pinball is a leisurely pastime, to my father it is an art. I think his record for longest game is over an hour. I wish I was kidding, but I'm not. He gets very intense about it. 

And of course I got to see some of my fabulous sisters. And I do love seeing my fabulous sisters. We get even more fabulous when we're all together if you can believe it!

Anyway, down to business. (To defeat the Huns...)

It has recently been brought to my attention that my rather cheeky statement in my blog byline about English being a “useless degree” could very easily offend some people—in fact it has offended as least one that I’m aware of. It might have offended more.

Now that I’m aware of this tragic occurrence, I want to take this opportunity to set the record straight that my flippant byline is meant to be just that—flippant. I feel like the vast majority of people who know me (who, honestly [despite any of my dreams to the contrary of becoming rich quickly because my blog gets famous] are the only people that I ever presume will read this blog) know that it must be meant sarcastically because they know how much I love the English language. They’re the people who know firsthand how insufferable I can be to listen to at times because I will go on and on about the plot of some book and how it really speaks to so much more than just a generic story if only they would take the time to read it properly, when really all they wanted me to do was say “Oh sure, I can pass you the potatoes.”

But there are people out there who don’t know me (a horrible loss on your part I must say) and you aren’t yet aware that I’m absolutely proficient in sarcasm and that roughly 82.7% of what I say should be taken worth a grain of salt. (In your defense, if you’re getting to know me through my blog it would probably be very hard to know this about me. Sarcasm never comes across as well via writing. I’ve lost many newfound friends due to the sarcastic nature of my texting. Well, not many. But one or two.) To all of you I would like to formally say (with not a hint of sarcasm whatsoever), that English is NOT a useless degree and I loved every second of getting my Bachelors.

At this point, if you do know me, you’ll probably guess that there’s a list coming on (I am so very fond of my lists) and you would be right. So here’s a list of reasons, in no particular order, of why I loved getting my English degree and why it is, in truth, a very useful degree.

1. It taught me how to critically think. There’s nothing like a professor staring you straight in the eyes and asking you in front of the entire class what you thought of “A Rose for Emily” to make you realize that saying “It was weird,” just isn’t going to cut it. I’ll be the first to admit that I have been guilty of over-analyzing a story and probably putting meaning into it that the author never intended, but at least I know how to analyze things now. I don’t take things at surface value anymore and I don’t blindly believe what I’m told. This has potentially made me much more annoying to deal with, and I’m sure my parents are glad that I waited until after I was out of the house to learn this particular skill, but it’s also made me more intelligent and I’m so glad it’s a skill I have.

2. It taught me how to admit that I am (occasionally) wrong and that there’s no shame in that. Or even to simply admit that I don’t know. To me, it used to be the worst thing in the world to be wrong (it still doesn’t feel great. I don’t like it.) or to have to tell someone that I didn’t know an answer. But it’s okay. Being wrong is, sadly, just a part of life. There are so many things that I would have sworn my life on, only to find out years later I was completely mistaken (the most embarrassing of these moments involving some incredibly wrong intel concerning a boa constrictor. If you ask me some day and I really like you I’ll tell you the story. I would have to really like you though, because it makes me look like a complete idiot. Not that that’s too hard to do…). But I learn new things every single day, and sometimes those things force me to acknowledge that I was dreadfully mistaken, and that’s okay. 

3. It taught me that it is okay change my opinion. Sometimes the new information I discover makes me realize that I don’t believe something as wholeheartedly as I once did. More and more these days I wait to form an opinion until I’ve fully researched an issue, but alas I was not like that as a child. I was a pretty dramatic youngster (there’s a shocker eh?) and I formed strong opinions as soon as I heard one half of one side of an issue. And then (because I hate admitting I’m wrong) I would defend those opinions to the death, no matter how ridiculous I realized they were. But I don’t do that anymore. If someone brings up a valid argument against my opinion I’ll look into it. Maybe I’ll change my mind, maybe I won’t, but at least I can admit that it’s as valid as my own opinion is. (And for someone as egotistical as me that was a hard lesson to learn.)

4. It taught me how to write. You’ll never be worse off in your life if you know how to write well. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve talked to prospective employers and had them tell me that they automatically throw out resumes and applications that are written poorly. When I was sorting through applications at my old job, I did the exact same thing. The way that you write portrays a certain image of yourself, and if you regularly confuse “your and you’re” or “there, their, and they’re” people notice—and whether or not you like it, they judge. It doesn’t matter if you absolutely hate writing and just do the bare minimum to get by in life, you should still be good at it.*

5. It taught me how to argue. Which is not the same thing as how to critically think. Thinking just got the thoughts sorted around in my head, learning how to argue made them come out of my mouth, if I was lucky, intelligently. There were quite a few times that I would say something offhand in class, not really thinking about it as I said it, only to have my teacher require me to defend my position, right then, right there. Sometimes my teachers would agree with me. Sometimes we would argue (in a friendly, snobby, literary type of way). My first two years of college I got thrashed in pretty much all my arguments, but my last two I started to notice a trend—I didn’t do well in all of them, but I did well in most of them. And even if I didn’t change the teacher’s mind one iota, there was at least a small amount of respect in their eyes when they told me to sit down and shut up. 

6. It led me to some fantastic literature, both new and old—in two senses of the words. Guys, I got college credit to read books I loved. I read books written in 2015, I read books written in 1000 A.D. I read books I had never read before and I read books that I hadn’t read since I was ten. I mean, I generally had to do a lot of things with the books or about the books after I read them, but still—sometimes I felt guilty about getting college credit because I was having such a good time in class, which is how it should be! There were very few classes I didn’t look forward to every day, and that’s saying something.

