A “Real-World” Degree

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Who are we without sharing stories? Narratives are the way that we, as human beings, connect with one another. Stories transcend time. As an English major, I have developed a unique lens to see stories in their original contexts while applying their valuable lessons to life today. Working up the ladder of a four-year English degree has helped me cultivate the skills to comprehend all sorts of texts, but my intrinsic desire to discover the stories of humankind propels my education further.

My English story begins, like most inclined to the subject, as a child. I felt things very deeply and putting myself in the shoes of new characters I loved, was a release for me then and still is today. Stories have always had a way of imprinting on me. I absorbed the feelings of the characters I read about.. It got to the point where if I was so enwrapped in a book, I would have dreams and sometimes nightmares about these characters or plots. As Simple as It Seems, a devastating story about a girl with fetal alcohol syndrome, was one I was particularly emotional about as a third grader. My mom and grandmother fostered my skill of reading comprehension as a child and were happy to talk about whatever book I was reading.

Going forward, I excelled in grammar, writing, and reading while I suffered in math. I knew what I loved and stuck with it. When I got to the College of Charleston, the obvious choice would be to pursue an English major. I don’t feel that I really need to defend the viability of my degree because in today’s world, having a deep knowledge of language, how it develops and translates through time, and the ways we use it as a society is irreplaceable. With AI on the rise, being able to communicate your experiences in your voice by writing will be a valuable asset.

 

While at the College of Charleston, I have had the chance to develop my communication skills. One of my favorite examples of my work is a conversation about censorship. During my junior year, our Young Adult Fiction class read the story Fun Home, which is a graphic memoir about a young girl’s journey with identity, family, and trauma. I expected nothing out of this book since this was my first ever graphic novel. But after learning about its complicated history at the College, I was compelled by the story. Back in 2013, Fun Home was assigned as the summer reading book for the incoming freshman class. Due to homosexual depictions, legislators and parents wanted the book banned because they saw these illustrations as pornographic. I decided to write my paper on sex, literature, and censorship and define the way we view pornography and art in this society. The paper was recently nominated to be presented as a poster for CofC’s English Day. I felt it was important to resurface the work and remind students that even our liberal arts college was at the center of censorship and homophobia anxiety.

Turning the paper into a poster was quite challenging. I tried my best to preserve the essence of my arguments while creating a beautiful graphic to capture the attention of English Day attendees. Translating a traditional analysis paper into a poster form was an excellent way to show my adaptability and digital literacy.

Adaptability is undoubtedly a skill that English students hold. We read, process, apply information, and synthesize arguments. In the process of doing this, we adapt our language over and over to communicate our thoughts and feelings most effectively. On another level, English majors are almost forced to adapt to the world because there is no set career path to follow. Although I am not the biggest fan of change, it is something I have learned to accept as an English degree holder. As Richard N. Bolles writes in What Color is. Your Parachute, “Change is not nearly as hard as you think it is. Not changing can be deadly.” (78) I completely agree with this sentiment. As I set out on a career seemingly unrelated to anything of the English world, I remind myself of the value of change and what it offers you in the long run. Although this change into a business-oriented word is a bit daunting, I know that my skills as an English major are complementary and transferable. 

Currently, I have been dedicating multiple hours per week to job hunting and interviewing. The process isn’t easy but I know that I will find a match soon. Richard Bolles says, ”Job hunting is, or should be, a full-time job” (88). For me, this is accurate because of the competitive nature of the sales industry. There is a ton of rejection when it comes to sales. George Anders, author of You Can Do Anything, tells us that “such gritty paths are common” (44). As I mentioned before, liberal arts degree holders are required to persevere in competitive industries because a specialized path doesn’t always exist. 

Delights, Poems, and Bears… Oh My!

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There are a lot of things that delight me. A sunset, a sunrise, petting a dog, playing video games, or an ice cold beer after a long day. These are all temporary and will not make your day, however. In thinking about a true delight, one that affects my day, I found myself hard struck to find one… until earlier today.

Upon sweating through my original shirt due to the sweltering heat, I found myself rushing home to change my shirt and avoid the embarassment of a sweat stained shirt. Sadly, as I entered my personal domicile I was reminded of the horrifying fact that it was laundry day. Searching through my stack of shirts I never wear, I found my dads old ‘The Descendants‘ shirt which has the characteristics of being from the ’90s. Old, grey, and strangely loose.

As I left the house to walk to my local convenience store in search of an Arizona and a bag of chips, I heard an older voice say, “Hey man where’d you get that shirt?”. Stopping my usual stare at the ground style of gander, I looked up to see a man about the age of my dad with a smile. “Really cool shirt man.”, he said with generosity. My natural preoccupation with hating anyone I don’t know was quickly disarmed.

Through a slightly lengthy conversation that I do not see the need to reiterate I talked to this man about my dads love of punk music and my subsequent music taste due to the tutelage my father had bestowed upon me. His departure after this conversation left me with a smile. Not only was I complimented but I was given a chance to talk about my dad, someone who I look up to and see someone else who appreciates him for the way he raised me.

It is in this moment that I realized what a delight truly was. It does not need to be an outward exertion of dopamine into your brain, but just a simple act of kindness. Something that makes your day not because it was trying to but because it meant something special to you. Whether you are reminded of someone you love or something you love there is an importance in love.

As Ross Gay says, “my delight grows — much like love and joy — when I share it.”

This poem is long but good so you should read it.

Either peace or happiness, let it enfold you

When I was a young man, I felt that these things were dumb, unsophisticated. I had bad blood, a twisted mind, a precarious upbringing. I was hard as granite, I leered at the sun.  I trusted no man and especially no woman. I was living a hell in small rooms, I broke things, smashed things, walked through the glass, cursed. I challenged everything, was continually being evicted, jailed. In and out fights, in and out my mind. 

