Part I: Why English Will Me Viable For Me Professionally
English is a very broad major, so much so that there are various specifications on which type of English a person wants to study. I chose English mainly because I liked to read and write, and none of the other majors seemed to jump out as much as English did. My previous perception of the English major included a lot of writing and analyzing over the simplest of sentences, which I was fine with. But little did I know how viable the choice of English as a major would be for my career path. English is rooted in sensemaking, an idea introduced by Christian Madsjerg, described as “a method of practical wisdom grounded in the humanities.” (6, Madsjerg). Sensemaking has five principles that make up the idea, and I find myself needing all five for my career path, but there are two that I feel will be the most viable for me as I transition into my career as a writer.
The first one being called “Thick Data—Not Just Thin Data,” with Madsjerg defining thin data as the facts we use to “understand us based on what we do” (15, Madsbjerg). He prioritizes thick data, explained as our knowledge of the world and “the very way we deal with the world.” (14, Madsbjerg). This will be practical for me professionally because fiction authors write about characters and how they interact with the world around them based on the author’s knowledge of how people interact with each other. Authors use thick data every time they create a whole new world or write a scene of dialogue between characters.
Another principle that shows why English will be viable for me in my profession is titled “The Savannah, Not the Zoo.” This principle relates to the previous one in a way as it pertains to human behavior. To show the natural human experience, we have to study it out in the wild and not just be interested “in what is extraordinary, but what is ordinary and common for all” (Madsbjerg, 17). Allowing authors to relate to the readers as they see themselves in the mannerisms of specific characters and how they experience the world around them.
Part II: Three Projects
The first project that I remember giving me a sense of what kind of skills I could have outside of the English major was a paper that I had written my sophomore year. The class was British Lit since 1800 and our final project was a paper with various prompts. I chose the one that focused on relating two works of fiction, one of them being a text that we had discussed in class that dealt with the theme of science vs. nature. I chose to focus on the similarities and differences between Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park. My paper argued how similar both creators were, as Frankenstien and John Hammond were both inventors of their own demise, both demonstrating unethical uses of the natural world for scientific reasons.
Through this paper, I focused on the skill of analyzing the human experience, immersing myself in both worlds, looking at the interactions between the characters, and delving into a character’s psyche by analyzing the minutiae details of said character. This project really made me think about the human experience by looking at two characters closely in their natural habits and being able to point out the differences and similarities. To see how the human psyche and experience can be portrayed in two different ways but end up having similarities. Showing how the knowledge of the human experience differs based on whatever universe or society is written up, but the creator’s human experience seemingly gets woven in with the character’s, creating these interchangeable traits.
The second project that I worked on that possessed a sense of viability was a short story assignment that I had to do for my Fiction Writing course last semester. Our main project for that semester was that each student would write two short stories that we would then have to workshop. It was nerve-wracking for me, but I loved it. Everyone’s feedback was super essential, and it made me want to continue to write more short stories, as I found them to be fun to write in general. It was definitely a lot less daunting than writing a whole novel. The professor gave us total creative freedom as well, allowing us to write whatever our minds could conjure up. This truly allowed me to dive into my creative writing abilities, allowing me to connect with my characters as I was writing them.
I was surprised at how the nerves went away when I was writing, almost as if I was nervous that I could be writing a two-dimensional character. What I learned through this project was how to not do that. So when I work on this piece and there are heavy dialogue scenes or scenes with multiple characters, I try to do so in a public space. If I felt myself hitting a wall, I would look up and take in the people around me and how they interact with the space that they’re in. Soon, I would find myself making up backstories for these coffee shop people, and suddenly, I was back with my head glued in front of my laptop screen. I found that knowing how people interact in the real world, with other people and in specific spaces in general, helps me find realistic inspiration for my work.
The third key humanities project that I have worked on was a final paper that I had to write last semester for my Studies in American Film: Hollywood Genres course. For the final, our professor wanted us to write a paper on genres dealing with American films; we could narrow that broad topic down to our own one. I decided to focus on the horror director, Mike Flanagan, and how his filmmaking differs depending on the subgenre he works with. I spent my time closely examining Flanagan’s choices and exactly why he made them. I analyzed how his characters interacted with the world he created and why Flanagan decided to portray characters differently in a stylistic light. I was able to recognize patterns and find similarities in the works that differ in subgenres of horror.
From these stylistic patterns, I can see what they symbolize for the film as a whole. This project has allowed me to dive into other worlds and be able to understand them from only the stylistic elements, making me see the human experience through the eyes of another. While similar to my first project, to me it is different. For this project, I knew I wanted to work in the film industry after I completed it. Because it did not feel like a project, it just felt like I was doing something that I genuinely enjoyed.