So, a long time ago on this blog, I had weekly icebreaker questions. I'm not sure if anyone still reading the blog today will remember those days, but they existed. Because, as you may be aware, Angel and I are fairly well-known for our icebreaker questions. We've both been small group leaders at various times and have had to come up with hundreds of icebreaker questions over the years. Mine tend to be a little more mainstream than Angel's, his tend to be a little more bizarre, but hey, we balance each other out. So, I think I'm going to start this up again, this time on Saturdays, and I'll ask a question to break the ice so that we can all get to know each other a little better. Angel and I will both answer the question, and then you all should answer in the comments. You could even write a blog post with the answer if you so feel inspired to, and leave a link to your post in the comments. Either way, I want to get to know you!
This week's question: What was your major in college, and why?
(Question inspired by Sam's comment on a recent blog post.)
Rachel: Mine was Mandarin Chinese. I was originally going to major in International Business and minor in Mandarin, but I switched after one semester, because I knew I wasn't going to be a typical businesswoman, and I felt very comfortable with the idea of majoring in Mandarin. I love, and have a gift for, learning foreign languages. I studied 1 year of Japanese and 2 years of Spanish in college, and I think my ideal college experience would have consisted solely of language courses. My dream has always been to have a 'career' of some sort in writing, but I didn't want to major in a language I already knew, so I took a few English writing courses on the side. I use both my Mandarin and my Spanish from time to time, though I do need to be more proactive about keeping up with my studying of both languages so that I don't forget them now that I'm not in classes any more.
Angel: I decided early on that nursing would be a stable job that I could rely on, so I went for it. I ended up having to wait an extra year to enter the nursing program at my college, but I knew that if I took a year off of college, I would never go back, so I spent that year getting a minor in Spanish, and then went on to get my BSN. Going back to school for my Master's was a joint decision between me and Rachel--we're doing it largely for financial reasons so that she can stay at home to raise our kids someday, and also because after a few years of bedside care nursing, I think it will be nice to have a less physically demanding job as I get older.
Your turn!
WOW... very intelligual couple. :D got more brains than i do.
I majored in English, writing English. In my college there were three different types of English major. There was the TESOL major, (teaching English as a second language) then the regular English, as in grammar and such (these people usually minored in Education, to teach in the USA public school) then there was a English with a writing focus--as in if you wanted to be a novelist or work in journalism. They had different courses you could take, like for example I took creative writing, and poetry, and the English-grammer people took business writing and portfolio building stuff.
I don't have a job in my major and my best friend who took English-grammer class doesn't either. Useless! At least in today's society.
I have a degree in Early Childhood Education, but am currently working on finishing an Educatuon degree/ licensing for K thru 8. And I totally an on using it. :)
Interesting choice of majors, Rachel! I will be graduating in May (only took me 20 years - woot!) with a BS in Health and Human Performance, Public Health Education. That's a long title. :)
I'm a little jealous of your language skills. I could always write it fairly well and read it even better, but I never seemed to ever master speaking foreign languages. Which is kind of the point of learning them really.
We don't major/minor in the same way here in the UK. You generally pick a course when you apply and that's what you stick with! So I'm a law graduate (LLB after my name!) who then decided to go on and train as a Maths teacher. As you do, haha. Unfortunately I'm only a half-trained Maths teacher at present and I'm in two minds as to whether I'll go back.
P.S. Love this idea!
nicolakirsty.blogspot.co.uk
This is a fun idea!
My major was Elementary Education; emphasis in music. Now I teach early childhood which is a whole different beast :p
So, no lie- About a week ago I put together a post to go live next week that's like this where I ask a question, answer it, and ask my readers to answer in order to get to know them better. I think it's a great idea! :)
I majored in Elementary Education for many reasons. The main one is it's the only thing I could really see myself doing. I'd always enjoyed working with kids and wanted to continue that. I also wanted a job where I could have a positive impact on people's life. Now, I'm not going to lie, the time off is a perk too.
Cute idea! I wish I had majored in something. I was working towards Nursing but once my husband and I got married I started working full time so he could get through school! Maybe someday I'll be able to go back and get it done.
xoxo Jamie
I majored in Political Science because for as long as I could remember I wanted to be a lawyer, but after all said and done I graduated with a BA in Political Science with minors in Spanish, general Art, and an Art History. I knew during college that I wanted to work with college students, so I went on to get my MAHED - Masters in Higher Education with an emphasis in student affairs and working on a doctorate in Higher Education right now.
Lissa
Your future kids hit the jackpot with two such intelligent people for parents!
I majored in English with a religious studies minor. Really, at first, I wanted to major in philosophy. (They didn't offer it at the school I went to.) I wanted to be an editor. After I got out of school, I couldn't get a job as an editor and then I decided I didn't like to sit in an office for long periods of time anyway. But now, I want to be an editor again.
I majored in communication and jewish studies. then I got a master's degree in social work.
I think that is awesome and totally unexpected:) I didn't major in anything...rather didn't finish. Instead I pursued motherhood and then my passion for photography. I now own my business and am my own boss. Perfect. While I loved college, I think life is short and finding direction in the form of dreams is what creates the most longevity and happiness:) So try a whole bunch of things...see what you love!
How neat is that! You most definitely need to do what you love forever and if you love your major that's the first step. How cool!
I like these ice breaker questions! I love your shirt in that bottom picture. I majored in Anthropology because I'm fascinated by people and why they do the things they do and how their social standing impacts their life(I minored in sociology and history) I focused in Archaeology, but quickly realized when i got engaged I wouldn't do archaeology. I really liked my background while being in Cambodia and living with the locals.
This is such a great idea! I started college wanting to be a nurse. I even did a semester in nursing school and loved it. I transferred to a school in North Carolina after my first semester and just felt that even though I loved nursing and was good at it, it wasn't the right fit for me. I thought about pursuing a career in Nutrition, and then one of my professors for my required writing classes approached me after class one day. He said I had a gift for writing and should consider switching my major to English. I thought he was crazy, but after months of thinking and praying about it, I went for it. I still say it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. I minored in French, and I agree that I would've loved to take only foreign language classes. I studied a little Spanish and Latin too and loved them. I wanted to take German, but I never had a chance. If I could do it again, I would still major in English but maybe tack on another foreign language minor.
And now I miss college.
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