And that’s where I step in and politely tell them that English holds a variety of fields that centers around a multitude of broader fields. A path in creative writing that can lead into a job in publications. A major in professional writing that could help with a graduate path into pre-law. A study in literature/language that could lead for a senior thesis paper in studying abroad.

These and many more are what’s offered in the English field and can help build up to bigger career paths in a multitude of studies.

But “will it pay well”? Sure, English may not give us the highest paying salary but we wouldn’t be in this major if we didn’t already know that. We decided to become English majors for the simple love of the subject that grew into a passion.

It’s a question we’re used to now and one we know how to answer. But as they say, don’t judge a person by their major.

But what they don’t mention is the amount of utter confusion you feel trying to navigate the pitfalls of new adulthood. Realizing what real failure feels like and wondering if everyone else is just as lost or maybe have their life together more than you do.

College is the most perfect example of this and is probably the height in a person’s life where they truly start to understand who they are. But through all this it is an overwhelming explosion where plans change and people become temporary.

Being young isn’t like a Sofia Coppola movie. You will not look at life through the lens of an Instagram filter and no one will come along the way that will magically save you. You must save yourself. And as we grow, the term “figuring it out” doesn’t seem to exist in the first place like it did when we were little.

We figure it out in different ways, through different experiences. There is no one way. Being young just gives us a chance to start deciding on it all.