Persona, noun. "The way you behave, talk, etc., with other people that causes them to see you as a particular kind of person; the image or personality that a person presents to other people." -Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Every individual is unique, but not alone. Humans love sorting items into categories, including themselves. While each person falls into an infinite number of categories, certain groups create a greater intrigue than other groups. Schools seem to have a higher tendency to show these different groups. In high school, these groups are cliques formed by interests and clubs. In college, these groups are personas created by majors. All majors have their stereotypes that students may or may not fit into. English majors are no exception; they are quirky, opinionated, argumentative, passionate, readers, outsiders, and more.

People who are drawn to English, as perceived by others, have an eccentric side and a quirky side. English majors have a tendency to get easily excited and passionate. They love and thrive on intellectual debates and arguments and on making their strong opinions clear. They are bound to debate over anything, just for the sake of arguing. During debates or in regular conversation, English majors love to reiterate and reinforce their points, which make it seem like they talk in circles. But one has to be careful when arguing with an English major for their tongues are sharpened with wit.

English majors are often reserved outsiders who love to people-watch. Because these people are outsiders, they are extremely observant. Their observations typically cause them to critically analyze everything, perhaps a result of their grammar-strict minds. While they analyze the world around them, English majors are not always aware that they are doing so.

These individuals are often avid readers. English majors are dreamers, exploring worlds beyond theirs. They read to escape the world and live a thousand different lives. Their love for books broadens their vocabulary to include ginormous words they drop in your average conversation. Constantly reading books and living vicariously through the characters, English majors are typically empathetic.

However, they are also extremely self-critical; they are their own worst critic. Perhaps because of their self-criticism, these individuals feel a compulsive need to explain themselves. They love understanding how ideas and theories fit together and want to share that understanding with others. Even when they do not need to, English majors will describe in detail how they came to their conclusion, explaining the process step by step.

Every individual is drawn to certain characteristics, habits, actions, preference of speech. College majors typically make these personas stand out. Students chose their major based upon their interests, creating groups of people with similar interests taking the same classes with similar passions. Those students drawn to English are typically debaters, readers, self-critical, dreamers, outsiders, observers, and witty talkers.

Check back next week to discover which college major will be personified!