(no subject)
So i was asked to write for our distinguished school newspaper the bagpipe. im BEYOND excited. here is my finished product. i turn it in tomorrow! let me know what you think:
What Do You Expect To Do With That?
I hear this question a lot when I inform people of my major. I’ll be having a casual conversation with an acquaintance and then the dreaded question will arise: “So…what is your major?” Now don’t get me wrong, I love being an English major. However it is one of those few majors that no one knows what to do with. I imagine those of you with History or Philosophy majors struggle with the same problem. I know I am not alone in this problem because I discovered a facebook group about it entitled “I Picked a Major I Like, and One Day I will Probably Be Living In a Box.”
I trust that God’s plan for me and my major will hopefully not involve me living in a box. When faced with the proposition of living in a box because I picked a vague major, I have to remind myself again and again that God has a calling for my life and He gave me a passion for the written word and a desire to be an English major. Yes, I pulled out the Covenant cliché word “calling.” I really do feel however that God is calling me to pursue English and through my study of words, I will learn more about God and how he has worked through men.
So why do I love English so much? Well, I believe that poetry, short stories, novels, and all other types of literary works really do provide a window into the soul of the author and perhaps even into the soul of the culture at that time. Growing up, I was always fascinated with stories. I loved sitting and wondering what the author meant when they wrote this or that. I thrive on analyzing works of literature and even movies for literary devices such as symbolism, irony, and foreshadowing.
I was informed recently that I was “strange” because I love reading books especially when they are not school assignments. In just a week’s time, I will voluntarily devour two or three books. I love reading novels, short stories, and even the occasional poetry. I love writing almost as much as I love reading. So you can see that the choice of English major was a rather easy one. I felt it would be a grave mistake to not pursue my God-given enjoyment of the written word.
However there was one question I needed to ask myself before I committed to my major. It is the same question that I am faced with so often. While pursuing what I love is wonderful, how do I practically plan on using my major to further God’s kingdom? What do I expect to do with it? My first reaction when I asked myself these questions was “whatever God wants me to do of course.” After my first semester at Covenant, I began to realize that I wanted to turn into one of those “fake English majors.” Yes, I was going to add a minor in Education Certification. I realized that sharing my passion for reading and writing would help further God’s kingdom because hopefully my passion will transfer to some of my students.
Even though I am an Education minor, and while some may say I sold out, I am really enjoying my English classes and am learning about how to share my passion with others. I am proud to be an English major. And while my major may take longer to explain, I like words enough to be ok with that.
What Do You Expect To Do With That?
I hear this question a lot when I inform people of my major. I’ll be having a casual conversation with an acquaintance and then the dreaded question will arise: “So…what is your major?” Now don’t get me wrong, I love being an English major. However it is one of those few majors that no one knows what to do with. I imagine those of you with History or Philosophy majors struggle with the same problem. I know I am not alone in this problem because I discovered a facebook group about it entitled “I Picked a Major I Like, and One Day I will Probably Be Living In a Box.”
I trust that God’s plan for me and my major will hopefully not involve me living in a box. When faced with the proposition of living in a box because I picked a vague major, I have to remind myself again and again that God has a calling for my life and He gave me a passion for the written word and a desire to be an English major. Yes, I pulled out the Covenant cliché word “calling.” I really do feel however that God is calling me to pursue English and through my study of words, I will learn more about God and how he has worked through men.
So why do I love English so much? Well, I believe that poetry, short stories, novels, and all other types of literary works really do provide a window into the soul of the author and perhaps even into the soul of the culture at that time. Growing up, I was always fascinated with stories. I loved sitting and wondering what the author meant when they wrote this or that. I thrive on analyzing works of literature and even movies for literary devices such as symbolism, irony, and foreshadowing.
I was informed recently that I was “strange” because I love reading books especially when they are not school assignments. In just a week’s time, I will voluntarily devour two or three books. I love reading novels, short stories, and even the occasional poetry. I love writing almost as much as I love reading. So you can see that the choice of English major was a rather easy one. I felt it would be a grave mistake to not pursue my God-given enjoyment of the written word.
However there was one question I needed to ask myself before I committed to my major. It is the same question that I am faced with so often. While pursuing what I love is wonderful, how do I practically plan on using my major to further God’s kingdom? What do I expect to do with it? My first reaction when I asked myself these questions was “whatever God wants me to do of course.” After my first semester at Covenant, I began to realize that I wanted to turn into one of those “fake English majors.” Yes, I was going to add a minor in Education Certification. I realized that sharing my passion for reading and writing would help further God’s kingdom because hopefully my passion will transfer to some of my students.
Even though I am an Education minor, and while some may say I sold out, I am really enjoying my English classes and am learning about how to share my passion with others. I am proud to be an English major. And while my major may take longer to explain, I like words enough to be ok with that.