…I’m excited to introduce my brand-new website! Using Wix, I have created a writing portfolio to share with potential employers. The process was not without its challenges (I’ll get into those later on), but overall I’m very happy about the final product and I am confident that it will prove an invaluable tool in the […]
Author Archive | Adam D
Aurora Harris: English Major to Nonprofit Leader
All too often, English majors are—unfairly and incorrectly—written off as unemployable. As academic Benjamin Schmidt puts it, “The difference between humanities majors and science majors, in median income and unemployment, seems to be no more than the difference between residents of Virginia and North Carolina.” And yet, our society continues to question both the value […]
Reflections on Flower Petals
Having recently become quite concerned with determining the color of my parachute, I’ve decided to discuss here the process of working through Richard N. Bolles’ so-called “Flower Exercise.” For those who are unfamiliar, the Flower Exercise is a seven-part series of worksheets and thought experiments designed to help one determine various elements of themselves that […]
Oh, the Humanity! (But, like, in a good way.)
To say that things have changed would be an understatement. I left my hometown just outside of Denver, Colorado and came to College of Charleston for the fall semester of 2019—that’s three years, six months, and ten days ago, according to this English major’s arithmetic—and I suppose it would be normal for the world to […]
The Resume Dilemma or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the English Major
At a certain point before, during, or after pursuing their degree, I suspect every English major is confronted by what I’ll call “the resume dilemma”—that is, the challenge of translating their interests and accomplishments into language that could be understood and appreciated by would-be employers who come from different academic (usually non-liberal arts) backgrounds. In […]
An Ode to the Nestle Drumstick
I would like to preface this post with an explanation. As I’ve referenced previously, I am not a fan of The Book of Delights. For a number of reasons that I won’t go into at present, the formal elements of a “delight” are difficult to reconcile with my personal literary philosophy. However, as a writing […]
Ross Gay, Pink Floyd, and the Beauty of a Misunderstanding
I would not describe myself as Ross Gay’s #1 fan. I like short, easily-digestible essays as much as the next person, and his unique brand of optimism is undoubtedly infectious, but I find that his work too often focuses on only the joyful end of the emotional spectrum for it to be of deep interest […]
Why Calculating the Value of Literature Is Impossible
Having now spent a fair amount of time pondering the value of literature, I can confidently say that my initial drive to become an English major (and my continued motivation to stay an English major) is entirely disconnected from any notions of literary value. Indeed, the more I think about this question, the more I […]