What English Majors Actually Learn (Beyond Books)

When I tell people that I am an English Major, I usually get one of two responses: a quiet smile that hints at the question, "Oh, so you just like reading," or the question, "So... what do you plan on doing with it?". Sadly, both reactions miss the true point. I do enjoy reading, even if it is seemingly an obsessive addiction, but it is more to do with what I have learned through studying English. It is less to do with books and more so with the people I have met, the perception, creativity, and how it is made.

English, at its core, is the study of understanding. Yale University asks, "Why Major in English?" and answers with multiple ideas: "to acquire tools that will never lose value", "to learn how language shapes the world", "to see through other eyes," and "to explain your world," among other things. It is learning how to listen to many different voices, some from 600 years ago to this present year, cultures you may never see, and writers who mirror your own emotions through words. Every text, novels, short stories, blogs, poems, and all different conversations that stretch past the written language. They all ask an underlying question: What does it mean to be human?

Engaging the fine motor system to produce letters by hand

has positive effects on learning and memory

When it comes to writing essays, I have learned to think critically but also with a sense of compassion. I have learned close reading techniques that require a lot of patience; you have to sit with the text, not read at a surface level, but attempt to dig deeper through the words. It feels like trying to touch the bottom of the pool. It is easy to swim at the surface, with really no resistance. When you swim down, you have to work your entire body, pushing further and causing a strain, which in turn trains your muscles. Reading can be comparable to using the entirety of your brain. It feels as if I am attempting to navigate through every channel and corridor through a passageway. It isn't very easy, but so incredibly beautiful to get to the bases of the answers. When you spend enough time studying and looking through literature, you start to understand that it is a reflection of life.

You can call me biased, but I have learned from the most passionate and talented professors I have ever met. Their ability to convey these complex theories and navigate well-crafted ideologies is truly incredible. I have fallen in love with each peace of literature I have studied under them: Older pieces such as Jane Austin, Mary Shelley, Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Homer, John Keats, and Kate Chopin. To more modern writers such as Louise Erdrich, Diane Wilson, Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, and William Yeats.

The most surprising thing that I have learned through my readings is self-reflection. Each line or sentence forces me to question or allows for a deep internal type of thinking. It allows me to understand myself, to face fears, enjoy love stories, and to ask open-ended questions about life. It is not all about how sentences are structured and if the grammar is correct; it is about being honest with yourself.

Creating literature can be just as fun, allowing you to come up with ideas and allow people to subconsiously learn from our work. It can feel difficult to start and complete, but in the end, it is so rewarding to have people share the love of your work.

Literature helps us better understand our lives,

ourselves, and the world around us.

I will challenge anyone who reads this to sit down for 10, maybe 20 minutes, find a random poem, and see what you can learn from it. It may shock many of you, but if you actually try to read between the lines, you will come out with something positive.

So when you ask me again, what English majors will do with their degrees, it is a form of self-reflection, a way to look into the minds of understanding, to understand the small details, how to find the importance, and to learn how to listen. Listening is one of the great abilities a human can have; to listen is to understand people, their love, fears, compassion, and dreams. When someone feels truly heard and understood, it is a magical feeling.

My books are only the beginning; read short stories, poems, novels, etc. Whatever you feel that will push you to listen, to understand, because what we really study is life and how words attempt to make sense of it in this vast world.