The best of English, the worst of English

The best of English, the worst of English Hello, everyone! Its been awhile. How are you? This semester Ive been running around campus, and it looks a little bit like this. You may know the feeling: head down, tiny legs running faster than you thought they could to get out of the rain/cold/slush the weather decided to bestow upon us that day. Maybe a casual face-plant, or two. Although everything seems to be a dash for the finish line, I wanted to take a moment to slow down and appreciate my major. This semester is the first semester that Ive only had one English class. Most of my time is spent working at the Admissions Office, The Daily Illini, and at a startup, but last year I was taking three English classes a semester and I absolutely  loved  it. Sure, there can be a lot of papers (and by that I mean around 30 pages per class, per semester) but English classes provide you with something that a lot of other classes dont: connection. My classes vary in size, but every discussion session is about 15 people. Thats only  15 people, with their own respective majors, interests, ideas, hobbies, and opinions. And you get to know them, I promise. We are a relatively tight-knit group. When you put 15 people into a room all semester and just tell them to talk about books, its an experience that you wont get anywhere else. I dont think that even book clubs usually achieve this level of discussion (but that may have to do with the readings not being mandatory). Either way, its something to appreciate more as I transition from my major classes to my minor classes, which are a lot of large lectures. There are so many English courses to take, with so many topics available its sometimes hard to decide. Ive taken pre-18th century, post-18th century, medieval bodies, Shakespeare, Romantic literature, American literature, heroism and national identities (a comic book class), 19th century womens writers, and slew of other courses. Ive learned that, while it is amazing to be able to read all of the books I actually want to read (that youd probably never imagine reading for course material) its whats beyond that that matters. My backpack, sometimes. English forces you to look at things differently, survey a situation from all angles, and make an argument based off of your observations. Its difficult to convey your thoughts sometimes, and get them across to a large community of peopleâ€"often how its difficult to pitch a new idea to a boardroomâ€"but it provides you with that essential skill of written communication. Granted, it can be extremely difficult to churn out a 10-page paper in a couple weeks. The frustration of starting it is what gets me the most. But being able to demonstrate your thought process,   clearly explain what you want to say in a concise manner and actually have people understand it, thats rewarding. To some in the business world, its invaluable. Overall, its easy to say that I love my major, and my classes. But its nice to take the time to sit down and think about everything Ive accomplished so far in my years at the university. Its a lot more than reading books, and with my major Im confident that I can find my fit in a number of different fields. Just remember, no matter what your major, to pursue what makes you happy. If you ever have any questions about English majors, classes, or school in general, feel free to comment below. Alexandra Class of 2019 I'm an English major in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. I'm also minoring in Business. May my blogs help you with your searches toward finding what you love.