Mama Read Me A Story

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Comment by Sonia Rangel on June 7, 2012 at 2:12pm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/17/the-perks-of-being-an-eng_... I'm just going to leave this here.

Comment by Cynthia Amaya on June 7, 2012 at 12:17pm

This post literally gave me goosebumps! At my school, liberal arts majors are looked down upon more often than not, especially English majors. It's discouraging having to hear all the engineering or science majors poke fun at what I take seriously. Thank you for reminding me why I'm an English major in the first place -- my love for books! As long as I can continue filling my life with the beauty of literature, I will never regret my major. 

Comment by Kimberly Kerr on June 5, 2012 at 11:18am

love this=)

Comment by Daysi Calavia-Lopez on May 16, 2012 at 9:25pm

Aw...I loved your post. You should follow your dreams no matter what people say! I know that the support of your mother is always the best and most special inspiration. I feel the same way about my mom <3 

Comment by Jasmine Villa on May 16, 2012 at 4:31pm

Jackie, English majors unite!!!

Comment by Jacqueline Anne Martinez on May 16, 2012 at 9:57am

I was an English Literature major! My English degree is the reason I was able to teach and travel abroad and write for a expatriate magazine while living in China. The beauty about an English degree is that it enables you to communicate effectively AND it helps you understand and know how to work with a diverse group of people. Other majors don't really get that.

Comment by Dominique Gonzalez on May 7, 2012 at 2:04pm

Jasmine:

Thanks for the advice! There aren't a lot of English majors I run into so it good to hear some inspirational advice from a fellow English major. I know writing is what I LOVE to do I really look forward to my English classes and the thought of sitting in a biology or engineering class makes me cringe. I will continue to ignore the haters! Like you said English majors unite! Thanks for the awesome links as well!

Sonia:

I have heard of that class and I am definitely planning on taking it, it sounds like it was very beneficial to you. I love every English class I have taken at UT so far and I can't wait for the classes I have lined up for next year. Thanks for the advice, and I will surely be seeing you in the office this summer!

Comment by Jasmine Villa on May 7, 2012 at 12:05pm

Go Sonia!

Comment by Sonia Rangel on May 7, 2012 at 11:59am

I would get the same thing about my major since I was a history major. I chose History to be my major when I started college and never looked back. I love my history classes the most and they were also the most challenging for me. I don't regret it! When I was at UT, I took a course about making use of your liberal arts degree. It's called "Liberal Arts in the Workplace." I hope they still have it, it's once a week for like 2 hours and it's one credit. It's taught by Katherine Brooks who also wrote a book called "You Majored in What?" She teaches you how to use the skills you have learned with your major in order to incorporate into the workplace.     You should consider taking the class or reading the book. Also the UT Career Services offers so much help so make sure to take advantage of that. They have workshops, look over resumes, host career fairs, etc. I'm sure you probably already know. Good luck! Stop by the office if you come home for the summer. :) 

Comment by Jasmine Villa on May 6, 2012 at 11:43pm

Dominique, I am waaaaaaayy too familiar with that feeling. Are you tired of the million dollar question: "So you want to be a teacher?" As if teaching is the only profession that literature can bring, pssh! Honestly, the only thing that sucks about being an English major is that you cannot turn off the “analyzing” portion of the brain – it has ruined too many films for me.

No one can rip out your passion or make you feel ashamed, just ignore them and call them out on their terrible writing and rhetorical skills. Why? Because it’s probably true. Just kidding, don’t do that. I find it troublesome when people state they don't care about their grammar because they're not English majors. SERIOUSLY?!!?!!! Ah!

In January a former teacher shared a blog that made helped me affirm some things about myself. The author, Tom, also states some wonderful advice that I think is applicable to ANY degree:

“I [majored in theatre] because more than one wise adult had advised me that my actual major in college would have less impact on my eventual job search than having the actual degree. ‘Study what you love’ I was told, ‘not what you think will get you a job.’”

Brush off the haters and study what YOU love. It really doesn’t matter what you study, what matters is how you act and that you know what to do with it. The only way you don’t get a job after college is if you wait until the last minute to actually look for a job. Job hunting is time consuming and, unless you have the connections, a good chunk of college grads will NOT have their dream job lined up after graduation. If you start looking and preparing early you will not have problems finding a job. You can even get into medical school with an English degree – well, as long as you have the prerequisites.

Literature and practically anything art related is seen as a "worthless" major, but that’s ignorance speaking. I cannot live in a world without literature! I find beauty in language. I'm enthralled by how sentences are formulated and weaved to emulate an emotion, create a new world, setting, a thought, anything. If literature can do that, imagine what YOU can do? We should come up with a list of the perks of being an English major. This will prove to people that English majors are more than just critical thinkers.

Here’s a list of careers for English majors that reaffirms what I’ve been stating in this comment (that looks like a short story by now, ha):
http://www.selloutyoursoul.com/2011/12/19/jobs-for-english-majors/

English majors unite! :)

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