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/lit/ - Literature

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2976986 No.2976986[DELETED]  [Reply] [Original]

After a month of English classes I have realized that I chose the wrong major. I don't like my fellow English majors, and I do not enjoy our class discussions. I don't like writing essays about literature, and I despise analyzing poetry. It's just not for me.

Problem is, I fucked around in high school so my options are few. No STEM degree for me. So I've settled on History. I love stories (who doesn't?) and what is history, after all, if not a collection of stories? I'd be writing as often as I would in your typical English class, and I would feel more comfortable during class discussions. Do you guys think this is a good choice? I am a freshman, by the way.

>> No.2977007

>>2976986
>what is history, after all, if not a collection of stories
you will not succeed in studying history with this mindset

also
>declaring a major as a freshman
you made a mistake, son

>> No.2977036

You shouldn't bother to declare a major until Junior year.
Some places don't even allow you to until then.
Take various random introductory classes, who knows what might find that you like.

>> No.2977053

Why cant you do a STEM major? I slacked off in highschool and didn't care at all about math. I only took 3 years of math in highschool and shit grades in all my classes. In uni I actually tried and now im a math minor with a computer science major. Just go into it with the right mindset and realize its probably going to be hard at first because you are behind everyone else

>> No.2977054

>>2977007

>you will not succeed in studying history with this mindset

why not? And I wouldn't even

>> No.2977060

>>2977036
What the fuck universities do this. Isn't it always sophomore year, if not before?

I know they sometimes make art school kids pick a major their junior year, but that's just to stop them from constantly switching.

>> No.2977061

>>2977053

I fucking suck at math and have absolutely no motivation or desire to make up all those years of neglect in a semester or two. That does not appeal to me.

>> No.2977062

>4 weeks into freshman year
>NOPE, I HATE THIS. IT'S WRONG FOR ME.

On one hand, I want to ask if you're in like English101 and intro to composition and such, because if you're like, "golly, this is horrible, I hate this field" while in that position, you're fucking retarded.

On the other hand, you shouldn't have made up your mind this early. If you don't like writing about literature, and you don't like analyzing poetry, why would you have done that anyway?

>> No.2977065

>>2977061

So you dont want to work hard? Have fun with that history degree working at McDonalds. I love history but if I wanted to learn history I would pick up a book. STEM majors you cant really teach yourself

>> No.2977066

>>2977065
>STEM majors you cant really teach yourself
You're stupid.

>> No.2977069

>>2977066

Its much harder to teach yourself engineering then history

>> No.2977074

>>2977069
That has nothing to do with what you said.

tl;dr, you're stupid

>> No.2977075

>>2977065

>Have fun with that history degree working at McDonalds

You instantly discredit yourself by using this trite, tired insult to bring the OP down. I see it every goddamn day on this board. You'd think writers would employ a little more creativity in their insults, but no, this is all you faggots can think of. The fucking cashiers at McDonald's have more imagination than you.

>> No.2977080

>>2977075

Im a terrible writer but he deserves it. He sounds like he is lazy and doesn't want to work for anything

>> No.2977091

>>2977080

OP here, I know I come off as lazy, but I'm not, really. I just don't want to be a STEM major. Why does 4chan hate non-STEM majors so much? We can't all be scientists and mathematicians.

>> No.2977093

Philosophy Major here, best decision I ever made. All things interesting (i.e. Hist, Lit, Science) fall under this common ancestor.

>> No.2977098
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2977098

>>2977066
I'd trust a self-taught engineer to build a shed, maybe.

You're idiotic if you think you can just "teach" yourself that discipline (or most STEM disciplines really) and consider yourself legit.

>> No.2977099

>>2977093

What are you going to do with the degree? I find philosphy interesting but I just dont think it would be worth it

>> No.2977100

>>2977091
Two questions:

Why did you become an English major in the first place?

What interests you? I get what you DON'T want to do, but what DO you want to do?

>> No.2977104

>>2977100

No idea. I just want to learn for now.

>> No.2977109

>>2977104

Then why are you so worried about declaring a major if you are only a freshman?

>> No.2977113

>>2977104
Then undeclare, take a whole bunch of classes to get an idea of what's there, and get your generals out of the way.

You know, like freshmen should do.

