I actually dropped out of college. It was the most toxic environment for me. I was in the hospital like twice a semester because I was just constantly sick, I was so afraid of approaching teachers because they were so up their own ass, the social justice environment felt almost controlling, its the reason I was diagnosed with severe generalized anxiety and I literally had a mental breakdown in my last semester. I felt completely suffocated and stuck and I got so depressed that I just kept skipping because I just couldn't be bothered. It's hard trying to make your parents understand that. No matter how many times I say it's never gonna happen, my dad is still pressuring me to go to uni. Right now I'm working to save up money to take a dog grooming course, and once I get good at it I'd like to take a do training course and eventually work in shelters and rescues. I wish we lived in a society where people didn't look down their nose at you if you tell them you dropped out. There are so many options out there, but all anyone sees is uni. So I admire people who continue their schooling, I could just never do it because it Fucking destroyed me.
This view of getting degree being the only way to succeed in life is sad and is taught to children at such a young age. When I was student teaching, I explained to a group of first graders that I was going to college so that I could be an elementary school teacher. One little girl said that she didn't want to go to any more school and, before I could say anything, another little girl says "Well, you have to go to college if you want to be smart." School just isn't for some people. There's no shame in that.
I know so many people who got below average grades who are among the most intelligent people I know and I feel dumb around them even with my straight A’s. College and school is not for everyone and most people probably don’t really enjoy the process, they just love learning in general not exactly the format. Find something that actually gives you meaning. Sorry that you had to experience such a horrible time, I have friends with similar stories. Life’s just too short to not live it the way you want to.
Tara Taillon I've been through that..some teachers can seriously ruin your perspective of education while some can bring up the light. But hey life is so much more than education...what and where you find happiness is the ultimate meaning of life.
I really like these kinds of videos. Especially since all the topics you choose are always SO interesting and I just love listening to you talk about all the things you are passionate about! I'm going to university in a year so learning things about masters is really cool! I'm also struggling to know what I really want to work as, since I've always wanted to be a writer, but I don't know what to study. I'm thinking about journalism, but I don't know if I will find a good job as a journalist (at least where I live it's hard). If you could do videos about finding your path and your experience, it would be a m a z i n g.
Most universities don't require that you state your major right away, and actually encourage that you state your major in your 3rd year! I just started university in September and am sort of just taking courses that I'm interested in to help me decide where I want to go. Don't worry right now about what exactly you want to study. Take multiple different kinds of english or arts/humanities courses and see what you enjoy!
The idea of you making free educational videos excite me. I have always wanted to do further education courses espically in English, but never been able to afford it. So chatty educational videos sound great!
Ariel, you could talk about dirt and I'd watch it. The way you speak and present your ideas is such a pleasure to me. I feel smarter just listening to you, and inspired to DO THINGS that I love.
i'm in my senior year of university and i'm sad real real sad. I feel like I've learned things but have not grasped any of my subjects very well because i'm always moving from one class to another, one assignment to the next assignment to the next essay and readings. My brain is very disorganized and I just feel mad at myself for taking out loans for university and my dad keeps asking do I wanna get a Master's and i'm like no idk after 4 years idk what even really interests me. I don't even like my major. i need a mental break.
i'm so glad i watched this video & i'd be so excited to hear more! i'm applying to grad school rn (hecka nervous) and it's so nice to hear someone talk about what it's actually like to be a student on this course :)
I really agree with you, I don’t like the idea that education is only for certain people, in addition to the cost of studying, some people don’t complete their education thinking that they are not smart enough, but learning is not a race and no one lose in it because it is a growth and growing is not always mean getting A in every subject.
I'm one semester away from finishing my undergrad and I understand your pain! Learning is such a great experience; however, the way university is structured, you can burn out really fast. We're all out here rooting for you!!
I love this kind of video! Like you said perfect for doing other stuff to. I'm an architecture student so listen to a lot of stuff when drawing and have been working my through your podcast recently!
I love hearing you talk, Ariel! Any video you do is great! You're so engaging and your passion really shows through everything you say and create! Do more of these please! It's great to get to know you more through these sit down, free flowing videos!
Loving this chatty video! Your idea to share the interesting topics that pop up in your university classes is wonderful. It gives me class discussion vibes which is my favorite part of an English course. Can't wait to see what types of videos are on the horizon!