7. It led me to some fantastic people. Some of the best people I know today are people I met through the English/English Education program. 

People like Brooke (and her husband who, while not an English major, often studied with us and he was also hilarious. And really good about throwing out random facts that I will never forget. Oh the things I learned about mantis shrimp studying with Zeb).

And people like Michelle. (Her husband is also a delightful soul, but I've never studied with him, so I can't honestly tell you how he is as a study buddy. I'm sure he's great.) I'm very proud to tell you that Brooke and Michelle and I (and a few other equally delightful souls) were part of the Shakespeare Dream Team. And someday I will find a way to put that on my resume. 

These people are caring, witty, fun to talk to and be with, and (best of all), they also shudder when someone else says “funner.” We spent SO many nights together in the library, researching Shakespeare or Marxism or editing rules while eating pizza and drinking chocolate milk. (Which is a fabulous combination by the way. If you’ve never tried it I highly suggest you do, post haste.) Some of those nights I really didn’t want to be there (usually the nights that my other friends were going hiking or to the dunes, or just the nights that I no longer wanted to be in school at all), but most of the time it was just amazing. We played hard, we worked harder, but we laughed hardest. I wouldn’t exchange those friends or those memories for anything.

8. It led me to some amazing teachers that taught me about so much more than just the English language. I know lots of people think that their department has the best teachers, but mine kind of just wins hands down. There are quite a few different personalities in the English department, from the “angsty teenager” (albeit a lot smarter) all the way to the “wise man on the mountain,” each one taught me something different. 

Kip Hartvigsen would be the wisest man on the mountain. I swear there isn't a thing that this man doesn't know. He amazes me. I just wish I could find my absolute favorite photo of him that we snuck during class, but it's hidden in the recesses of my digital world somewhere...

My teachers were kind, loving, ruthless, and tough all rolled into one bundle. They weren’t afraid to rail on me in class and point out my flaws and how I could do better, but they also weren’t afraid of praising my work. (They also weren’t afraid of kicking me out of class if I made too many Journey references in a 5 minute span during class, but that’s a story for a different day. [But just in case you’re wondering, it’s actually super easy to make at least 6 Journey references in a 5 minute span, and that’s not even trying to force the conversation—they all flowed perfectly.]) 

I mean, not to name names or anything, but Eric d'Evegnee does have the distinction of being the only teacher in my whole life who has ever kicked me out of class. I don't know why he hates Journey so badly, but I do love exploiting it. Of course, if he knew I was posting this picture he'd probably find a way to go back and fail me in a few classes so my degree would be null and void...

But best of all, I knew my teachers cared about me. They cared about my grades, but they also cared about my education, my happiness level, and my life. They taught me almost everything on this list, but they also taught me how to grow up, how to serve without giving too much, and how to live my life in a way I can be proud of.

9. It taught me how to let go of things I love. “Murder your darlings,”* is a quote that pretty much every single English major on the planet is familiar with. (Of course, it’s meant in the terms of revision and not actually killing the people you love, but the gist is somewhat the same. I know that depending on the day and time, I’m far more attached to things I’ve written than people I’m related to…) There comes a time in every writer’s life when they have to slash a phrase, paragraph, chapter, what have you, that they love, that they are connected to on a spiritual level. Their life won’t actually be whole if they take out this piece, but they know they have to in order to make their writing stronger. (And if you think I’m exaggerating, go talk to some writers.) They have to let go of something they love. And it hurts. And it sucks. And life won’t ever actually be the same. It will be better. This is an incredible lesson, not just for writing, but for life. Sometimes you have to let go, and you don’t want to, but you have to. And once your do your life is better and you’re stronger.

10. It made me very popular around finals time. And sometimes midterms. And I know what you’re thinking: “That’s not popularity! They’re using her!” Well you’d be wrong. It’s only using me if I don’t get free Jamba Juice out of the situation, and I almost always got free Jamba Juice out of the situation. But seriously, it is such a benefit to your friends come time that they need to write those essays, and what benefits your friends usually benefits you at some point too. 

11. English is a fantastic jumping off degree, and if you’re not certain what it is you want to be or go into, it’s hard to go wrong with English. I still don't know exactly what I want to do or be in life. I'm really hoping that law school is the answer, but maybe it won't be. But when I was looking up different graduate degree programs, I was amazing at how many I could go into with my English undergrad. (Not really anything medical -- missing a lot of the pre-reqs for that.) Even if I would have had to take a few more classes to be qualified, I knew that I could do it. I can be anything I want to be, because I have the talents and the skills to learn new things. English gave me confidence and it honed my ability to learn. With English as your undergrad, there are a plethora of different companies that will employ you as a grunt worker and then teach you the ropes and let you slowly climb up the ladder, because they have confidence in you and what you can do. 

I could go on and on, I really could, but at some point you’d stop reading and I wouldn’t really blame you. My point here is that the English language is incredible and complex and no one (who uses English as their primary language anyway) would waste their time if they learned more about it. I changed my degree three times before I settled on English and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without my English degree, and I happen to be very fond of who I am. I very most likely wouldn’t be on my way to law school right now, and – even if I was – I wouldn’t be nearly as prepared to tackle the challenge that I’m sure law school will be. Getting my Bachelors in English changed my life—and it’s a change I’m daily grateful for.

*I would like to take this moment to make a small disclaimer that this blog should NOT be taken as solid evidence of my great writing skills. The level of editing and re-writing that goes into this blog is not nearly as high as the amount that goes into anything I would ever turn in for a grade or a job. This blog is just supposed to be fun for me (and hopefully at least a little bit for you as well), so I don’t stress too much about it. Oh, and this blog is supposed to get me rich. That too.

*Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch