If you have ever experienced the joy of declaring yourself an English major, you will understand what it means to be on the defense. It is not uncommon to mentally prepare for the response after uttering the words, “I’m studying English.” This sentence is usually followed by overcompensated excitement or a forced lecture about how […]
Always Meant to Be an English Major
When I made the official switch to becoming an English major from my Communications major, I believed that I had initially made the wrong choice or that I was choosing a “harder” path. However, that was not the case at all, nor do I know why I thought it would be. As much as many […]
Reconnect With Your Nature
I cannot say I am a big fan of tedious tasks. This being said, the idea of going through numerous self-reflective assignments aligned with my own professional identity sounds quite torturous. And after completing the “Flower Exercise,” located in Richard N. Bolles What Color Is Your Parachute? I cannot deny the torturous nature of completing […]
Isabel Gardett: An English Major Doesn’t Have to Be a Teacher
Isabel (Marie) Gardett graduated from the College of Charleston not only with a BA but also a MA in English. She later received a Ph.D. in English, specializing in rhetoric and writing, from the University of Utah. Throughout and after her path of higher education, she experienced many career shifts, from instructing college courses, writing […]
Escaping the Flood: The Power of Flowers
I won’t lie, I really didn’t think writing down my goals and expectations on flower petals would achieve anything other than proving that I can write catchy words and phrases to describe myself. As usual, I was proven wrong by this sheet of paper, which forced me to simmer on questions I hadn’t yet come […]
Colleen Etman: PhD Candidate
As a former science scholar turned English major, the story of Colleen Etman resonated with me far beyond our shared experience as students at The College of Charleston. During our conversation, Colleen exposed the reality of being a liberal arts student whose path was anything but linear. As a mathlete in high school, Colleen entered […]
Life’s a Garden, So Dig It!
Prior to attempting the Flower Exercise in Richard N. Bolles’ What Color Is Your Parachute, I imagined that I was going to fly right through each of the seven petals in a rather joyful manner. I soon quickly realized that I found the exercises of deciding what I don’t want to be somewhat frustrating, as […]
This Flower is Growing All Over the Place!
Whilst attempting to work with myself to figure out my “flower,” I ended up coming to the conclusion that I do think it was helpful to think a little more in-depth about self-reflection and my own standards. However, I do not think I actually learned anything from the exercise that comes from Richard N. Bolles’ […]
Hell Flower
I’ve never been one for “busy-work.” There’s a fine line between the useless and the tedious. As someone who enjoys embroidery, I understand the value of patient, deliberate work. Nevertheless, I found creating my personal “Flower”—writing for whom, with whom, where, why, and for how much I’ll work—to be like counting grains of rice before […]
Tina Cundari, English Major
After talking to a friend in an English class about her part job to earn some side money while attending the College of Charleston, Tina Cundari applied for a paralegal position while also earning her English degree. Richard N. Bolles in What Color is Your Parachute? (2022) states that you should choose a degree “because […]