A&S Spotlight | English Major Started out in Music Ed

Hopkins is a sophomore studying English Literature and Writing, and this week she introduces herself.

I wanted to go somewhere that was out of my hometown (Chillicothe) but not too far away. At the same time, I didn’t want to live on a huge campus, but I needed wherever I went to feel like home. Athens was perfect on all counts.

I made the decision to study English for a few reasons. I started my freshman year as a Music Education major, but after the first semester, I started having some doubts. I wasn’t in love with what I was doing, and I knew that was wrong. Then, I injured my wrist in the spring. Rather than being distraught at the idea of being unable to practice, I was relieved to get away from my clarinet for a while. I had grown to hate music, and I realized that something needed to change. Almost instantly, I realized that music had never been my first love, but reading and writing had, so I went to my adviser the next day and changed my major. While I still have the occasional doubt, more often than not I am faced with the comforting certainty that I am doing exactly what I should be.

What stands out to me isn’t an experience, but a feeling. Several times already this semester, I’ve made a decision or started a new project where I just felt this “click” in my mind, this sensation that I was doing exactly what I needed to be. I felt it when I made the decision to become an English major, when I accepted the job as eNews editor, and most recently when I joined the copy editing staff for The Post. So, I think my favorite experience has been the process of becoming exactly who I need to be here at OHIO.

Time management and organization are the two best skills you can have in any position, ever. If you don’t have a planner, get one immediately, whether electronic or paper. Unless you’re blessed with a steel-trap memory, write everything down in that planner, and prioritize it. Nine times out of 10, it’s OK if you don’t accomplish everything you think you should in a day, but make sure the most important things are the ones getting crossed off of your list on time. Also, don’t be afraid to say “no!” You’ll always have to make time for the less pleasant things in life, like homework, but try to find time for student organizations or activities that you do purely out of your own interest or curiosity. That alone will make your experience here a hundred times more enjoyable. Your time here is shorter than you think—have fun!