Women were something to screw and rail at. I had no male friends. I changed jobs and cities, I hated holidays, babies, history, newspapers, museums, grandmothers, marriage, movies, spiders, garbagemen, English accents, Spain, France, Italy, walnuts, and the color orange. Algebra angered me, opera sickened me, Charlie Chaplin was a fake and flowers were for pansies. Peace and happiness were to me sign of inferiority. Tenants of the weak and addled mind. 

But as I went on with  my alley fights, my suicidal years,  my passage through any number of women, it gradually begun to occur to me that I wasn’t different from the others, I was the same. They were all fullsome with hatred, glossed over with petty grievances . the man I fought in alleys had hearts of stone. Everybody was nudging, inching, cheating from some insignificant advantage. The lie was the weapon and the plot was empty, darkness was the dictator. 

Cautiously, I allowed myself to feel good at times, I found moments of peace in cheap rooms just staring at the knobs of some dresser or listening to the rain in the dark. The less I needed, the better I felt. Maybe the other life had worn me down, I no longer found glamour in topping somebody in conversation or in mounting the body of some poor, drunken female whose life had slipped away into sorrow. I could never accept life as it was. I could never gobble down all its poisons.

But there were parts, tenuous magic parts open for the asking. I reformulated. I don’t know when, date, time, all that. But the change occured, something in me relaxed, smoothed out, I no longer had to prove that I was a man. I didn’t have to prove anything, I begun to see things. Coffee cups lined up behind a counter in a café or a dog walking along a sidewalk or the way the mouse on my dresser top stopped there, really stopped there with its body, its ears, its nose, it was fixed, a bit of life caught within itself, and its eyes were looked at me and they were beautiful. 

Then it was gone. I began to feel good, I began to feel good in worst situations and there were plenty of those, like say, the boss behind his desk, he is going to have to fire me, I’ve missed too many days, he’s dressed in a suit, necktie, glasses, he says “I’m going to have to let you go”, “it’s alright” I tell him. He must do what he must do, he has a wife, a house, children, expenses, most probably a girlfriend. I’m sorry for him. He’s caught.

I walked out into the blazing sushine, the whole day is mine, temporarily anyhow. The whole world is at the throat of the world, everybody feels angry ,short-changed, cheated. Everybody is despondent, disillusioned. I welcomed shots of piece, tattered shards of happines, I embraced that stuff like the hottest number, like high heels, breasts, singing, the works. 

Don’t get me wrong, there is such a thing as cockeyed optimism that overlook all basic problems just for the sake itself. This is a shield, a sickness. 

The knife got near my throat again, I almost turned on the gas again, but when the good moments arrived again, I didn’t fight them off like an alley adversary, I let them take me, I luxuriated them, I bade them welcome home, I even looked into the mirror once having thought myself to be ugly, I now liked what I saw. almost handsome, yet a bit ripped and ragged, scars, lumps, odd turns, but all in all, not too bad, almost handsome. Better at least than some of those movie star faces like the cheeks of a baby’s butt.

And finally I discovered real feelings for others, unheralded, like lately like this morning, as I was leaving for the track, I saw my wife in bed, just the shape of her head there covers pulled high, just the shape of her head there, not forgetting centuries of the living and the dead and the dying, and pyramids, mozart dead but his music still there in the room, weeds growing, the earth turning, the tote board waiting for me. I saw the shape of my wife’s head, she so still, I ached for her life just being there under covers, I kissed her on the forehead, got down the stairway, got outside, got into my marvelous car, fixed the seat belt, backed out the drive, feeling warm to the finger tips, down to my foot on the gas pedal, I entered the world once more, drove down the hill pass the houses full and empty of people. I saw the mailman, honked, he waved back at me.

That is my favorite poem of all time. For reasons that I do not feel like divulging and reasons that anyone reading does not care about.

I do not love apathy yet I find myself constantly surrounded by it. In most worldly affairs, I do not care. For those I do care about, I care too much. In earlier years I found myself consistently angry at the world for better or for worse. I do not know if I hated as much as Mr. Bukowski, but I did hate. I never gained anything from this hatred nor did I find any inner happiness.

There is a danger in hoping against hope. An inside dialogue of wanting things to go wrong because they must.

As we read through lines such as, “I felt that these things were dumb, unsophisticated. I had bad blood, a twisted mind, a precarious upbringing. I was hard as granite, I leered at the sun.  I trusted no man and especially no woman.“. There is an internalization of not just outward hatred but inward hatred. Flakes of misogyny slip between the lines as a heterosexual man begins to divulge a leering towards woman. This hatred while not tied to woman is thus attributed. To read this, however as an indictment of woman by Bukowski would be reckless. It serves moreso as an indictment of self and the destructive hatred that is perverting Bukowski’s mind.

In my opinion, Bukowski’s most powerful lines are, “I went on with  my alley fights, my suicidal years,  my passage through any number of women, it gradually begun to occur to me that I wasn’t different from the others, I was the same. They were all fullsome with hatred, glossed over with petty grievances . the man I fought in alleys had hearts of stone. Everybody was nudging, inching, cheating from some insignificant advantage. The lie was the weapon and the plot was empty, darkness was the dictator. “. In this we see the penultimate cause of the problem. Allowing yourself to be enveloped by a hatred. Allowing others to further feel this darkness instead of attempting to garner an empathetic aura into the world. To continue the cycle is to harm the world.

“When the good moments arrived again, I didn’t fight them off like an alley adversary, I let them take me, I luxuriated them, I bade them welcome home, I even looked into the mirror once having thought myself to be ugly, I now liked what I saw” As we allow ourselves to love not only each other but ourselves we will be filled with happiness comparable to no other. To look around and enjoy without a guise of needing to be smarter or better we internalize a sense of love so desperately missing in apathy we forego knowing for understanding.

