I think there are several reasons why someone becomes infatuated with literature enough to choose an English Major. Through my last four years at the college, I have met a plethora of people whose reasonings for the major differed. While I could claim I chose this major due to a great love for literature throughout my life, that would be a lie. I can name at most ten books I have ever truly enjoyed reading. I think it is important, however, to note that I do read it is just the ‘enjoying’ part that does not synchronize with my brain. I have always enjoyed music more as an art form. Many of my favorite memories from childhood are placed within the confines of my dad’s ‘music room’; which in reality was nothing more than a section in our basement between old collections of whatever lay in those unopened boxes. It was here that my dad kept his collections of CDs which reverberated against the concrete walls into a cacophony of echo and whatever album happened to be playing at the time. The sound quality and its blaring sound led my dad to have permanent tinnitus and me to have the hearing of a 35-year-old man at only 21, however, it was there in my basement where my ‘love’ for music grew.

When coming to the College of Charleston, I originally planned on becoming a Communications Major. Due to the lack of a Journalism Major at the college, and my hopes to write about music, I thought communications best filled the void. It was after my first ‘public speaking’ class that I knew that path was not for me. During the summer of my freshman year, my mom and I discussed what major I should switch to and English was quickly understood to be my best route. I was mostly tentative about the English major as a focus as my fear of grammar and lack thereof in writing I felt would hinder my performance. It was not until my first few classes that I became genuinely interested in the way we would discuss and dissect various texts. 

I found Kathleen Ossip’s article, “Why All Poems Are Political” to actually agree with many of the reasons I find literature to be a valuable tool in life. Describing poetry and largely the written word she questions WHY we should care, “Could it be that not-understanding or wondering is more honest and even less violent than knowing?”. It seems that in our current cultural zeitgeist there is an incessant need to be right and know all. Spanning from politicians to stand-up comics there is a consistent theme found in their speaking. Certainty. Everyone must back their positions with one hundred percent certainty. I am at fault in this too. Constantly thinking I am right. The ages of 16-19 were ripe with a lack of conversing; any alternative point was a contention for argument and not understanding. I feel that my knowledge gained from the variety of English courses I have taken over the years has allowed me to slowly kill this part of me. I have been able to internalize that understanding is not always a net negative within assuring your own character. It is an interesting part of our culture that most points seem to ascertain the character of their speaker rather than create an argument for the sake of truly caring about a topic. In this way I think literature further embarks upon the topic of empathy. Rather than making an argument to back your own morality, the arguments more closely come from a place of true care. 

Furthermore, Gregory Currie argues that “We are poor at knowing why we make the choices we do, and we fail to recognize the tiny changes in circumstances that can shift us from one choice to another. When it comes to other people, can you be confident that your intelligent, socially attuned and generous friend who reads Proust got that way partly because of the reading?” I actually do believe that literature does not fundamentally change a persons personality or life. I have read a multitude of books and have never felt like I might change my life because of them. Instead I think its a combination of the environment you’re in and your mental state when reading the book that makes the most concise impact on your ability to change. You must want to change. Not for the sake of others but the sake of you. It is important to learn for the importance of yourself.