Being an English major is a little different than any other major. Talking about homework or the last few weeks of classes with your friends who aren't English majors, you're always told you have it easier than them. Read books? "I'm so jealous I wish I could just read books for a class." Final papers? "You can just make it all up, papers are super easy." No finals though? That's definitely the number one perk.
I didn't know about this little aspect of being an English major until I reached my sophomore year. While everyone is here for almost the entire finals week you are normally done the first day because it's just a common core class or a literature class that you have to take an exam for. Slaving over huge books with small print and computers that have become attached to your fingers from typing too many papers all while ruining our already terrible eyesight is totally worth the one week we are rewarded at the end of the semester. Here's why being an English major is so awesome around this time of year:
1. Pulling all nighters the last two weeks before finals.
You are constantly writing papers for all of your different writing and literature classes. Your eyes are glued to a book or to a computer screen trying to get the paper done before your 9:00 a.m. class. It's all worth it though for that week where you can just sleep all day and all night.
2. Finally finishing all the papers you've been working on.
You're basically done with the semester! All of the staying up the whole night to finish your Shakespeare, American lit, and writing fiction paper is finally over and you can actually get a decent amount of sleep for the first time in weeks.
3. Watching movies the night before finals begin.
Oh, you don't have time to watch movies because you're studying for all those finals? I'm sorry! I'll just be here in bed with my pint of B&J watching everything on Netflix until my one final like you did when I was writing all my papers.
4. Speaking of one final...
One final and it's officially summer! You didn't write three 10-12 page papers for nothing! You did it for this exact moment, the feeling of having to do nothing until your one final!
5. "You seriously only have one final? That's so unfair."
I deserve this. All those papers I wrote definitely equal out to those finals that you are about to take. I mean if you want to try and write all these papers for me next semester and think it's unfair, then, be my guest.
6. Watching your friends go through the different chapters they have to study.
You watch your friends read through the five chapters for their chemistry class or comm course while you're trying to skim through the eight books you've read since midterms.
7. Going home after your one exam.
Goodbye disgusting dining hall! Goodbye tiny dorm room! Goodbye professors who make my life hell! Although you won't miss any of that, you'll miss all of the friends who actually have finals for the rest of the week.
8. Reading a book for fun.
It's finally summer and you can finally read a book that you can pick out yourself and don't have a deadline for when you have to read it by. The best feeling in the world. So kick off your shoes, sit in the sun, and crack open the first book of many.