Definitely enjoyed this video. Partly that's because I did a one-year humanities MA myself a number of years ago, also with no intention of going on to become an academic, so it was interesting to hear about your experience of that. But I also enjoyed it because it was great hearing your perspective as someone new to academia -- my partner, one of my sisters, and lots of other people I know are academics, so I hear lots of that older, experienced, and somewhat jaded perspective, and I really appreciated seeing it all through fresh eyes, as it were, and with fresh enthusiasm. :) (The one kind of downer note that I would add is that while your peers may all *think* that they are going to go on to do PhDs and become faculty, probably most of them aren't...it's actually really unfair that graduate schools are almost universally not honest about how hard it is, even once you've finished your PhD, to get a tenure-track faculty position, especially in the humanities and social sciences. So many people end up disillusioned and leaving the academy entirely or stuck doing incredibly underpaid precarious academic labour for years and years. I don't have any links off hand, but there is good critical writing out there that's a bit more honest than most grad programs are about how brutal the academic job market can be.)
I just finished my masters as well and I can understand how you feel (there were four people in my program), there is a feeling of exclusivity to graduate school. But I think that needs to be the be all, end all if that's not what you want. The education is what you make of it. If you are interested in a channel that does what you are talking about doing with your channel, check out The Art Assignment, Sarah Green (John Green's wife) does with art what you want to do with literature. She does great videos about art theory and specific artists (along with fun videos and answering questions about art) that are educational and fun. She gives concise information about what you would learn in art history classes. It might be a good framework for the type of channel that you want to create.
Ok. Dude. 1) I love this kind of video so pleeeease keep making them even after you're done being so busy. 2) I feel like I REALLY connected with you over the whole elitism and limitations within academia in English literature studies. I am literally thinking about that all the time as a senior undergrad. I agree with you 100% about how it just sucks that all this knowledge and stimulation has to stay confined to such a small little pool of people who happened to have the incentive and ability to attend University in the first place. Personally I don't want to teach either (though I am interested in doing my masters eventually and teaching then) but I do want to use the skills I've learned within community outreach, be it working with a library or non-profit. To me that is where the real value lies in appreciating literature, as much as I love academia too. What about the kids and teens who might love reading and writing if they just had someone to guide and encourage them? ... I'm really excited because I'm taking an upper-division seminar this winter quarter all about this topic. Also I think I might just start making videos to get more involved in the community in what way I can. Anyway, thanks for making this video and talking about this topic. I wish you all the best of luck with your masters and especially going forward into the great wide wonder!
I'm just shy of getting my BA, so no masters for me anytime soon (if ever), but I just gotta say that I'm LOVING university so much?? Like yes it can be very stressful at times, but I find that with each year it gets better and better for me. Like I'm finally feeling as if I know what I'm doing and am actually contributing rather than just listening? Gah, it's been great. Just had to say that, because it really does get better (I dropped out of uni during my first semester and took a gap year, so if someone out there is feeling troubled just know that there's no shame in retrying
Do not worry, Ariel! Any kind of video regarding studies and education, as well as casual chatting, are totally appreciated from my side! You're style of expressing thoughts and explaining things is so awesome and I can follow you so well. (:
I love chatty videos.. nothing like seeing a 20+ minute video from a favorite channel! So great to have on in the background when making meals or cleaning.
Whatever you put out we will watch and love. We’ll always be here, don’t worry or put yourself under stress! You inspire me so much. I a, having to take a break from my channel due to health struggles at the moment, but seeing the quality of your content just makes me want to get back in front of the camera! I love books and talk about my palliative illness. Take all the time in the world Hun, take a break - you work hard and really deserve one xx
I really like this video. I can't imagine the stresses on you but I really love your viewpoint of sharing your information with everyone! Like a few of the people here in the comments, I dropped out of college after about 5 years there. (changed my major about a year or two in) My mental health and physical health was deteriorating. I was getting sick, not eating well, sleeping long hours and staying up stupidly late, and my anxiety was in overdrive mode. If I was going to be late for a class my anxiety would make me just turn around and go back to my room to avoid having to walk in and have everyone stare at me. If there was a project coming up that required group work I would skip that class to avoid having to partner up/talk to others. My grades started slipping and I finally just broke down and told my parents I could not continue. They were fairly cool about it and I haven't even thought about going back since then.
