I love being an English major.
Not everyone enjoys school, but I often find myself thinking that four years isn’t nearly enough time for me to take all the classes I want to take. Call me a nerd or boring or whatever you want. At the end of the day, if I’m happy with my own life choices, getting criticized for them won’t make a difference.
Caught in my own bliss of being hopelessly in love with academia, there’s always that one awful, condescending individual who comes along and acts like I should be concerned about my choices.
“What’s your major?” they ask.
“English,” I say.
A little smirk or a roll of the eyes. Maybe a narrow-minded comment such as, “Good luck finding a job,” or one question asked in the most slandering tone possible: “Why?”
I’m aware that many of my peers consider their accomplishments more important than mine. I’ve even been told that studying English is pointless and a waste of my money and time.
There’s nothing wrong with being proud of your accomplishments, but it doesn’t give you the right to assert superiority over others. It’s possible to respect others while still recognizing your own strengths. Here’s a little unashamed self-commendation of my own:
I work my ass off every day of the week to ensure not only that I get my schoolwork done, but also that I’m getting the most out of my education. If that means I have to spend my Friday night writing a paper, I do it.
Despite what some people may think, I don’t have an exceptionally high GPA because being an English major is effortless.
Every accomplishment I’ve made since I started college has been a direct result of my hard work. Being an English major is in no way easy, and the people who scoff at me when I say I’m stressed out are, to put this delicately, some of my least favorite people.
“You think you’re stressed? I’m an engineering major!”
Since when is being stressed a competition? Nobody gains respect for someone who belittles the endeavors of others.
If you’re an engineering major, congratulations! That’s really, really awesome.
But guess what?
For a society to function and thrive, we need people from all walks of life — engineers, business owners, journalists, scientists, teachers, artists, filmmakers, musicians — the list goes on and on.
However, society doesn’t thrive if certain groups of people look down on others. Nothing positive comes out of discrediting someone else’s education.
Being an English major has opened my mind in countless ways. The material I study is engaging, but most importantly, it makes me happy. Nothing, not an offensive comment or a statistic about lucrative careers, can discredit that.
Asserting superiority over others based on your own personal decisions is never acceptable, especially when it comes to college students belittling their fellow students. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re all on the same level here.
If you haven’t even graduated yet, acting like you’re guaranteed some perfect, attainable future is a seriously narrow-minded way to look at life.
You might see your future as a lavish paradise, one in which you get to roll around in piles of money as you boss your subordinates around. I see my future as a place where I can be passionate about what I do every day and make a difference in other people’s lives. Whatever my salary may be is just a side benefit of that.
Even if we all attain the futures we strive for, I will never be interested in comparing my life to someone else’s. Not in terms of money, circumstances or happiness. My life and my choices are mine.
If you feel the need to shame others for their field of study, maybe you’re not as confident about your own choices as you pretend to be.
Shirin Chowdhury is a 20-year-old English junior from Manhattan, Kansas. You can reach her on Twitter @TDR_schowd.
Books are displayed on a table for shoppers at the LSU Libraries Friends of the Libraries Annual Book Bazaar on Thursday, March 20, 2014 in the 4-H mini barn.
