My name is Savanna Williams, and I’m a senior here at IUI, majoring in English (Creative Writing) with a double minor in Film and Communication Studies. I’m over the moon that you’ve chosen this career and have decided that the lively campus of IU-Indianapolis will be your home for the next four years. It’s a pleasure to share this space with you. While I can’t speak to your experience, I hope that the process of telling your closest friends and family what degree you’re pursuing was filled with congratulations. I don’t doubt there’s been the occasional reaction of, “So... like you’re going to be a teacher?” but don’t let that bruise your spirit. While I could go on and on about the tragedy that is the stigmatism around English Majors, I’m choosing not to. You and I are part of a generation that’ll put that “teacher” narrative in the past. Though we are capable of such, we are not limited to it. If you’re feeling a little anxious right now, it’s understandable. Freshman year can feel like stepping into a complete unknown at times.
     When I first took the English major into my heart, I felt like I was a little too late to do so. I was eighteen years old, which, yes, is still so young, but by then, I felt like everyone at my high school had known what they wanted to major in for years. I’d never been great at math, and I certainly did not excel in chemistry, so I felt like I was out of options. My high school thrived in its athletic department, so the arts didn’t get paid much mind until my senior year. The administration added a creative writing class to its list of electives, and this was the first time I ever wrote. Sure, I journaled from time to time and wrote a few papers for other English classes, but here, I wrote. I composed characters that I could envision in my mind. I gave them unique laughs and complicated pasts. I practiced world-building before I even realized I was building one of my own. Spontaneously adding this class to my schedule changed the rest of my life.
     My problem with the English Major never really developed with the social reaction of telling people I was one, but it came from choosing to become one without much background in it. In my college courses, I began to feel the stigma that I should already know what I signed up to learn. I wasn’t masterful in MLA citations, nor could I list five of the best poets of our time on the spot. I often felt alone during these types of moments—the ones where it was painfully obvious I started writing a semester before I began college. So, let me tell you now: never let anyone cast the idea that you need to come prepared. Of course, I do encourage you to do your assignments and your readings (especially if it’s ENG-L354 with Rob Rebein. He offers some amazing reads for class that you do not want to miss), but I also encourage you to remind yourself that you are in school. You are being taught, and you are desperately eager to learn and grow as a writer. Curiosity and a clean palette of the mind are a beautiful combination. Humility is so powerful. Embrace it.
     I think many of my academic achievements center on the fact that I had no idea what I was walking into. For example, during my freshman year, I met with my advisor to confirm my concentration in Creative Writing. She had asked me if I knew about this thing called genesis. I told her that I didn’t, and she gave me a thousand-yard stare. So, I knew right then that I needed to be a part of it, and you should be too. I took W280 with Sarah Layden for the apprenticeship aspect of genesis Literary & Arts Magazine, which is completely IUI student-run. Throughout the course of my college career, I worked my way up to Managing Editor. During my time on the staff, I not only learned endlessly about editing, but I also learned how to better my writing by reviewing the submissions. This blind learning led me to three published poems, one in genesis, and two in Butler University's Manuscripts. It led me to editing and publishing, which I fully intend to pursue as a career post-graduation.
     So, English Major, dare I say practice going into more things with less face and more humility. You don’t need to be the smartest in the room. You just need to be the most curious. Find beauty in being vulnerable and normalize this “unprepared” we talked about earlier. There are so many opportunities that come along with being an English Major at IUI. I know you’ll find the perfect one.
 
Sincerely,
Savanna Williams