Author Archives: Kimberly Filkins

I Should Have Been an English Major?

“The Ideal English Major” http://chronicle.com/article/The-Ideal-English-Major/140553/?cid=wb&utm_source=wb&utm_medium=en

 

I just read the article above by Mark Edmundson, an English professor at the University of Virginia.  In his article, he talks about the value of studying literature and thinking critically while reading and also taking the time to read the great authors and not just the next Stephen King novel.  These things I agree with.  I try to read and think critically and I’m now writing these kinds of responses instead of just thinking about them.  What I don’t agree with in this article are the somewhat ridiculous claims that all students should major in English and studying literature is really studying “being a human being.”

 The author spends a good bit of his article explaining why English majors are vastly superior to everyone else because they are reading all the time and while they are reading, they are somehow “living more than one life” through these books.  I find the hyperbole in this article somewhat insulting.  I majored in Accounting and went on to become a Staff Accountant at a small CPA firm.  According to the author, spending my time and money on a major I excelled at and using it to become a successful professional was a complete waste because I still don’t know how to be a human being apparently.  Isn’t that what Kindergarten is for?  We learn how to share, how to get along, how to separate from our primary caregiver, and how to respect authority.  Isn’t that learning to be human?  For that matter, our entire lives show us how to be human.  We learn valuable skills that will make it possible for us to survive.  We learn to walk, to talk, to feed ourselves, to drive, to socialize, to work.  It would appear that the majority of people who live to adulthood already have a degree in “Being a Human Being.”

 He thinks that every student no matter their skill set or ambitions in life should major in English.  And what if everyone did, Mr. Edmundson?  Where would you get your teeth cleaned, or buy your groceries, or get your oil changed?  If everyone has their nose in a book, contemplating life and striving to find some new and better way to view the world, how will that world function?   A college education is expensive and time consuming and most people only get one (if they get any at all).  Most of us don’t have the luxury.  We have to get in and get out with a degree and start making money to pay back those loans.  And did Mr. Edmundson consider that not everyone majors in science or business just because they want to make money?  Many genuinely want to improve quality of life through healthcare, research, etc.

 Now, don’t get me wrong.  I’m not going the other direction and bashing English majors.  And studying literature is a noble pursuit.  It’s one I don’t do enough of.  But this article demeans all other majors and suggests that everyone without an English degree is inferior.  You know, for some, studying English and reading literature really just isn’t their forte.  And that’s fine.  If you want to just read something fun and distract yourself (like I do most of the time), there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.  You know the sayings, “it takes all kinds” and “all things in moderation”?  I think they apply here.  Studying and teaching English are great but so are other professions and people for that matter.

Do I Have to Be Creative?

I love Project Runway.  I love watching these crazy creative types make something from nothing and if I’m honest I like to see the judges rip them a new one when their creation goes horribly wrong.  But as much as I love watching this show, it always leaves me feeling a bit sad about my own creativity.  I’ve never considered myself creative.  I don’t draw, I sure as hell don’t sing, and instruments would run when they saw me coming if they could.  I danced during my childhood and did have a little success at choreography if you count 8th grade drama class and the musical but I don’t think that qualifies me to join the “creative people.”

Those people often have some sort of passion about what they do.  They get lost in it, distracted by it and can’t live without it.  If it’s not their profession, they find a way to fit it into their lives anyway.  If you’re not one of them, I’m sure you’ve heard them talk about how they “have to have it” and are “starving to create” among other equally melodramatic sound bites.  I can’t honestly say I have anything like that.  I’m not particularly passionate about anything.  I’m an accountant and while I enjoy the salary it’s a profession that makes people think you’re boring.  And really, let’s be honest, there’s nothing exciting about sitting on hold with the IRS or printing someone’s paycheck or trying to figure out if a client’s new roof qualifies for an energy efficient tax credit.  There’s a reason they don’t have any “CPA Shows” on TV alongside the “Cop Shows,” “Lawyer Shows,” and “Doctor Shows.”

But does that make me boring just because my job consists of mundane tasks?  Or does my lack of a “creative soul” make me boring?  Most people work in jobs they don’t particularly care for if not outright hate.  Do they all have some creative outlet that fills the void their less than perfect job has left?  Should I be developing some sort of super cool “creative” thing that will let people know that I’m hip and I “get it”?  I can’t really see myself investing money in photography equipment and classes just so my desktop background doesn’t look like a kid stole my camera and tried to take a picture of his butt.

Cause let’s face it, creative people are cool.  They wear cool clothes and have self-esteem and say words like “inspiration” and “muse.”  They seem to exist on some other plane where everyone listens to Radiohead and owns a beret.  And while they’re probably just wearing that beret to distract you from the fact they’re total d-bags like everybody else, you still get a little jealous, don’t you?  Like they’re plugged into something you’re missing.  That’s probably why so many people are trying to sell crafts online.  We all want to pretend we’re creative so we can be a part of that exclusive group.

So that brings me to my original question.  Do I have to be creative?  Will it make me cooler, more interesting, have better fashion sense?  (I already own a beret.)  Maybe.  Or maybe just enjoying and harshly critiquing other people’s creative endeavors is enough.  Those who can do and those who can’t criticize, right?  I guess I’ll just have to be content appreciating and try not to be too mean because it takes a lot of courage to put your creative self out there.