>> No.2977123

>>2977099
There is no concern with "What I'm going to do with the degree?" This is a question I'm asked time and time again. That's something not worth focusing on as the future is subject to constant change, constructing an idea or concept of "What I'm going to do" is bound to be a self-fulfilling let down. Let me say this... out of all the individuals who have asked me that question about what I will do with the degree, I have also been asked by one of the most intelligent individuals the complete opposite. "Philosophy major huh? Theres alot you can do with that , what are you thinking ?

Bottom line is, fuck the objective model society has constructed. The study of philosophy unlocks qualities about your self which are seldom found if you follow the yellow brick road all the time.

>> No.2977135

>I don't like my fellow English majors, and I do not enjoy our class discussions.

Welcome to every major ever. Here's a little summary of what college is like: it's a bunch of girls walking around in Uggs while staring at their cellphones as your professors keep trying to pretend your school is better than it really is.

You shouldn't really be choosing a major you're interested in when it provides zero future prospect of you landing a worthwhile job. You're paying through your ass for a piece of paper that you can show future employers and unless you want to teach, something like English or History isn't really worth a damn.

A better idea is to double major or minor in the field you're interested in. I started out as a science major and I minored in art. The minor was somewhat enjoyable but doing things for academics usually sucks all the joy out of it. I used to love drawing with a passion but I kind of grew to hate it when I started getting overwhelmed with work. If you hate English, you're gonna grow to hate History too. Regardless, I hope you enjoy teaching if these are the majors you're deciding between.

>> No.2977136

>>2977123
You're on 4chan, guy. If it's not STEM or business/accounting, it's totally useless.

>> No.2977141

>>2977136

What are you going to do with a degree in Philosophy?

>> No.2977149

>>2977136
The study of philosophy has increased the quality of my state of being, happiness etc. an incredible deal so I'm going to have to go ahead and say that it's not exactly useless. But yea I am on for chan and bound to encounter people like you .

>> No.2977153

>>2977123

Great post.

>>2977136

This is true, except chantards hate business majors almost as much as art majors.

>> No.2977155
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2977155

>>2977136
>4chan
>Business/accounting

Haha. no. Those are widely-acknowledged bro-tier majors.

>> No.2977162
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2977162

>>2977135
>Here's a little summary of what college is like: it's a bunch of girls walking around in Uggs while staring at their cellphones as your professors keep trying to pretend your school is better than it really is.

Oh God it's true, it's all so horribly true.

>> No.2977164

>>2977141
Sorry to be such a Socratic fuck here but what in the world do you mean "what are you going to do?" Do what dude? I'm going to live my life and mill around on the same small rock as you. Your obviously of a different mindset which forces you to put extreme emphasis on the future and goals which in the end mean what exactly again?

>> No.2977165

>>2977123
You humanities majors have to understand that a lot of people aren't trying to undermine your capacity for learning and hard work. It's nice being fully devoted to a field with a heavy emphasis on bettering yourself and understanding the people around you. However, you're not focusing on skills that are translated to a work environment unless you want to teach.

If college was free, I would say go for anything you want. That's currently not the case and it probably never will be within our lifetime. These kids end up in debt like everyone else, except they fall back on teaching like it's a backup profession when they realize they don't have many other options. I'm genuinely curious as to what you plan on doing with a Philosophy degree.

>> No.2977172

>>2977164

Shouldn't you have some kind of goal or idea of what you want to do for a living?

>> No.2977173

>>2977165
> I'm genuinely curious as to what you plan on doing with a Philosophy degree.

Not the Philosophy guy, but pretty much everyone who does an undergrad in philosophy goes to law school after that.

>> No.2977178

>>2977149
>People like you

But... but I'm on your side...

>>2977153
>>2977155
On /lit/, maybe. From what I've seen of the rest of 4chan (granted, that's mostly /mu/ and /sp/), business is up there.

>> No.2977180

>>2977164
I'm all for philosophy majors, because people are free to do what they enjoy, "practical majors" be damned. But you are kind of an obnoxious prick.

>> No.2977194

>>2977164
>philosophy
>improves your state of being
>nihilism

uh huh, bourgeois

>> No.2977221

>>2977165
I could be a bartender or the next billionaire entrepreneur. I'm still not grasping that question because either of those things I would be satisfied with, among a litany of other choices. If I was going to ask you "What are you going to do with a English major?" and you say "Teach." I would simply respond by saying "Oh that's good." I don't intend to DO anything, just live my life and go with the circumstances presented before me.