When I was doing my last year of undergrad (computer-sciency stuff, not English, ahah), I was approached a couple times by professors asking me if I'd be interested in continuing to do a masters in research. I've always been a great student (finished second in my program), and I've always liked school, but I knew it wasn't for me. Every time they asked, it was always an instant "no" from me. I'm getting my bachelor, and then finding a job, thank you very much! And now, almost 6 years later, I don't regret it a single bit.
I completely agree. I study Comparative Literature at a Danish university - currently working on my bachelor project about graphic novels that I have to turn in on December 20 - and I love my education, but I hate how isolated it feels sometimes. I have tons of really smart classmates who know their stuff, but in many ways they don't know how to "teach" it without using the complicated terms. My problem is that in addition to Comparative Literature at university, I took a two-year business academy education in web design, communication and marketing which has screwed up my entire view on academia for one simple reason: from the first day there I was told that if I can't explain something to someone who is not in my field, if I can't simplify it for people who do not know all the academic terms, then I haven't truly learned it, I am just a parrot. And this was a philosophy we worked with for those entire two years so yeah, that stuck with me. Then I started to go to university and oh boy, is that kind of philosophy frowned upon here because in most cases if you do not constantly use the academic terms, you are considered a bad student, which is just profoundly untrue. I prefer to write in the most precise and simple way as possible and I will use academic terms if they are needed, if they are redundant I won't. It all coincides with that ivory tower stuff you were talking about: it is a way to keep academic knowledge for the elites instead of sharing it with the ones who could be interested in it and I hate that kind of arrogance. And I even go to university in a country where you don't pay tuition at most higher education institutions AND you get a monthly stipend from the government as a form of salary for taking an education, because despite university being "free" it still feels like this closed institution, this exclusive club. KNOWLEDGE SHOULD BE SHARED GODDAMMIT, NOT KEPT LOCKED UP! ... sorry, got a little carried away, I'm just tired of the complete and utter snobbery of academia. To a lot of my educators, comics and graphic novels are not considered literature and last year a woman in the class above mine almost had one of her exams fail, not because it was bad, but because the external examiner did not consider it literary BECAUSE SHE HAD WRITTEN ABOUT MANGA! UGH! I'm glad that my counsellor for my bachelor project was completely fine and even excited with my project which is about depictions of trauma in the graphic novels FUN HOME, MAUS and PERSEPOLIS along with a discussion about graphic novels as an expressive form.
Dear Ariel, Your idea about sharing what you learn and know as an English literature is amazing. It's something I keep looking for. I've studied Business and IT myself, but as reading is a passion of mine I was always intrigued by the Liberal Arts programs. Never enough to consider studying it in university and that somehow leaves a bitter aftertaste. I have a lot of friends who got their degrees in Liberal Arts and it always astounded and upset me how with each year/degree they get more and more disdainful towards any reader without the degree. Any thought or idea shared is always scoffed at with the air of "I've spent N years studying this subject, what could you possible have to say that it interesting or new". And for some reason they never wanted to or agreed to share the knowledge. I quite aware that when I read a certain book I might miss or not know of a certain historic reference or pick up a theme or tone of a book. It is hard for me - and why wouldn't it be? I never studied these principles or developed certain skills. Anyway, what you are saying is like balm to my heart! I'd love to watch more of your "rambling" videos on any literature and life related topics.
I am loving this video ! I feel like we get to know you better with all your rambles and coughs and just generally the whole essence of you being you without editing or planning is really nice. I enjoyed it a lot and i hope you keep making these !
I really appreciate those long chatty videos! I find them so interesting, not because I have much to do with literature or making youtube videos etc, but because I see someone taking their future in their own hands and creating their own path. I am just finishing my architecture degree and also doing freelance illustration on the side. The education you are getting is just the base and gives you the perspective of what you can do in the future and the main skills you need to start actually doing stuff. Afterwards it's mostly learning by doing. I have thought many times if going to university was the right decision for me, but right now I am really happy that I did it, because it gave me so many ideas about what I want to do and what I don't want to do and met me with so many like minded people and I think that's the main point of it. I am also grateful that most universities in Europe are so cheap and flexible that most of the people don't hesitate changing their studies or taking a year off. There is no right or wrong way of doing things and that's the best part because at the end you become this person with a unique experience and unique set of skills to give to the world. I wish you good luck, Ariel, you are doing great!
