She grappled between science and English once it came time for college applications. At first the dream was to be a librarian, she had always loved to read and money had never been part of the question, but she was great in science. Everyone told her she should go into a STEM field so she could make some money, because reading doesn’t get you anywhere.
Lillian Vickers reevaluated.
“I kind of just went: ‘I can’t do this,’” Vickers said. “A major based on what I want to do, not something that is just expected of me, is English, because it’s what I love to do.”
Vickers wants to go into fiction editing with a publishing house. After participating in Copy Editing UIL and going to state her junior year, she realized she was talented at catching little mistakes. At times she would catch mistakes that were not even a part of the test in competition.
“It’s what makes me happy,” she said. “This is what I can see myself doing when I graduate from college.”
She has always been an avid reader, and even as a kid she would notice things an author could have done better.
“I was like, ‘wait, people do this for a living?’” Vickers said. “I get to read books before they’re released and tell people why they’re wrong? This is great.”
She plans on starting at Texas A&M San Antonio in the fall. For most of her schooling, Vickers had taken courses or done programs because people told her she should, or was wasting her intellect. She is prepared now to take classes centering her passion.
“Think about what it is you want from life,” she said. “So many people are going to say you should have this job so you can make so much money, or you shouldn’t have that job, even if you enjoy it, because it won’t make money.
Vickers believes there is no point in going through a major you are not passionate about, just to have a “nice” job you’ll end up resenting.
“Do what is going to make you happy,” she said. “Even if it’s not what people expect from you— it’s not their life. If they want you to be a doctor, tell them to go get their PhD.”
