Lemire (1-11)

"Happiness is both a condition and a philosophy" (Lemire 9). Doing what you're told and meeting deadlines is part of *schooling*, but an *education* really has to involve your soul. Maybe Lemire wrote this book as a way to encourage young people to see their classes and assignments this way, rather than as a series of hoops to jump through.

"It's an English major,not a super major" (ch1 Pg 7). I decided on this quote becuase it hust stood out to me and it was very interesting. something about it interests me I am just not sure what it is yet. After reading the assignment and lokonig at the various quotes I jotted down, I decided this one was it. I think it stands out because as an English major I always get asked what are you going to do after you graduate college, and I always say I will have a degree in English so probably teach English. This quote just somehow in my mind stood out and I can relate to it very well.

"While a major in English does not prepare you for any specific occupation, it does provide training in critical thinking" (Lemire 8). This quote stood out to me because it sets the starting point for the English major's versitality. I think critical thinking is very important and can benefit any occupation a person may choose. A major in English doesn't prepare you for one particular occupation; it prepares you for life and any occupation that suits your likes, strengths, and abilities.

"Don't think the only jobs for english majors involve words" (pg. 4). I found this intersting because there is a misconception that being an english major just involves writing and reading. Part of being an english major is expressing your creativity. Some english majors may express themselves better through visuals than through words. English majors who prefer to use visualization can find jobs in advertising and in the media.

"I always reassured them: Don't worry. You'll fit right in" (pg. 5). This sentence was in response to foreign-born students who were coming to America and apologizing for stumbling over the English language. However, the author's right. There are numerous individuals who misuse the English language. It might be said that there now exists a different branch of English for each region of every country that uses English as its dominant language. A wide range of words have different meanings in some places as opposed to others, some areas have seemed to develop their own language: Pittsburghese is a prominent example! Despite all of this, there is a universal core to English and that has countless uses.

"[...] 'Great, you majored in English--but what else you got?' That is, what other experience, skills, and abilities do you bring to the table?" (Lemire 8). I chose this quote because it is really identical to my own views of the English major. English majors choose a very versatile and applicable major; however unless some other interest, area of expertise, or accompanying major, minor or certification is also present, the English major may meet much trouble when serching for a job that is both practical and pleasing.

"My biggest mistake was believing that everything I needed to know, I would learn in school, and that what I learned in school was everything I needed to know”(Lemire 9). While I am only a freshman, and still have quite a few years left in college, the older I get, the more aware I become of the fact that no matter how much I learn in school, I will never learn everything I want or need to know. I think part of the reason Lemire focuses on the relationship between finding a job that a person likes, and his happiness, is because of the necessity of continued learning. The more one enjoys something, the more he will choose to learn, and the better he will be at whatever it is.

"English, huh? Well. Good for you. So... What are you doing with that?" (pg 3) When people ask me about college and what I am majoring in, the conversation is normally similar to the quote I chose. After I tell them English/Creative Writing, they normally pause and respond with a "That's nice." They then ask what I am going to do after college and suggest I become a teacher. Because everyone had been telling me to become a teacher, I decided to try taking some classes but I am not sure if it is for me. I know there is more to an English major than teaching, and I would like to learn the different possibilities.

"Happiness is both a condition and a philosophy - an attitude, a perspective, or a way of thinking" (Lemire 9). I think that no matter what anyone tells you to do a person should do what they think will make them the happiest. I started out my college career in a completely different major because I thought it would get me a better job in the long run, but I quickly decided that even if I had to be a stereotypical starving artist, I would do what I love, and I love English. So if a person is happiest in English, be an English major; if a person is happiest in Science, do something with science. It should be about what you love to do, not what will rake in the biggest paycheck.

"Some people talk about this kind of job as if it were a far-flung fantasy, but I believe and trust that there is a job like that for everyone, and that if it is not out there, you can create it." (page 9)

I know so many people who are stuck in jobs and are unhappy with them. Everyday my parents come home and complain relentlessly about what happened at work. Sometimes I think that the only thing they think about is how awful their job is. However, everytime my mother complains, I point out to her that she chose that particular career (nursing) and that job (Registered Nurse in an elderly care center). I also tell her that if she hates it so much, why doesn't she try to find a job she actually likes? Her response is no job exists like that. Lemire points out that there is a job out there that will make each person happy, and if there isn't, every person can make that possible.

"People typically choose to major in English because they love literature, reading, and writing. Then, when they enter the workforce, they discover they also love eating, preferably something other than cold baked beans out of a can" (Lemire 1).- This quote really spoke to me. I think that he makes a good point here. It isn't enough to just like something. Your effort doesn't stop there. You have to go beyond your passion and figure out what you can do with it. I think that Lemire writes this because he realizes that sometimes us young people tend to be idealistic. Some think that when we leave school, we will get jobs handed out to us. He wants to tell us that we have to do more than is required and start thinking about our futures before we get there unless we want to live off of canned foods.

"Your interests, strenghts, abilities, hobbies, and obsessions play an even greater role in determining where you will find- or make- a job" (Lemire 6). This qutation made me think that I could use interest in videogames to find a job. Perhaps I review games, or even write stories for videogames.

"When I was a teacher, foreign-born students would come to me at the start of the semester to apologize because, they said, being new to America, they were still struggling with the English language. I always reassured them: Don't worry. You'll fit right in." (pg. 5) I absolutely love this quote. As a Spanish major, I am extremely interested in the way people communicate with each other in their native and foreign languages. But, I feel particularly sorry for people trying to learn the English language, because it is said to be one of the most difficult languages to learn, and is apparently so difficult that most Americans aren't even fluent in it yet. "Americans do not speak 'English.'," Richard Rodriguez pointed out in his book, Brown: The Last Discovery of America. "We speak American." Those poor people who spend hours and hours in a class memorizing all the different verb tenses and voices and "I" and "you" come over to the United States only to hear us say "yinz" and "yall" and "ain't". I believe that this quote points out the need to not only study the structure of a language, but also the culture of a language. I have so much more to say on this subject, but I feel I have exceeded the suggested two sentence limit and I will elaborate more during our discussion in class. :)

"English majors (or at least stereotypical ones) tend to be bookish, reticent types- not the kind of people who are comfortable telephoning strangers out of the blue to ask for information" (Lemire 6).