Ariel, you are so inspiring. Out of all the content creators I follow, I'm most excited to follow your career and see what grand ideas you come up with! I just finished my undergrad in digital humanities and now I'm just waffling around, trying to figure out what to do next. I share your views of academia and your desire to create awesome projects! I love this style of rambling videos. You're awesome. Thanks for being so genuine :)
Hi Ariel! I really liked this chat. Well done you for balancing your Masters and keeping up with your youtube! I also completed a one year Masters (history) in England (I'm Canadian), and I agree it was very fast-tracked! I am still on the fence about whether to continue into academia-- it always sounds appealing when I'm not currently in school lol. I definitely see your points about allowing others to gain the information you are lucky enough to be learning. Wishing you luck with finishing your semester!
I’m a university drop out and feel constantly disappointed in myself and regret it a lot. You are so right that school is not the only way to a happy life. It made me miserable and was affecting my health (it didn’t help that I didn’t choose a subject I loved, I tried to choose something I thought would lead to employment *snort*). It actually warms my heart to hear someone as academically accomplished and intelligent as you saying that you want to share your knowledge with a wider audience. Imagine if knowledge, ideas and discussions were freely available to people who can’t afford/access/aren’t built for higher education. To break down that wall will help people build upon their passions and gain confidence in their intelligence. Keep doing what you’re doing! Xx
Hi Ariel :) I just found your channel in the past couple of days, and I already feel so connected to you and the community you've built. I'm currently a senior in English undergrad, but I'm actually taking a 5th year to delay "real life." It's incredibly refreshing to hear you be excited about your career instead of terrified, which is how I feel constantly. It seems like STEM grads have a monopoly on the job market and contentment sometimes. I'm so glad I found you. I feel more inspired than I have in years, and I can't wait to see where your channel goes!
I love this type of video! I always feel like you get to know the person a bit more with the rambly videos! I love when people who talk about a certain topic, like booktube, talk about topics or throw in videos that don’t necessarily have anything to do with their channel!
I'd like to express all my admiration for your work and authenticity! Thank you a lot for such kindness and for sharing your love for books and Education! Here in Brazil I've been connecting with people like you to find some solutions. You're a inspiration to us! ❤️
I find these kinds of videos very interesting, especially when the person is passionate about the subject. I just like finding out stuff I might've never heard of or known about. Please make more of this !
I LOVED this video. Because of many reasons, I will never go to college, but I've always been interested in learning and how it is for people who do get to go. It was so nice to have this while I did Thanksgiving cleanup; you have such a vibrant and personable voice and are a joy to listen to 💜 Thank you for sharing with us.
This is why i love your channel Ariel! You’re so unique from other Booktubers in that your videos aren’t just surface level discussions on literature. You dive deep and provide thought provoking content for your viewership! I’ve been wanting to get my masters in English literature as well and this video has been super informative!
As someone who is terrified about making decisions about my own future education, I LOVE hearing about your journey. I would also love to hear about juggling life along with reading, because its something I have been struggling with as well, so I hope you make more of these. Good luck with it all!
I love these kinds of videos and appreciate this as someone who is a student of English, creative writing, and education (I’m going to be a middle or high school English teacher). I spend a lot of time thinking about issues you address, as I also have wanted to make educational videos for a long time but have been swamped with schoolwork and other projects. Also, I’m amazed at how many masters and PhD students teach classes right off the bat because I’m going through so much experience and theory and psychology for 4 years to be a teacher! Granted, more creative lesson ideas and new might work better at the younger and the compulsory school level when you have your own classroom. I’ve been concerned about grading essays too, because grades can be so subjective, so I’m hoping to shift the culture of my classroom to more focus on improvement and learning rather than numbers.
I understand your position in regards to the whole academia bureaucracy and the whole "publish or perish" culture and (at least in my country) the poor access to public universities and very little pocket the government has for those institutions. Your point on the access to knowledge being restricted to university, when videos that can reach people without the financial means to study "officially" can be revolutionary, is also something that I agree with and bothers me a lot - especially now with the loss of net neutrality. We're a generation that has seen some of the best humanity can give, and we're entering a new dark political climate and things are getting scary. We need access to knowledge for all, we need to break this system and we need equity and a sense of community. I studied Biology and it was only after I was reaching the end of my journey as an undergraduate that I realised what being a biologist would mean. Depending on scholarships and working under so much pressure and being basically at the mercy of my tenure peers is definitely not for me. Those tenure, older colleagues are part of the ones who are interested in keeping the university circles to elites, because they'll have less competition; and rich people who have the pocket to finance scientific investigation lead the way "new findings" follow; and the portion of people aware of how social and political even STEM sciences are is way too small. Those with power want us ignorant, and I'm frustrated because I don't have a solution for this, for this whole world where you're played with and read as "dumb" just because you didn't have money to have a further level of education. Sorry for the rant Ariel, but this video really touched my heart and unleashed all these disjointed thoughts.
