I have no problem admitting that I’m kind of a nerd. So you can judge me all you want when I tell you that in college, I graduated with almost double the required number of 200-level English credits. I like to joke that I double-majored in English and English. Har har har.

I really enjoyed my major in college, which is why I couldn’t not sign up for classes like “Literature Goes to Hell,” a survey of literature prominently featuring the devil; or “Representations of Italians in American Cinema,” a class in which we watched movies like The Godfather, Reservoir Dogs, and Goodfellas, and then analyzed the crap out of them.

Almost every semester, there was some funky English class that I just had to take. So, when I was finally finished with the classes I actually needed, I figured that moving on to grad school would mean I could take even more unique classes, while expanding my resume.

Two years later, I earned a Masters degree, having taken four literature classes. FOUR. And only two of those classes I actually liked. What the hell did I do in grad school? I took “The Art of the Bibliography,” that’s what. And two critical theory classes, and two classes on teaching and pedagogy. If I had any intentions of being a teacher, that would be great. But when I went into grad school, I was under the impression that English is a versatile field– English majors can succeed in almost any field, from journalism to marketing to politics, with our skills–but I soon found myself feeling pigeon holed. Read More »

I love a terrible chick flick as much as the next girl, but sometimes you need a night with the boys to have a quality cinematic experience. Below, I’ve listed some movies my guys have endorsed or introduced me to, and hope you love them as much as we do:

Swingers. “You’re so money, baby, and you don’t even know it!” And it’s so, so true. Guys are just as bad as girls when encouraging their friends to hook up, and you can appreciate the other side of the story, as well as a young Vince Vaughn and Ron Livingston (from Office Space!).

Rounders. Mmmm Matt Damon and Edward Norton. My guy roommates used to play online poker for a ‘living,’ like so many other young men these days, and nothing seemed more awesome than a movie about poker. Also, part of me believes that all men share our love for Matt and Ed.

High Fidelity. Another movie about a guy’s girlfriend breaking up with him, and John Cusack’s adorableness is just another perk. This is one of my absolute favorites and I hope to marry a Rob Gordon-esque character someday.

Grandma’s Boy. I am ashamed to own this/cannot help but think of how I watched this at least a hundred times senior year with my boy roommates. One roommate always fell into hysterics during the Dance Dance Revolution scene, and I can’t watch it without laughing myself to tears thinking about it. Read More »