Ann Horner and the Vastness of the English Major

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In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth… and books.

“Narratives [make] it clear that we think, act, and communicate in terms of narratives, and each interpretation, understanding, or model of how the world operates begins with a story.”

Ann Horner throughout her life has loved reading. Her passion began with Nancy Drew books which she read voraciously. This love was aided by her bibliophile father who lended her copies of classic literature, such as Gulliver’s Travels and Call of the Wild. Horner felt reading was a logical hobby in the same way breathing was a logical` hobby… “it just made sense”.

Horner’s love of reading led her to what she describes as a ‘no doubter’ decision to major in English. Similarly to the current cultural feelings around higher education, Horner’s contemporaries were all focused on a business major.

Much as Benjamin Schmidt describes in his 2018 article “The Humanities are in Crisis”, “While coverage of individual academic disciplines like musicology, history, or comparative literature often deals with the substance of scholarship, talk of the humanities in general always seems to focus on their imminent extinction.”

Paving her own path, Horner began a foray in English, despite a self-proclaimed weakness in dissecting literature.

Ann Horner Named Executive Director of Development

Success despite adversity

Ann Horner began her college career in the teaching tract hoping to inspire the next generation. It was throughout this journey that she soon realized that her passion did not reside in teaching as she once thought. Due to this sudden change in her career path, she was left with very little plan for her upcoming future. Despite working throughout her college career as a Resident Assistant, Secretary, and an assistant at an Art Gallery; Ann Horner was left with very little options upon graduation.

Handwork and a rigorous application process found her working in the admissions program at Coker College. In this role she found herself working more in what she considered ‘marketing’… that is persuading students to come to the college through informal written mediums. This skill would become the crux of her professional career, but more on that later.

After Horner’s time at Coker, she was married which brought her to the beautiful state of Pennsylvania. Ann Horner then became a paralegal writing briefs and wills while working closely with family law. In this occupation she gained a keen sense of interpersonal relationships and how to connect with individuals.

After her divorce, Horner went to Penn State to pursue a masters in higher education. It was after receiving this degree that she began to work at her new Alma Mater in fundraising. In this portion of her career she once again used her excellent people skills to converse with donors on how they would like to allocate their money. Horner further used her English tutelage to write agreements to donors to assure that their agreements were concrete and conducive to a continuing relationship. Horner continued this career path among many different institutions becoming the Director of Development at the University of North Carolina, the Duke University Medical Center, and the Executive Director of Development at NC State’s College of Education.

Upon being asked why she enjoyed this career path Horner said, “I loved not having to use sparkly writing”

Advice from Ann

Ann Horner has had a unique perspective on the viability of an English Degree. Any self-respecting English major would beg for her vast array of advice, but Ann enjoys to keep it simple and straight forward… “Find out what you’re good at and talk to people”. To Ann the true viability of English is not in its writing but in the core approach it provides in analyzing the world and seeing possibilities. As her career started she dreamed of being a teacher only to realize the profession was not for her. This did not dissuade her as she found through trial and error a profession that is both fulfilling and viable for her skill set. Horner persuades English Majors to find their “perfect match” and to not stay stuck in a profession simply because of its comfortability.

“You’ll figure it out if you explore a bit”- Ann Horner

Real-World Viability of an English Degree

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I’ve always been fascinated with stories and a combination of both intrigued and perplexed at what makes a poem or novel tick. So I delved into the English major without knowing exactly what I was getting myself into, but I wasn’t afraid and I knew I’d find my way. My knowledge in this discipline has exponentially increased over the past two years at College of Charleston. Originally I was a Creative Writing concentrator, but it was mainly the film component to my current concentration of Literature, Film, and Cultural Studies that encouraged me to switch. Additionally, I’ve learned that to be a truly great writer, you first need to have a solid understanding of literature and culture. All the areas I’ve studied in the classes I’ve taken have given me vital skills necessary for success in the professional sphere. It’s been the best of both worlds: studying topics that genuinely stimulate my brain and gaining invaluable skills in the process. The ability to think critically, digest a plethora of information and come to a meaningful conclusion (with some pressing questions of course as the process for learning is never ending), adapt to challenges, and solve problems creatively are just a handful of these skills. At the start of this capstone class, required of all Literature, Film, and Cultural Studies concentrators, I’m not afraid to admit that I was extremely skeptical about its relevance to my academic and professional development. I heard from previous students that it was a “self-help course” or “focused entirely too much on resume building.” However, I’ve learned that this class is nothing like that at all. It’s about understanding the viability of an English major not only for ourselves, but also for family and friends, people we may meet in the future that are considering studying English or are skeptical of the major, and future academic and employment endeavors. Before this class, I didn’t completely understand how invaluable my major is. 

You Can Do Anything, written by George Anders, goes into the many complexities surrounding why English as a major is dying and why its survival is essential in the real-world. The many skills we learn as English majors, like critical thinking, adaptability, creativity, empathy, and problem-solving, position us as having a far greater advantage in succeeding in the professional sphere in a variety of different fields. The “ability to connect with people from other backgrounds,” “ability to improvise,” or “someone ripe for an unusual new challenge” embodies the skills we’ve learned and are essential to any business as all businesses operate within humanity and “much of what happens in the world defies classic economic models.” The focus on STEM in both higher education and the professional sphere detracts from the most real fact that any business cannot operate effectively without people that have an extensive background in the humanities. The skills learned in STEM majors, like data processing, are surely important but cannot act free from the skills learned in a humanities major. 

