19 Truths About Being A Lit Major That All Lit Majors Will Reluctantly Admit To

1. You find yourself daydreaming; sighing things like, “Yes, Isn’t it pretty to think so?” and other obscure quotes from literature all while receiving odd looks from your friends because who would ever catch that Hemingway reference.

2. You sneer at girls who compare themselves to Elizabeth Bennett but let’s be real, that’s only because you think you’re more Lizzy Bennett than they could ever be.

3. You can connect most any conversation back to a book you are reading or have read. “You had a bad day at work? THAT’S CRAZY! So did Lemuel Gulliver.”

4. When someone asks what your hobbies are all you can think to say is, “I like to read…” followed by silence.

5. When that same unfortunate soul asks what you’re currently reading he/she is then treated to a five minute monologue of how explorative and refreshing Beat poetry is.

6. You know how pretentious it sounds when you say, “Oh, I liked the book better than the movie.” But I mean, come on, the book WAS better than the movie.

7. Similarly, you scoff at Game of Thrones fans who watch the show but haven’t read the books and you are quite spiteful at the directors for changing the storyline. Now how are you supposed to rub it in everyone’s face that you know what’s going to happen next?

8. J.R.R. Tolkien is your celebrity crush.

9. You start to read things you know you will hate, but force yourself through them because they’re considered “great literature.” *Cough cough* Jane Eyre.

10. You’ve gone through your favorite authors and characters and have already picked out your children’s names. “Is Emerson a weird name for a girl?”

11. Some people go on 2am Netflix binges? Not you. Try putting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows down before you’ve finished. Hello 5am. So we meet again.

12. You realize that nothing is worse than a misunderstood literary quote used for an Instagram caption. “Oh, you took the road less traveled? Really….because I’m pretty sure that Robert Frost did not mean for that poem to apply to you hiking five miles of the Appalachian Trail with your sorority sisters.”

13. You’re obsessed with the etymology behind words and consider yourself partially fluent in Latin because of it. “Did you know ‘liber’ means ‘free’ in Latin? Yeah, that’s where liberty, liberation, and Liberia comes from.” (Although on second thought, you’re definitely not fluent.)

14. When people talk about a book which you haven’t read your heart starts to palpitate. You make a mental note to read it ASAP because how dare they know about a book before you?

15. You have no qualms staying in on a weekend night if you have a good book to read. “Jay Gatsby and his friends are drunk so I’m basically partying vicariously, right?”

16. You have little to no respect for girls who think that Nicholas Sparks is good literature, but you still read his books…just to reassure yourself you’re right.

17. You wish people still spoke in Middle or Old English because it just sounds so cool. “No, I’m serious. Here, listen to me recite the first 18 lines of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales for you.”

18. You kind of wish college wouldn’t end because there are still so many lit classes you didn’t take. Hello Masters Degree?

19. You have no idea what you’ll do with your literature major but you love it so much you wouldn’t trade it for the world. Not only has it opened your eyes to the universal truths of humanity, it strengthened your appreciation for eloquence, stories, and words–not to mention gave you a killer vocabulary.