Acorn

Issue date: 2/15/08 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Jen Richter

I admit it, I lead a double life.

Yes, I'm a double major in English and Theatre Arts. Yes, I know that's crazy. Yes, I know you think I'll never get a job. And yes, I beg to differ.

At least I was finally able to narrow it down to two subjects. When I was little, I wanted to be a writer-paleontologist-music teacher who worked with dolphins and had five Academy Awards for Best Actress to her name. Despite the fact that I'm still interested in way too many things, by the time I got to college I was able to narrow it down-I love literature, I'm obsessed with theater and movies and I'm a writer at heart.

To major or to double major, that was the real question. At first, I limited myself to thinking one-dimensionally-one major, one minor. But I couldn't do it. Freshman year, I would walk out of Literary Analysis saying I would major in English, only to walk into Intro to Acting and Directing babbling about my future in theater.

One day, as I was sitting backstage of Drew's production of "Urinetown" reading some medieval literature, it hit me-if you love both equally, study them equally.Then I picked up a form from the registrar's office and, as many would argue, I signed my life away.

I know each student at Drew will be the first to tell you that his or her major is the toughest, so I won't even go there, suffice to say that I do get a lot of shocked expressions when I mention what my double major actually is-"You're majoring in both of those?" English and Theatre Arts are both considered tough because of their intense workload-lots of writing, reading, rehearsing, drawing and, um, building things. Yes, they are intense, but so am I, so it's a match made in heaven.

It hasn't always been simple. I've had quite a few 20-credit semesters-sometimes because everything I need is offered only once every two years, many other times because I just get really excited about all the classes being offered and I can't help myself. Either way, my schedule can be intense at times, though my classes-with the exception of only two classes so far-are a blessing in that they never start before 10:25 a.m. It's a good thing, since I don't really start before 10:25 a.m. either.

One of those two classes that actually did start before 10:25 p.m. was RYEO-it has a much longer academic name, but the professors decided to nickname it Read Your Eyes Out for short. That's adorable, until you start to seriously think about what that entails, and you begin to recognize the black humor in that cutesy little name.

Continued...

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