You know, I never intended to be an English major. I started out in Poli Sci, thinking I needed to struggle with, not enjoy, the subject to which I’d dedicate all my collegiate studying. Besides, I had long wanted to become a lawyer to advocate for others, to enact social justice, & this way long before I found out that I’m an INFJ personality “The Advocate,” according to Myers-Briggs assessments. That means I’m a person with an Introvert iNtuitive Feeling Judging mindset, & that ties to how I gain energy, how I make decisions, how I relate to others, & how I see the world in terms of truth.
As an introvert, I lost myself in books, reading & writing. Books were my friends who kept me company. I could always count on reading to give me a safe haven & escape, growing up.
As an undergrad, I hadn’t yet made the cognitive connection between reading & writing as an act of political agency, as something powerful that could effect sweeping cultural changes & reform. With examples like Dickens & the impact of his novels on educational and workhouses in 19th Century Britain, or Harper Lee & early 20th Century US legal issues & race. Literature & books hadn’t been read so much as cultural artifact but for enjoyment, but college changed my understanding of that, of course.
But I certainly faced judgment as an English major. The biggest question, asked over & over, was “What do you plan to do with that degree?” As if reading, writing, critical thinking, & complex theory weren’t useful things? As if humans didn’t need to use communication skills in every profession or field?
One person, a nurse studying to become a nurse practicioner & girlfriend to my brother’s best friend, once made the off-hand comment about my entering a doctoral program in English literature, “Wow, I’d love to be able to have the luxury of getting to read books all day…” There was a kind of veiled criticism (or maybe not so veiled) that permeated the conversation. Resentment tied to the travel I’d been able to experience for conferences or research, & the funding & formalized encouragement for what I studied that seemed to others to be more for pleasure than practicality.
For me, I’d always known I’d have to get a doctorate for a path in English lit to pay off, career-wise, but I remained determined, unwavering. I would make a living. In the field I loved.
Thankfully, I had the right people to mentor me, nudging me towards each new opportunity with confidence & kindness. I’ve now been employed in the world of higher ed for going on 19 years, & I’ve had the privilege of working for major players in online higher ed like Western Governors University, Southern New Hampshire University, & what was Kaplan Higher Ed & now has become Purdue Global. And I’m driven by a passion to demonstrate to others how critical, essential, enduring, & inspiring the humanities remain…
As long as we are human, we need the humanities… To keep us human, emotionally fed, empathetic, connected to others… To show us a way of working through the difficulties of life & its hardships in artistic expression. We can train to jobs, but what keeps us living? What gives life meaning?
I also have an English degree. Unfortunately I didn’t have a similar experience as you. I chose English over Communications because of my university’s professors in the communications section. It was also a small school so the English department was about 3 professors, and one of them didn’t like me.
I don’t necessarily regret getting an English degree, I wouldn’t know what else I would have gone for, but if I were given the chance I would try something different. While writing will always be a passion, making it a degree choice just made it a burden. I was overwhelmed with the amount of reading and analyzing I had to do that I still have issues getting back into reading and I’m honestly surprised I’ve managed to keep writing in this blog.
XO Steph
Searching for life’s meaning being another defining element of the INFJ personality. Great post. I’m glad you got to pursue the path that you loved 🙂