Playing the Pundit

Hi everyone, my name's Torrie and I live in an apartment that smells like somebody else's cats. I like cooking, rock climbing, and watching The Biggest Loser with my husband, and I firmly believe that a gooey chocolate-drizzled cookie has the power to bring peace to the world (or at least world peace to me). I also believe in faking it til you make it, shaking it 'til you break it, and baking it 'til you cake it. Actually I just like playing with words late at night when I should be in bed but somehow find myself still doing homework. As if the dorky wordplay wasn't enough of a clue, I am hoping (expecting, really) to graduate next spring with my degree in English Education and my minor in Psychology.

I wish I could say I wasn't always so nerdy, but it just wouldn't be true. I would venture to say, however, that I am now slightly less nerdy than when I started college--after all, when I started at this blessed university over five years ago (heaven help me), I was a math major. I soon repented though, after a grueling differential equations class taught by a barely-understandable foreign professor. The only reason I hadn't just done English and Psychology in the first place was because of a guidance counselor back in high school who, when I expressed my desire to teach language arts to high schoolers, told me that "English teachers are a dime a dozen" and that I'd never find anybody willing to hire me. But, after suffering through three levels of calculus and a completely redundant stats course, I decided, "Screw the counselor's opinion. I'm gonna do what I wanna do." And thus it went.

On a more serious note, I really do believe that my switch to the English track was one of the most inspired choices of my life. You know how sometimes you just follow your gut feeling, even though everything around you tells you that your choice is nonsensical, impractical,  or, in my case, "completely useless?" I mean, I'm sure most would-be teachers get some sort of flack for having such low-paying dreams, but I think English teachers might possibly have it the worst. After all, people argue, what on earth can you do with an English degree? (People who think this obviously have no idea how rare it is to find a person who can write effectively without grammar check, but I digress). I guess the point I'm trying to make is that I went all-in for a subject I feel truly passionate about, and I've never regretted it. Even though I'm currently in Level 2 of the STEP, my real dream is not to teach high schoolers--my real dream is to get a PhD in creative writing (the true queen of all "useless degrees") and teach college-level creative writing courses. My real dream is to become a real writer.

And I will.

Useless or not.