I love these kind of videos!!!!!! I am currently an undergrad English Major and I do plan to attain a masters and a PhD in English as well. I think it is incredible that you want to share all the knowledge you learn in your classes at university, and I highly support and recommend that you do. Like you were saying about feminist critics, I would LOVE to watch another 25 minute video about it. I personally do not plan on becoming an English professor at the moment, but the reason I want to continue with my schooling is because of how much I love school. Personally, I am the most happiest when I am sitting in a class learning things everyday that I never knew. So, YEEESSSSSSSSS, I would totally love more videos like this!
I’m a Canadian who did my undergrad at Ottawa and went abroad to Holland to do a one year masters and it’s so interesting to hear about the different environment and expectations between the two types of programs despite the fact they are the same kind of thing.
I loved this chatty style of video! I’m currently a first year English undergraduate, and I know very few people who went to university, so it is great to hear and learn from your experiences. Thanks Ariel! xx
Yes Girl, we do want more of this kind of videos. God, I'm so in awe of your how articulate you are. It's interesting how different education looks around the world. I'm also finishing my master's this year, and in my country (Poland) this focus on becoming a uni professor starts on PhD. But we have a bigger dissertation to write (I think; it has too be more than 144 000 words and include scientific research). I'm not saying it's better or worse, but since we want people to be able to go and study around the world, the same standards should be put in place. Sometimes I wish I could go to US/Canadian uni, because of the reading thing students do. My studies are (to simplify) librarianship and information management. We did courses about theater and drama and reading... And you can do 5 years of studying without reading one book. Only one professor made us read articles and then talk about it. I wish I could do more, because it could make me be better and analyzing books and texts just for myself. Now that I'm in 5th year, all we do in practical, editing photos and scanning things and being able to manage digital objects. It's cool, but I wish for more reading. Anyway, I hope you'll go through this. Can't wait for more videos, especially education-based.
I was actually just talking about this with my other English major friends about the language barrier that knowledge has and the words that we know that separate us from the people who don't know. It's all very troubling to me as well. Sidenote: I taught my first two lessons over Animal Farm and you were in the back of my mind the whole time. I loved this video!!!
i love the idea of casual/informal educational videos. i think its great that you want to make ~specialised~ knowledge that's reserved (usually) for those who can afford to go to uni more accessible for the general public! learning should be made fun, simple and within reach for people that way
i really liked this video. i'm an architecture student, so hearing what someone needs to do for your degree/masters is always fascinating. also, i don't live in canada, so the differences between the educational systems are interesting to learn about. this video was kinda refreshing, since it was different from all the other book-centric videos that almost all booktubers make. i of course like all of those types of videos as well, but this is something different and cool. i hope you make more of these :)
LOVE THE CHATTING VIDEO! I’ve been waiting for you to do this all year!! Just talk about anything. Your voice and ideas are so positive, hilarious and informative. I can’t wait to buy whatever you publish!
It's so refreshing to hear someone say that while they love the learning and discussing ideas aspect of university, they despise how elitist and intimidating the system is, because I feel exactly the same way. I find these rambly videos really interesting and thought-provoking so I'll definitely be watching if you decide to do more videos like this.
i love these types of videos!! they're so much fun to just put on whenever i'm doing something that doesn't involve much thought, because of the way that it sounds like a podcast. i think the idea to do more educational ones would be great! as someone who is not yet in university (or even high school, to be completely honest), i find myself doing a lot of research over concepts that i've already grasped. being able to listen to someone that has learned whatever subject it is would be an absolutely fantastic idea. thank you so much ariel!
I would love to learn about literature but I would never do university degree on it. Just the thought of subjective grading and esays gives me shivers. Until I had a history class in uni, I didin't even know that I was studying science. So the best thing about learning from youtube is that it doesn't give you a grade on what you cramed overnight and you get to just learn from interesting people who you really like.
