Decisions, Decisions

As I'm sure many of you are all too familiar with, to a high school senior, March and April are dominated by "The Decision". No, I'm not referring to LeBron's earth-shattering announcement to take his talents to South Beach. I'm referring to the phenomenon in which millions of seventeen- and eighteen-year-olds around the country are scrambling to decide on their future plans. For many, the acceptances start rolling in, and the challenge is sorting through several prime options and settling on a single place to spend the next four years or so. For the unlucky ones, this time of year is filled with the deflated sensation that follows receiving one (or more) of those tiny dreaded envelopes in the mail. "We regret to inform you..." You know the rest. Some can sit back, relax, and watch their peers' frenzied lives unfold. These select few may have been recruited for their athletic abilities, accepted early decision, or had the choice made for them for family or financial reasons. For the rest of us, March's motto might as well be "Hurry up and wait", which then leads into April, a.k.a "crunch time".

How does this relate to English and literature? I'm getting there, I promise. Regarding my personal college process, I've basically narrowed my options down to two schools. Granted, as of now, I haven't gotten into either, so the choice very well may be made for me, in which case, there's no reason to sweat. But in the event that I'm accepted to both colleges, I'm about to face the most difficult decision of my young life. This is where the English part comes in. The first school, a tiny liberal arts college in the middle of nowhere, is renowned for its English and writing program. The second is a bit larger and still academically strong, but its emphasis on the sciences leaves its English program arguably a bit weaker.

I've always imagined myself studying English, as it's the one subject I've been in love with my entire life. This has led me to lean towards the school known for its exceptional English department and writing opportunities. Yet lately, I've started worrying about the career options available to English majors after graduation. Obviously, there's every English fanatic's dream of becoming a published author, but if that fairy tale never becomes reality, what else is out there for us word lovers? In order to inform myself and hopefully ease my concerns, I decided to research employment possibilities for college graduates with English degrees. I thought I'd share my findings with all of you in case any of you have wondered the same thing.

First off, this post introduces the idea of business-related careers as a possible path for English majors. Such areas include advertising, public relations, marketing, human resources, and instructional design. All of these fields require the use of creativity and eloquent writing skills, though they're often overlooked as options for English majors. This article, though brief, mentions teaching and editing as plausible career paths, while this one lists government service, journalism, publishing, law, and financial work. Clearly, there are plenty of outlets for an English degree, though they may not involve the aspects of English that many of us have come to love most. I also discovered this surprisingly comforting blog post by an English major about the advantages of an open-ended area of study. The author puts it perfectly: "And we have something that the other guys don't: they might be traveling at 100 mph down the world's busiest one-way highway, but for us, there's a fork in the middle of a very scenic dirt road. And we can turn around anytime we want just to check out the other options."

My family and friends have attempted to encourage me by throwing out suggestions such as songwriter, speechwriter, or (here's the kicker) poet laureate of the United States. While availability of such positions is undoubtedly limited, a kid can dream, right?

The bottom line is that I'm still unsure of where my English degree will take me. Regardless of the college I end up, there's a good chance I'll take on a double major as a fallback of sorts. But I've resolved not to give up on studying English out of fear. To me, the best feeling in the world is hearing that something you wrote affected someone else, that it aroused sympathy, entertained them, opened their minds, or, best of all, helped them better understand their own lives.

As Henry David Thoreau once said, "I have learned, that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours." I intend to advance confidently in the direction of my own dreams, and I can only hope to meet the success Thoreau promises.