A typical conversation I’ve had with relatives, friends, acquaintances, strangers, and pretty much anyone I’ve encountered in the last year often goes as follows:

Chatty, Nosy Person:  “So, what’s your major?”

Me: “English.”

CNP: “What are you going to do with THAT?!” Or, “So, are you going to be a writer or a teacher?”

What if the answer is “neither!” or, worse, “I don’t know yet. I haven’t figured it out.”? I’m greeted with blank, confused stares when I tell these chatty, nosy –but well-meaning– people that I’m not entirely certain what I’m going to do with my B.A. in English.

One of Google’s more recent features is an updated version of the “auto-complete” search, where users can see what others have recently searched for. I typed in “English majors” on Google’s search engine, and one of the first responses I noticed was: “English majors are useless.”

I guess I can understand why some may have this mindset about English majors. It’s not a major that always leads to a definitive, pre-established career, like engineering or nursing or architecture. But this is why I am an English major: I love the English languge. I love the beauty of words, I love how they fit together, how they can be chaotic or orderly or both, or somewhere in between. I love discovering new words and feeling a sense of accomplishment when I find myself able to use it naturally, without even thinking about what I’m saying. I love correcting typos and grammatical errors, finding continuity errors; it makes me feel like a problem-solver, a sleuth, a modern, copy-editing version of Nancy Drew. I love reading, getting lost in literature and poetry, immersing myself in a fantasy world. I love writing;  it’s my main creativity outlet, it’s the way I express myself, it’s how I vent and put my messy feelings into words.

So are all English majors lost in fantasy land, wrapped up in literature, language, and the beauty of words? Probably not. But I know that I certainly am, and for now, that’s good enough for me. I can figure out the career stuff later.