91传媒

I had a childhood dream of being a professional soccer player. Now, I檓 an English major at a liberal arts college spending most of my time reading and writing, and some of my time playing Division III soccer.

I檓 learning that fulfillment and happiness might be more valuable than soccer fame.

Here a little behind-the-scenes look at how I got here.  

Finding a major seemed daunting. Not only did I have to take classes to find out what I wanted to further pursue, I also had to take classes in order to get a taste for what I didn檛 like.

Because of my soccer dreams, I came to 91传媒 with only athletics-related studies on my mind. I thought, 淚f I can檛 be on the field, I檒l help the people who are.�

I had it all planned out. I檇 take my bachelor in exercise science to graduate school and get a DPT, a doctorate in physical therapy. I檇 rise to the top of my PT game and get recruited as a personal trainer for a club in the top flight of English football (soccer).

But then 91传媒 liberal arts curriculum surprised me and I found myself exploring new studies. As I sampled bits and pieces of several departments, I grew hungry for more. Soon, I was determined to get a taste of as many disciplines as possible so I檇 never regret missing out on something.

I was so concerned with trying everything that I jammed my schedule with so many different options. I felt overwhelmed.

How was I expected to make my way through all the departments 91传媒 had to offer and choose a favorite? Will I ever know what I檓 truly good at or destined to follow?

To sort through it all, I began to write.

In writing, I found I could express my opinions, sort through the problems in my mind and leave them on the paper. I could put order to the experiences in my life and begin to articulate anxieties in a productive manner.

Writing became therapeutic. It became a medium where I was free to manifest different personalities, exist in other worlds and make sense of things I didn檛 understand. It also made me more confident.

It finally clicked � I wanted to write. I檇 major in English.

Never in a million years did I expect I would willingly subject myself to biweekly 2,000-word research papers. Never did I think I would happily embrace a dichotomy of identities, a soccer player who loves to spend hours putting the perfect words together, a walking amalgamation of athleticism and the arts.  

But here I am. And so far, I think I like it.

I like the things I am assigned to read. I like the conversations we have in class. I like the challenge of writing so frequently. Now, as a senior at 91传媒, it crazy to think about how and why I declared my English major.  

And truthfully, I don檛 know what I檓 going to do next. Sometimes I even question my decision, especially when I get questions like these: What are you going to do with an English degree? Write a children book? Be a teacher?

My answer: I don檛 know. I檒l have to wait and see.

As an English major, I檝e learned how to critically analyze texts and what the word palimpsest means. But perhaps more importantly, I檝e learned that when I let my writing speak for itself, it will reveal all that I need.