Have You Hugged An English Major Today?

There's nothing quite like having to write seminar papers to make me want to blog. It's not that I don't enjoy writing them, if I didn't, I would be going into the wrong field.

Writing is difficult. One of the frustrating things about being an English major in undergrad was that it was frequently dismissed as the easy major, nothing compared to the rigors of more science-centric concentrations. Then these same people who dismissed English majors complained relentlessly every time they had to write a paper, however brief. It's like there is a disconnect in people's minds that doesn't let them make the link between writing as a struggle and the amount of writing required of an English major. And I think a lot of the reason for that is because everyone, to some extent, can write, while not every person can identify cells under a microscope or build an electrical circuit. It doesn't feel like an uncommon ability. But to truly be a writer is different than being able to put words on a page. In a way, it's like a person claiming that their ability to tell types of trees apart makes them a botanist. They have some of the basic skills needed, but by no means do they have all of the knowledge, expertise, and experience required of a real botanist.

It's a waste of time to compare majors. I've learned at this point in my life to shrug off most of the comments from well-meaning people about my choice of English. This week I had an encounter with a Charming Elderly Gentleman when we were attending a lecture given by one of my professors. He was an old friend of hers and eager to find out what her students were like.

CEH - "Are you a grad or an undergrad?"

K - "First-year MA student - studying English."

CEH - "My condolences."

K - "Well, thank you, but I'm enjoying it. Or I will be once the semester is over."

CEH - "I'm in the philosopy department."

K - "My condolences."

We laughed, then he tapped me on the knee with his umbrella and called me saucy.

For those of you reading this and judging the level of quality of this writing and finding it wanting, shame on you. This is blog-writing. It's meant to be approachable and easy. I save my high-falutin' writerliness for those seminar papers. Yep, the ones I'm meant to be working on right now.

Until I need to procrastinate again . . .