To further cement this fact, Christian Madsbjerg’s book Sensemaking: The Power of the Humanities in the Age of the Algorithm is particularly helpful. The process of sensemaking, or methodical “practical wisdom grounded in the humanities” involves the five principles of culture–not individuals, thick data–not just thin data, the savannah–not the zoo, creativity–not manufacturing, and the North Star–not the GPS. All these principles involve thinking in terms of the bigger picture, which is done through the skills we learn as English majors. We’ve cultivated an understanding of different cultures, which informs “our notions of what is appropriate and relevant…through social context.” This can be useful in many different ways, like discerning that human behavior works from collectively learned practices. We can understand thick data, the human behavior that “adds depth to life,” which in turn helps us categorize what’s meaningful and the contexts surrounding. This is especially helpful when confronting a complex problem. We can understand the intricacies of human needs by observing people and experiencing different perspectives through empathy. Facing doubt has become comfortable to us, where creativity comes into play to figure out what problem exists and how to remedy it. And most importantly, we’re prepared to face the unexpected without having an obsession to organize the world into “an assembly of facts,” which positions us in a unique perspective for selecting appropriate contexts and understanding appropriate paths for the future. These principles are informed by our skills, which are vital to any professional sphere. 

When I think back on my academic career at College of Charleston, there are quite a few notable projects that exhibit these skills. Firstly, a traditional paper I wrote a year ago about Posttraumatic Stress Disorder representations in veterans of film noir films in the mid-twentieth century. The thesis of this film argues that The Blue Dahlia (1946) focuses too heavily on reintegration into the domestic sphere for postwar veterans and therefore detracts from the harsh realities many of these veterans faced. It also argues that the film Act of Violence (1948) exhibits a substantially better representation because it focuses on trauma and its effects, putting reintegration into the domestic and civilian sphere less on the totem pole of importance. There are many reasons why this is the case, including the need to rewrite the script of The Blue Dahlia to avoid the “criminalization of a serviceman” and Classic Hollywood Style influences. The process of researching and writing this paper involved learning much about WWII, Hollywood practices at the time, and a synthesizing of this information.  

Another notable project was the final paper I wrote during my first semester at College of Charleston for my Introduction to English Studies class. This paper focuses on the importance of including manga in the literary canon, which is a highly contested topic. While finding evidence to support my argument, I learned further that there are very few scholarly works which defend this position. Therefore, finding evidence for my argument was very difficult. I had to become creative in my approach, finding scholarly sources that focused on the categorization of “low” and “high” art, technological practices for art creation in manga, and the culture embodied in manga. I used sources that didn’t necessarily defend my argument, but provided essential information for me to do so. I learned much about Japanese culture in the process and how manga represents many of the same elements as canonical literary works such as transcendental values, cultural representation, popular appeal to educate youth, and the power of language. This paper enhanced my empathy for different cultures and gave me a new perspective on how to approach challenging endeavors. I’ve transformed this paper into a poster board to present my questions and arguments to the general public at English Day this semester, which not only transformed my framework of thinking to present the material but will also enhance my public speaking skills. 

Lastly, a minor character analysis I completed on Mr. Perlman in the film Call Me By Your Name (2017) for one of my film classes honed my skill for attention to detail. It’s comparatively easier to write about a main character in any story, and so therein lies the challenge of this paper. By focusing on a minor character, I learned how to pay closer attention to the details of the story to defend my stance that Mr. Perlman plays the most crucial role in the film. This paper was devoid of secondary sources to defend my stance, which made supporting my argument that much more challenging. By addressing a minor character’s role, I learned that to have a sound argument it’s imperative to be able to hone in on one niche stance to soundly address an issue. 

The English values I address in my first blog post of being culturally aware and not being afraid to venture into the unknown hold true to the viability of being an English major. Cultural awareness expands upon one’s empathy and having a sound worldview, which is essential to grappling with the issues in our society and finding the right solutions to them. Additionally, being comfortable with stepping into the unknown is an important skill to have as our world is ever changing and the need for individuals who can navigate such territory increases exponentially.

I really like flowers, especially projects about flowers

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To talk about myself especially concerning my future seemed a bit daunting. Self-reflection as it is does not come easy. In Richard N. Bolles’ book, “What Color is your Parachute?” he introduces the Flower Petal Exercise in which he lays out an activity that aims to help the participant explore their wants and needs in their career/life.

I think a lot of the reasons we find ourselves unable to accurately portray our opinions on life is not having a real grasp on variety throughout the world. To broadly generalize, most college students have lived in two places. Their hometown and the place where they went to college. While the breadth of opportunity and people vary greatly, the worldview still appear very limited in most cases.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Upon doing this exercise, I found myself struggling. Questions of location, people, knowledge and salary were not things I had even considered as I assume most things work out at some point in time. While that is not the best way to think about life, I am glad that this ‘project’ gave me a structured outlook on my wants.

I decided to start with people as that was the first petal. I’ve worked more part-time minimum wage jobs than I would care to admit. In my first employment at Olde Town Restaurant in Trumbull, Connecticut, I hated it. I worked mainly with people much older than me who had already been broken down by the negativity of life. Niceties were lackluster and the overall pessimism and uncaring made the environment horrible. Skipping forward about 3 years, I began to work in a taco truck. This environment was much better than the previous. Despite working 12 hour days 6-7 days a week over the summer, I never hated going to work. While the tacos were great, It was the people that I worked with who made it worth it. They were funny, nice, and did not find time in our long day to complain incessantly about their lives. It was through this comparison that I understood that I like to surround myself with positive and funny people in the workplace environment rather than those who keep their heads down and perpetuate monotony.

For a workplace environment, I found this easy as I would much prefer to work at home. Getting dressed up in a dress shirt, pants, and tie sucks. Anyone who says its fun is lying to themselves. Additionally, anyone who says they like working in a cubicle is also lying. It reminds me of the Panopticon. Very Scary. My house just speaks to me as a calming place. Especially right now as my room gets natural light pouring in and it fully immerses me in any work I am doing. Maybe I just really like sunlight. I have found however, that I really do not care as long as I am relatively left alone when I want to be and also able to be community based when the time comes. As long as I do not have to wear a tie.