I used to think I wanted to be a teacher, lawyer whatever. Read the Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith ( the father of modern economics) and you'll understand where I'm coming from. And to the whoever said I was a prick, yes that is certainly the case.

>> No.2977226

>>2977194
Doesn't the belief in nothing unlock possibilities of everything? What if the belief in nothing could be used as a catalyst and not a hindrance?

>> No.2977235

>>2977221

Its probably a good idea to have a plan though.

>> No.2977243

>>2977235
I would agree if time wasn't constantly progressing and challenges constantly being presented. The concept of imagining a plan seems like a bad idea to me because that plan constructed in your mind will inevitably differ for reality which helps to usher in disappointment.

>> No.2977251
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2977251

>>2977243
>One should never make plans because you will inevitably be disappointed.

>> No.2977255

>>2977243

So you just sit there and hope something falls into your lap? Things almost never go exactly how you plan but its important to have a plan and be able to adapt when necessary

>> No.2977260

You'll probably be disappointed to find that the literary has pretty much invaded all of the humanities, history included.

>> No.2977261

>>2977221
>next billionaire entrepreneur

Yes, that's very feasible. You know, most people in college usually have some kind of realistic plan for what they want to do. If it just so happens that they have an epiphany along the route that leads to the founding of a multimillion dollar business, then that's what they pursue. Otherwise, they follow through with their REALISTIC plan that involves some kind of job security with a steady, healthy income.

Your optimism is nice and all but you pretty much just sound like someone with really successful parents who can support you while you do whatever the hell you want. No one says "I'm going to be a billionaire" and then immediately follows a rigid course of action that leads directly to their goal.

If you were poor or if college was a huge financial burden for you, I seriously doubt you'd be sitting around saying "yeah bro I'll just do whatever I want when the time comes, nice and easy." You don't just wake up one day and say "I think I'll decide to be a billionaire now. I have the credentials, my Philosophy degree is all that I need."

>> No.2977307

Better to have a passion than a plan. Plans are external things, on paper, which you can explain. A passion is something which is inside you, which you often can't explain, but unlike a 'plan', actually will drive you to do shit, rather than talking incessantly about what you think or intend or want or would like to do. The criticisms of planning are all rather good in this thread. Anyone with any understanding of life will wash their hands of the bourgeois tax-paying vocabulary of how to die well, which is what in the end all this living is.

>> No.2977351

I felt that way in my first year too. I was going to switch my major but I ended up taking a really great course in my second year which had fewer idiots and an excellent prof. I think an English major is really what you make of it--you have to be diligent about selecting your professors in a way that you don't in other fields. The wrong professor for bioinformatics might mean you have to do a lot more solitary study to get the concepts down, but the wrong professors for English will turn you into one of those idiots who complains about white people all the time and doesn't even know what scansion is.

Although it sounds a bit like you were just too stupid for other fields and decided on English because "waaahh math is hard". Might I suggest a medical assistant's course at DeVry?

>> No.2977894

>>2976986
You could always do bio. There,s not all that much math depending on what you specialise in, it requires critical thinking, it's fascinating and it's such a vast subject that you're bound to find a specialization you like.

You'll probably end up having far too many arguments with twats who don't understand evolution than you'd like though.

>> No.2977901

>>2977894
far more*, I changed the sentence halfway through and forgot to check for coherence.

Polite sage

>> No.2979457

gl finding a job

>> No.2980290

Honestly, for most majors, the intro and survey courses are pretty bad. Once you start getting into more specialized courses and seminars it gets much better.

I would say, don't ditch a major until you've done at least a year of coursework for it to know what you really feel.

Also, undergrad isn't the end of the world. If you are passionate about something, you can pursue it in graduate school on (largely) your own terms.

>> No.2980331

All this talk of philosophy majors being useless is such bullshit
>Tied with math majors for highest increase in salary
>Second highest score on the LSAT
>Does incredibly well on the GRE
>Loved by medical schools

Just because you don't get a job as a 'philosopher' when you graduate doesn't mean the degree offers no future.

Full disclosure: I'm a philosophy major working for the university as a help desk tech for educational software.

>> No.2980362

>>2976986
Try philosophy, its a more masculine subject. I hated english too, its too gay.

>> No.2980392

OP, you done fucked up and now you're saying that you're gonna fuck up again because you're too lazy to fix it?

I wish the worst to you.