A major decision

My first few months at Emory, a typical introduction to another student involved three questions:
1. Where are you from?
2. What hall do you live on?
3. What's your major?

I easily gave quick and concise answers to the first two question, but struggled with the third. A typical conversation went like this:
curious Emory student excited to meet me: So, do you know your major?
me: wellllll...
CESETMM: I'm double majoring in anthropology and political science, with a history minor.
me: Wow. Wellll, I'm considering English, Poli Sci, Journalism, Jewish Studies, Psychology and Sociology. Oh and possibly History. Or Religion.
CESETMM: Whoa.

Clearly, I was confused. I went to a public high school where we didn't have courses in many of the subjects that Emory offers as a major. I hardly knew what Sociology was, but it sounded interesting. I liked my one high school government class and my one human behavior class, so I added PoliSci and Psychology as possibilities. Writing for a newspaper or being a TV anchor sounded cool, so Journalism was added to the list.

Though many of my peers knew exactly what they wanted to dedicate their four years towards studying, I didn't feel too much pressure to decide. Emory students aren't required to declare their major until their 2nd semester sophomore year. And, exploring many different classes wouldn't hurt me; I knew that those credits could all count towards General Education Requirements.

So, my first year, I took a variety of basic intro courses and somewhat more specialized courses in Sociology, Psychology, History, Philosophy, Dance, Political Science and English. Though I enjoyed the majority of those , none felt quite right. My classmates who were majoring in the subject of the course all seemed so passionate about the material. Learning all about it seemed to come natural to them, whereas my interest was slightly forced.

By the time fall 2007 rolled around, I felt a bit frustrated. I looked at the course atlas and realized that I had already dismissed nearly every major. Then, I saw creative writing. I had forgotten that Emory offered that! I loooved writing short stories and poetry as a kid. In 2nd grade, I swore that I would become an "a-four and illumastrator." So, I decided to take a course entitled "Into to Creative Writing: Fiction and Poetry Writing." I wasn't hopeful that it would turn into a major, but I figured it would at least be fun.

And fun it was! I actually found myself not just not dreading class, but I was excited to enter the classroom every week. Plus, my writing received great reviews from my classmates and my professor. I had found my major. Just to be 100% sure, I took another CW class the next semester - Intro to Screenwriting. I loved that too, and after just a few weeks, I officially declared my major.

Here are a few details about the Creative Writing program:
- Majors are required to take 5 CW seminars and 6 courses in the English department
- This is also a minor offered.
- Seminars include intro, intermediate and advanced courses on fiction and poetry. Depending on semester, there's also classes in non-fiction, screenwriting, play writing, novels and more.
- Seminars are super small. They are all capped at about 16 students with a full-time professor. Most of mine had been smaller (including intermediate fiction with 7 students).
- The professors are all fantastic; super approachable and amazing talents. I honestly haven't heard anything bad about any of them. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about any other department that I know of.
- Professors realllly take the time to get to know their students personally and as writers. They work overtime to help students fine tune their personal writing style. A large portion of class time is spent work-shopping your writing. The whole class will read your work and comment on it. It may sound scary, but its ridiculously helpful.
- Fun fact: all the CW professors I've had have insisted that we call them by their first name. So Bruce, Jenna and Lynna are great.
- Seminars are all once-a-week classes, lasting three-hours. It may seem long, but I personally LOVE this format. It's great for classes that are mostly discussion based. And don't worry - you'll get at least one 5-10 minute break.
- Guests speakers come nearly every week to read to students and staff. These are often famous authors and poets, or young writers whom students can relate to.

If you're interested in creative writing, I suggest you explore the department's website - http://www.creativewriting.emory.edu/. Other majors - go here: http://college.emory.edu/departments/

I'm soooo glad to have found a major that I truly love. Now I just have to figure out what I want to do after college. I've been hard at work applying for summer internships.

Gaaahhh, I can't believe that I'm about to be a SENIOR! College goes by way way waaaay to quickly. Hmm, maybe I'll write a post about this phenomenon soon.