My favorite skills are most typically those that relate to writing. I am not sure if I would consider myself good but it is probably the only thing I have. I like to write in my free time and honestly have very little passion for anything else. If I were to be put into a work environment where I did not write, I do not believe I would be able to enjoy my work. Writing certainly serves as a good skill for me, and it encompasses many of the sub ‘genres’ of the skill such as research and editing which further separate me from the pack.

I do not know if I have a purpose yet. I would just like my work to mean something to somebody despite whatever field it may be in. As long as somebody is impacted, positively, I will be satisfied with what I do in my life. I wish I could be more specific and have a more amplified goal, but I feel far too young to dedicate my life to a purpose. In the last month I have changed my opinions about a million things. One thing stays true that I hope to put positivity out in the world.

Monetarily, I just hope to make enough to support myself. I have never really cared about money or having everything in life. As long as I am able to be satisfied with the life I have, I cannot complain. As I have never made over 15,000 in a year, I believe it would be ignorant to assume what type of money would make me happy. Hopefully, for benefits they take care of everything and 100% match my 401k.

Location wise I would like to stay South where it is warm but most likely will not due to more journalism career opportunities being concentrated towards the North. It does however deserve to be said that despite this I do plan on moving South once I have my career more fortified. As long as it is sunny and urban I can not see myself complaining about the location and as someone who wants to operate more freely in their career I see weather playing an important part in where I would like to stay. Additionally, a more urban environment that is fast paced is definitely more geared to my style which will hopefully further allow me to operate in a manner that is conducive to emotional upkeep.

Alumni Profile: Jared Shapiro

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In the beginning of his book, You Can Do Anything, George Anders tells the story of Josh Sucher, a college graduate who had no idea how to find a job. The chapter is titled, “Explorers,” it follows Josh Sucher, and highlights the values and intricacies of a liberal arts degree. Like most students with a liberal arts degree, Josh Sucher creates his own path, winding and networking from one field to another. From the outside, it may seem like a liberal arts major wanders mindlessly from job to job, testing out one field and then moving onto the next. But in reality, the unrestricted journey of shape-shifting in professional environments is inherently part of the career for those that hold a liberal arts degree, especially English. 

Many English majors define themselves as curious people. In many ways, curiosity is the driving force that propels the English major forward. What unites the liberal arts degree holders is the avant-garde spirit that yearns to learn, experience, and know more. George Anders begs you to “come at your career with a pioneering spirit, and gain the confidence of steadily building up your strengths.” We can all learn from his story about Josh and let curiosity continue to “tug [us] in unpredictable ways.” 

Just as Anders portrays, an English graduate from The College of Charleston, Jared Shapiro, encounters an almost identical experience. When he frist started at College of Charleston, he encountered a sort of identity crisis because he didn’t know what direction his life was headed. He was advised by his older brother to “go the practical route” and study math and business. For three weeks of his sophomore year, Shapiro was a business major and switched out right before the window closed because he just didn’t like it. He knew that he always had a love for English so with the help of awesome professors like Mike Duvall, he was able to seize opportunities through the English department.

With the driving forces of curiosity and a desire to experience more, after graduating from CofC, Shapiro applied to join the Peace Corps. He was determined to utilize both of his majors, English and French. When he was accepted into the Peace Corps, he was sent over to Togo, a Francophone West African nation neighboring Ghana. There, Shapiro taught English to French-speaking students. He enjoyed the incredible experience but knew it woud not last forever.

When Shapiro came back to the United States after one year of working in Togo, he moved to Washington DC. Here, he was an Account Executive at Qorvis, a global advisory firm with based in Middle Eastern countries. The company “navigates the headwinds of a rapidly changing stakeholder economy and anticipates what’s next in the increasingly volatile geopolitical landscape.” 

After Shapiro joined the Peace Corps, his goals were “very short term.” He says that his plan was to “make as much money for as little stress as possible.” This was absolutely not the case for him, unfortunately. As you can probably tell from the Qorvis’ company description, it is certainly a high-stakes professional environment. Shapiro described it as a “pressure cooker.” Quickly, he saw the repercussions of working in high pressure organization doing crisis and global issues work. Although this work was highly demanding of him, he says the “benefits of the pressure cooker sometimes outweigh the stress.” 

Shapiro stayed at Qorvis for two years and three months, working his way up to Account Supervisor. He engaged with federal agencies, congress, and the media. Shapiro says he never saw himself as someone who would work in communications or public relations, but

“my English major was super useful. My ability to synthesize complicated arguments into something that was understandable came naturally after all of the things we did in English.” 

After Qorvis, Shapiro moves to a large pharmaceutical company called Syneos. Interestingly he was recruited through LinkedIn. Shapiro stresses the value of networking through LinkedIn– he was actually recruited by Syneos and quickly got the job there. Here, he starts as an Account Supervisor doing writing and research. After about a year of working there, he took a promotion to an Account Director doing management and overseeing the communications for the company. Shapiro discusses how significant role changes in your career is not something you necessarily learn as an English major, or in college, for that matter.

But, after speaking with him, I am inclined to believe that adaptability and versatility are the defining skills of an English major.

After conversing with him, my biggest takeaway was how he stressed that you learn from the companies you work for, as you go. 

Like Josh Sucher from George Ander’s You Can Do Anything, Jared Shapiro is the ultimate explorer. He has the skillset and abilities to shape-shift and adapt based on the professional environment he is in. Interestingly, he never thought he would end up working in a corporate environment. In many ways he still sees himself as a grungy, gritty, college kid who is still creating his professional career path. 