Though Lemire admits this statement to be stereotypical, it bothered me that he uses such generalizations to describe English majors. I do not fit into this stereotype and from my first impressions I do not believe many people in our class fit either. This statement sparked my curiosity of why Lemire feels this way, if he fits this stereotype, and if the majority of the English majors he met fit the stereotype. This quote also branched my thoughts to stereotypes, how they begin and how they are often untrue.

"'Great, you majored in English--but what else you got' That is what other experiences, skills, and abilities do you bring to the table?" (Lemire 8). I took this question into consideration when I was looking into different colleges. I knew I wanted to become a teacher and considered what would give me the upper hand in getting a job. That is why I decided to come to Seton Hill University. This school allows be to major in English Literature and also recieve teaching certificates in Elementary Education and Special Education. Having these other qualifications hightens the job oppertunities I will have once I graduate.

I chose two quotes because they both discuses the same topic. The first quote “My biggest mistake was believing that every thing I need to know, I would learn in school,” (page 9 Lemire) explains how most people view their schooling. We as students depend to much on our schooling to teach us everything. There is always something to learn about English and we shouldn’t assume that we have learned everything there is to know; which brings me to the next quote. “… Foreign-born students would come to me at the start of the semester to apologize …they were still struggling with the English language. I always reassured them: Don’t worry. You’ll fit right in” (5) It may even be easer for a foreign student to learn the language than an English speaking student. English speaking students assume they know it all and foreign students assume they don’t know anything; therefore they absorb more information.

"Or,as is said more succinctly in journalism : If your mother says she loves you, check it out" (Lemire 2). As a journalism major, I have come to find verifying your sources is a must. You are telling the facts and they must be true. Interestingly enough, learning this last semester in Newswriting has come to overlap in Intro to Literary Study. The three branches of English are different, yet express similarities as well, which is the main point of chapter one. Being an English major is not all about teaching English, there are more opportunities out there, it is just a matter of research. I have also found about myself that I do not want to limit myself to news writing. I want to give everything a try to see what I like best which will definately benefit me in the future.

It's an English major, not a super major (P-7) Lemire I'm not an english major, but I do enjoy taking english classes. I'm not very good at writing papers and all english classes will help to improve my skills. I don't think that all english classes are only for english majors. We all use our english skills every day.

"My biggest mistake was believing that everything i needed to know, i would learn in school, and that what i learned in school was everything i needed to know." (Lemire 9) i choose this quote because i feel that it holds true for most students who either go through high school and get a job or extend their education on through college and then try to get a job. students are not taught everything that is needed to know in schooling, there are so many real life skills that are lacked and not always covered. for a person to completely know everything that is required for life, they must first live life.

"My biggest mistake was beliving that everything I needed to know I would learn in school, and that what I learned in school was everything I needed to know...Unfortunately, I didn't develop the initiative to make and find my own challenges and thus take charge of my own education. I was passive." (Lemire 9) I don't want to be passive. I hope that this course is able to help me step out of the passive-ness more and I am able to "find my own challenges" and push myself more with each course and each semester. This quote stands out to me because I thought that it was very much like the quote on page 8, "Great you majored in English - what else you got?" I thought they both were creating what most of the class just came through, which is moving into college. As if it were saying "good for you, you got great grades in high school, but what else did you do, or what else have you done with your life so far?" I hope this course branches us all out in to that right track and leads us all to "happiness and a livable job."

"Here's the thing: I would call a real job any job that pays you a livable wage for doing something that you would do even if you weren't paid to do it. It's the job that is a natural extension of who you are and what you want to become. It's the job that draws on and develops the skills and knowledge that help define you as an individual (Lemire, 8-9)." This quote is almost the perfect explanation of why I chose to be an english major. I love to write, but I have a ton of other hobbies that I enjoy and want to make a part of my life. This quote explains that you can switch things around, turn them upside down and inside out, and still create and find the perfect job out there for you. English lets you express yourself in so many ways that its versitality equips you with the tools to find that dream job you always wanted.

"English, huh? Well. Good for you. So... What are you going to do with that? After all, physics majors become physicists; pschology majors become psychologists; and even history majors become historians. What do English majors become?" (Lemire 3). I think my eyes popped out of my head when I read this line. This beginning statement was almost the exact question that had been on one of my last semester's finals. And it has haunted me for weeks. What can I become as an English major? The test question I had last semester asked how can I as an English major make a difference in the world. To be honest, I struggled to answer. Although I am also in education, I'm not sure how being an English major will help me help others. I'm more concerned with helping my future students and reaching out to them than I am with teaching them about the English language. Ever since last semester, I have been wondering if I made the correct major choice. I'm still wondering, but after reading these first few pages of this book, I think I might get some information that I can use to help myself back up my decision. This opening quote is exactly what I have been thinking about ever since the same quote appeared as a test question. Its a question I need to find my own answer to in order to be confident in my decision. I have a feeling that others in the class my feel the same as well, especially those who took the same final as I did with this question in it last semester.

"Great, you majored in English- but what else you got?" I agree with this quote so much because I always feel that my degree in English will not be enough to get me the job I am seeking. I know that I am going to need something else but am not sure what that is.