Self-Exploration Through the Flower Exercise: Unveiling the Layers Within

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Field Report #2: “Flower Exercise”

In the pursuit of understanding ourselves, we often embark on journeys outward—exploring different fields, meeting diverse people, and seeking varied experiences. Yet, as I delved into the “Flower Exercise” from Richard N. Bolles’ What Color Is Your Parachute?, I found that the most profound and clarifying knowledge isn’t found in the external world; it resides within us. This second field report, focused on self-inventory across seven key areas, revealed layers of insights and challenges, ultimately bringing me closer to understanding my own multifaceted being.

The first petal of my flower, representing the kinds of people I prefer to be around, unveiled a tapestry of traits I value. I realized I am drawn to individuals who exhibit social intelligence and perception, those who warmly embrace inclusivity and welcome diverse viewpoints. Through this exercise, I recognized the importance of surrounding myself with visionaries in social change and innovation, individuals who challenge the status quo and inspire growth.

Moving to the petal concerning workplace conditions, I was confronted with my ideal professional environment. Guiding mentorship emerged as an essential element, as well as working alongside a diverse team and in a performance-driven culture. The image of a relaxed attire policy and the option to bike or walk to the office painted a vivid picture of a workplace where creativity and comfort converge.

The skills and competencies petal brought forth a realization of my strengths and areas of expertise. From motivating others towards common goals to developing strategic plans, I acknowledged my proficiency in critical thinking and problem-solving. However, the challenge lay in recognizing the importance of ongoing learning and professional development, reminding me of the ever-evolving nature of success.

As I reflected on the knowledge petal, I embraced my passion for cultural and historical understanding, alongside staying informed about global events. Creative writing and storytelling emerged as a central theme, highlighting my desire to engage in philosophical and ethical discussions that shape narratives and perspectives.

The settings and geographies petal took me on a visual journey, envisioning an ideal location. Close to family in Charleston, near water, and within a medium-sized town’s vibrant downtown, I found a sense of rootedness and vitality. These elements, coupled with an easy commute, formed the backdrop of an environment where I could thrive.

Considering the money and responsibility petal, I grappled with the balance between financial stability and meaningful contribution. While recognizing the need for a fair compensation structure, my sense of purpose emerged as a guiding force. To help others, contribute to good in the world, and advance humanity became the compass directing my choices.

Finally, the core of my flower, my sense of purpose in life, illuminated the essence of my existence. Through this exercise, I articulated my deep-seated desire to contribute to kindness in the world, fostering a sense of empathy and compassion in all endeavors.

This intensive self-inventory was both illuminating and challenging. It allowed me to peel back the layers of my being, revealing intricate details and guiding principles that shape my choices and aspirations. The process was not without its struggles; confronting areas of growth and acknowledging vulnerabilities required courage. Yet, in this journey of self-discovery, I found empowerment and clarity.

As I invite you, the audience, into this reflective space, I share the essence of my flower—a symbol of my inner landscape. Each petal represents not only facets of myself but also aspirations for the future. The challenges faced in this exercise mirrored the complexities of navigating life’s choices and priorities. Yet, through introspection and reflection, I stand rooted in a deeper understanding of who I am and where I aim to go.

Petal By Petal

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I did not know where to begin with the ‘Flower Petal Exercise’ from Richard N. Bolles’ book “What Color is Your Parachute?” The book is self-help for people who are about to embark on or searching for the next step in their professional lives. This specific exercise centers around getting a better understanding of a person’s wants and needs for their career path through the metaphor of flower petals. I truly thought the whole exercise would be easy, but I was wrong.

Sadly, I believe we as a society are more integrated to point out the negative aspects of ourselves and one another than the positives. So while I think that logic is one of the main reasons that I hit a wall, it is not the only rationale that hindered my ability to do the exercise. I believe the other reason is because I have spent the last eight years truly developing my skills as a student (I don’t really count middle school or any primary education). I have been selling myself as a student for so long that I have to make the transition to prepare to sell myself as a potential employee or graduate student. 

When I finally started the exercise, I tried to go in order of every petal.  I am a very linear thinker, so I rarely skip around when there is any numerical work that I have to analyze or answer. With this work, though, I had to jump around because there were some questions that I could not think of answers to right away. As soon as I started to skip around with the petals, I decided to order them from the easiest to answer to the hardest.

My List (From Easiest to Hardest)

  1. You and Geography
  2. You and a Workplace
  3. You and the Knowledges You Already Have
  4. You and People
  5. You and Salary/Responsibility
  6. You and Your Purpose in Life
  7. You and Skills

The first two, You and Geography along with You and a Workplace, were the easiest, and that makes sense as both prose of these petals describe the ideal setting in which I can see myself doing the most work for my career. I’ve always wanted to head up north after I graduate, so it was very simple to list the characteristics I have always admired about the New England region. For You and a Workplace, while it was simple, it was also much more fun than I was expecting. I basically go to dream up my ideal workplace, and since I want to be a writer of some sort, I basically describe a piece of my dream home. 

You and the Knowledges You Already Have was a bit harder than the previous, but not by much. The petal was hard in the sense that I am not good at categorizing things I know much about, as I do not have to think hard about the subjects at hand. It helped when I listed off my hobbies and could see that there are subjects that I know greatly about. At this point, I could already see the exercise’s main purpose already at work, as it made me focus on myself, get in tune with my mind, and know my worth. 

You and People was challenging because I tend to work best on my own, but that does not mean I am closed off to the aspect of working with a group of creative collaborators. I love to listen to interesting writing prompts and see where other writers take them, so while it was hard, I basically had to open myself up to the possibility I would be working closely with others in the workplace. You and responsibility go into the same category for me, as I do not know what my ideal salary is at the moment. All I know is that I want a job. But I had to put myself in the mindset of being responsible for others if I could see myself doing that in the future, which is still debatable. 

You and Your Purpose in Life, along with You and Your Skills, were the hardest ones to answer, in my opinion. The petal based around my purpose in life was a little easier because I know what I want my purpose to be: to be a figure of inspiration for writing, even just for one person. I want to create characters that speak to people to be able to bring more representation to the LGBTQ+ community while staying true to whichever genre I choose to write in.

To figure that out, I had to push past all my humility and ask myself what I truly wanted to get out of my life. It was a very scary question, but I found myself more at peace after answering it. You and Your Skills was the hardest for me because, like I said in the introduction, I am not very good at pushing past the negatives, but for this I did. I found myself to be an analyzer, an empathetic person, and a great listener. While those skills seem miniscule, I have learned from this class and the Flower Petal Exercise that they are anything but. 

The Flower: “That One Piece of Paper”

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June 18, 2023, 3:41 pm in Somis, CA

In Richard N. Bolles’s book, What Color is Your Parachute? he creates a guidebook to better understand oneself, your preferences when it comes to your career, and what you have to offer in the workforce. Overall, this book is extremely helpful for those who don’t know what they wish to do in their professional lives, those who want to hone in on their ideal career paths, and those who are looking for different avenues they might be interested in taking. This book presents various steps and exercises designed to guide you toward valuable insights about yourself and your aspirations, helping you contemplate the life you envision.

One of these exercises is called “The Flower Exercise: A Comprehensive Self-Inventory” (111).

This “Flower Exercise” is meant to get you to better understand yourself, your preferences, and your purpose regarding the work environment. By following each petal, you learn more about what you wish to gain from your career experience and what you believe you can offer.

At the beginning of completing this task myself, I was completely overwhelmed by the idea of the flower, but as I began with the first petal, the details I learned about myself proved worth the effort and contemplation.

When I began to write out the types of people I have worked with in the past, I found a pretty even split between working with coworkers who made my work life enjoyable and those who made it less so. I found myself writing things like “I don’t want to work with someone who is emotionally manipulative” and laughing at myself for even staying in a job like that, even for a short time. It made me realize that when it comes to coworker preferences, maybe my bar was a little too low. At the very least, I don’t want to work with someone who is actively mean to me, but that should be obvious…shouldn’t it?

In recollection of this, I began to think about what I wanted from my work relationships and what types of people I cared about being around. Although it wasn’t necessarily at the very top of my list, I found myself really wanting to be around people who inspire me. I want to work with people who have a strong, passionate curiosity about the world, much like myself. I want to work with someone who is interesting to talk to and teaches me new things all the time. I was surprised by my gravitation toward dynamic agency and shared intellect. In this, I found that wishing for my coworkers to be kind is a given to me, and beyond that, I want more.

June 18, 2023, 3:34 pm in Somis, CA

The second petal deals with your preferred working conditions. This petal was one of the least daunting of the group, mainly because I have always known I do not want to work in a cubicle. I have never seen myself in an office building or at a desk on the eleventh floor with little to no natural light.

To no surprise at all, I want to work somewhere that has natural light that feels open and inviting. A place that has dynamic energy instead of stagnation.

I then moved on to the next petal, “transferable skills.” Completing this petal and doing the exercises within it took me a while. Not because I didn’t feel like I had important skills to offer but because I had difficulty figuring out which ones I felt were the most important. Even now, I feel like there are some listed on there that might not be in the right order, or perhaps I feel like my order of preference will change. More so, I found that doing these exercises helped me better understand what skills of mine I find are really important. It made me wonder what other people would say about me. What would my skills be if I asked my closest friends, family, and professors what they felt stood out to them? It made me wonder what would change, what would remain on the list, and what might be added that I did not know about myself.

The fourth petal, “knowledges,” seemed to surprise me more than I anticipated. Having a family so deeply woven into the entertainment industry, I have found myself steering away from that avenue to give myself a sense of independence. And yet, this exercise made me realize how much I care about media. As someone who is extremely opinionated, I found myself writing about movies and television shows that I either loved or hated, and I find myself increasingly passionate about discussing them. If I were on a desert island, I would 100% talk about my favorite films and TV shows for days on end. For the most part, I think I just write it off as stupid leisure activities, but this exercise made me realize how deeply I care about the media I intake and that I am extremely opinionated and passionate about them. News to me (clearly, I am blind).

Oof. Petal five is all about money. This is where I felt that I learned the most. Growing up, my family never really talked about money, and to this day, they have been pretty hands-off in teaching me anything that has to do with the matter. I would say that my relationship with money is confusing, and I don’t understand many aspects of it at all. Learning about it and how to properly take care of myself as an individual has been something I am slowly learning on my own. And I am everything but good at it. But working through this petal and the exercises that went along with it, I feel closer to understanding that relationship and how I want it to look in the future.

June 18, 2023, 3:30 pm in Somis, CA

When it came to petal six, “places to live,” I found myself more attached to aspects of places versus actual places. Yes, I dream of living in Edinburgh, Syndey, and Osaka at some point in my life, but wherever I am called to, I will go. What I mean by this is that I want to follow opportunities, and I want to follow whatever in my life brings me joy. When it comes to physical places, I want to be somewhere that has lots of activities, great food, places to adventure to, interesting people, seasonal weather, and a place that celebrates holidays.

In making this list, I found what really matters to me is, in fact, the little things. I care about having fun things to do, trying new foods, meeting different people, and being in a place that loves Halloween as much as I do. Wherever I can find the little things that bring me joy is where I want to go.

Finally, on to the seventh petal, “purpose.” Although the idea of this petal is extremely overwhelming and, clearly, a very large and daunting question, I found this petal to be the easiest of them all. If there is anything I know about myself, it is my purpose. I might not know every aspect of my purpose in life, but I, at the very least, deeply believe that I know some.

As written in my flower: My goal, purpose, or mission in life is to…

“increase love, compassion, and beauty (in the form and legacy of art) in the world by deeply affecting individuals and evoking emotion and contemplation through my presence, words, and art. I wish to help individuals learn how to love themselves, each other, and the world around us.”

And I hope that one day, I will do just that.

July 16, 2023, 12:55 pm in Somis, CA

Ten Toes Down: Alumni Profile on Abigail Harmon

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In John Milton’s Paradise Lost, he describes the world before the fall through monistic theory, arguing that God and all his creations are one and the same. This notion can be found in a particularly peculiar scene where Adam has the angel Raphael over for lunch. In this, we better understand Adam’s character, what he believes his place in the world is, and the reality of his place. In two instances, Adam mentions to Raphael that his “lowly” home and “food not of angels” must not compare to what they eat in Heaven, continually undermining and belittling his offerings and experience compared to the angels. To which Raphael replies with a beautifully encrypted metaphor:

Paradise Lost Book V, lines 469-490

In this excerpt, Raphael uses the example of a flower to help Adam better understand his relationship with God. He explains that everything God has created is a part of him, just with “various degrees” of his spirit. He goes even further to say that those who are “nearer to him placed” or “nearer tending” are those who are more spiritous and, therefore, more pure. This insinuates that Adam has the ability to “tend nearer” to God. Although Adam is more body than spirit compared to God and his angels, the more Adam connects to his spirit, the closer he will be to God and, ultimately, the purer he will become.

This notion is extremely similar to an important concept that drives my life and is something I have been taught throughout it: spiritual alignment.

“Spiritual alignment is the process of aligning your thoughts, words, and actions with your highest truth.”

Similarly, the deep inspiration derived from Milton’s works and following the inward contemplation of alignment is what got Abigail Harmon, an English major alum from the College of Charleston, to where she is today.

After graduating from CofC in 2011, Abigail went straight to graduate school at Regent College in Vancouver, where she studied Theology. Her father, being a theologian himself, is one of the things that propelled her to choose this path. After graduating, she took some time away from school to really figure out how she wanted to use her degrees in her professional life.

It was during this time that Abigail really began to ask important questions about herself. What was she drawn to? What was she inspired by? In what moments did she feel most like herself? In this recollection, she realized she wanted to return to school to get her counseling degree and study therapy. It seemed to her that the common theme strung throughout her passions, her time being an English major at CofC, her graduate studies in theology, and her new mission of becoming a therapist had one important piece connecting them all: a deep love and appreciation for humanity.

Abigail realized she was drawn to understanding how people organized themselves and behaved societally throughout history and found that she cared deeply for people’s individual stories and backgrounds. In making the decision on where to go next, she states she paid close attention to “the moments in [her] life when she felt most like Abigail, the moments that made [her] feel completely centered.” In this reflection of herself and what purpose seemed to align with her the most, she asked:

“When do I feel like I have ten toes on the floor? In what moments do I feel completely in my body? When I’m present and when I feel alive…and it was when I was listening to someone.”

It was then that her next step felt clear. During the 2020 pandemic, Abigail got another master’s degree in mental health counseling at Walden University. Now, with her English degree and her master’s in theology and counseling, she currently has a private and group counseling practice and also does ghostwriting on the side. In her private practice, she focuses on helping people who have religious trauma, climate anxiety/depression, and those in the LGBTQ community. As a deep thinker and feeler herself, through her practice, she creates a safe and understanding space for those who feel easily misunderstood by the grandness of their emotions. As a therapist, she is dedicated to helping people be their “open, easy, wise, quirky, kiss-ass” selves, that is their natural state of being.

When asked if she had any regrets throughout her professional career, she took a second to wonder. After a couple moments of silence, she was surprised by her own answer: No. Everything she did, everything she learned, and everything she experienced genuinely helped her not only become the person she is but also the professional person she is today. She explains:

“My robust background in theological studies allowed me to adapt to any theological belief system that walks in the room. I can adapt and understand all the nuances of their different belief systems, specifically within Christianity but also just in world religions in general. And I just can’t overstate how well literature has prepared me for being a therapist. I’m so, so much more able to not only have the vocabulary to help people, but a lot of times, people just need the right language and being able to supply that for somebody who’s searching for the right word or can’t identify how they feel, I mean, it is like a weight comes off their shoulders. So simplifying language, having the vocabulary to articulate feelings, and being a keen listener. That’s what you’re doing when you’re reading and writing. You’re paying attention.” 

In a passage from Ramsey and Grobman’s Major Decisions: College, Career, and the Case for the Humanities,” in their chapter called “Beyond Jobs and Careers: The Enduring Value of the Humanities,” the authors dive into the significance of an English degree in contributing to the collective welfare. They explain that pursuits in intellectual, artistic, and moral avenues possess a unique inherent value. These endeavors not only enhance people’s personal lives but enrich the lives of those around you, as seen through Abigail’s story and private practice.

When Abigail reflected back on her time at CofC, there was one class in particular that changed the trajectory of her life: ENGL 306 John Milton.

Yes, studying Milton’s works and writings was a deeply inspiring feat, but what made this class truly special was its professor, William Russell. Not only did he teach this class with such poised enthusiasm, but the way he listened to his students left lasting effects on Abigail.

The deep care and attention to detail Professor Russell has with everything he does distills a sense of belonging and inherent support for his students. For Abigail, being in his class helped her trust that she did, in fact, have a lot to contribute. This class taught her that she had important opinions and things to say and that they were worth sharing with the world. As she learned more from Professor Russell, she began to understand herself better and pay attention to the moments when she felt most aligned within herself.

“He really saw me as a student, not just as a student, but just for who I am.”

Professor Russell’s centered presence in the room, his bright enthusiasm, his heartfelt understanding, and his open-minded attention to each student were a source of inspiration for Abigail. She, too, wanted to hold this space for people.

“I remember wanting to be more like him, so here I am.”