How weird that only so many people do a master's degree at your University! In Belgium it's standard and I would almost say expected to do one. (PhD is another story of course)
Nina Same in Germany, it was so strange for me to find out that doing a master’s isn’t as common in other places. To be fair though, we don’t have tuition fees here so I guess that that also plays a big role in why so many people do a master’s
FredeReads Yeah, and in America the tuition for for grad school is usually more expensive than it is to get a standard graduates in university. The lowest tuition to get a master's I've seen in my area is $25k a semester, and that's cheap. So it's just not worth it when most companies will hire a graduate degree.
Alexei Richards my masters cost $40,000 (for two years)....my bachelors was $40,000 (four years)! Not to mention all the interest. It's fine lol everything's fine.
Lindsay Puckett Wow that’s honestly insane. Here you only pay for administrative stuff so depending on where you are a two-year master’s could be as low as 400€ and wouldn’t really get more expensive than 2000€ in total so that probably really is the reason why we’ve got such a different mentality when it comes to postgraduate degrees.
It's super expensive, a lot of people wait or get jobs that will pay for it. I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do. as I've seen, the typical price is $20k a year.
I absolutely loved this style of video! I'm currently in the first year of my undergrad degree so it was fascinating to hear you talk about how your masters is even more of a step up - it sounds like a loooooot of work! It will be fab to have more sit-down chatty videos like these and also to hear how your course is going :)
I really liked this type of video! You always think about things so deeply and I really appreciate that. I'm in my third year of my undergrad, so it's really nice to get some insight about Masters programs and what it's like to already have a degree under your belt!
I love this kind of video! I hope you keep doing them when you have time. Your comment about learning more in one semester of Masters than you did in an entire Undergrad really resonated with me. I felt the exact same way when I did my Masters, although I did mine in a completely different subject (music performance!) The learning curve is so steep. I hope you have a restful winter break!
I'm also currently a literature MA student! Although I'm in my second year out of a two-year program, I know you must feel very overwhelmed in a one-year program. Even now, juggling teaching as well on assistantship, I do feel a bit overstimulated for also working on my thesis, and I share the bewilderment of my small class sizes. But largely, I'm so glad I'm in my program. I feel very liberated to feel I'm contributing in some form to all of the ideas I've had about books, and just talking about books in general. But I share your feelings with academia, for me its a matter of not feeling too motivated to land publications, but instead spill my enthusiasm to my classmates and professors. No matter what you do with your degree, I wish you luck! Also p.s. I also binge watch Mercy's videos like this haha and look forward to doing the same with yours!
I LOVED this video!! I know you like making concise and short videos, and I enjoy every single one of them, but you talking for almost half an hour? Perfect. Thank you so much for uploading this, I can't wait to watch whatever you will come up with next :)
KEEP DOING YOUR THING. I'm a MA student as well (in Denmark) and I relate so much to this. But not a lot of people talk about it. People are in such awe of academia....
Currently applying to English graduate programs (straight to PhD from my BA because we can do that in the US), so hearing you talk about your experience in your masters program is super interesting to me. I loved this video, so please make more!
Steve Donoghue was chatting about one of your videos and said that you're the queen of BookTube, Ariel. 😊I think that's quite true, because the topics you choose to talk about are always so insightful and balanced. I love this video for that reason. All the best with the rest of your masters!
Omg Ariel!! You are so dedicated, so smart, and so likeable! I am so glad you are reaching for the stars! And the fact you want to share this info with us is so kind and caring!! I love your Channel and you overall.
I’m a junior at university and I’ve been looking at master programs lately because I do love learning and I feel it should be the next step after I get my bachelors. This type of video is so so helpful because I don’t actually know what to expect if I do decide to peruse a masters and if it really is what I want to do or not. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom!😄
I love these types of videos! I just reorganised my bookshelf while listening to you chat away. I love the idea of education videos that inform on topics that are interesting even if you aren’t necessarily interested in that topic, eg I love sci show for all the little informative tidbits and learning without feeling obligated to, it’s more fun than anything else!
Hey, Ariel, I've really enjoyed watching this video. It made me reminisce about college, even though I've had a slightly different experience. I'm from Romania, and I did a 2-year masters in American Cultural Studies. What's interesting to me is that here, we have more classes (even though it's a masters), but less things to read. So I had about 5 classes each semester, but we only had to read like say 10 pages for each class every week, which was bearable. I was also working a full time job at the time, and it was quite hard to manage it all, especially during the exam season. Still, I absolutely loved the classes (we studied things like Graphic Novels, Imagology, Adaptation, Jewish-American Identity, and so on), and I also loved the academic setting (unlike what you were saying in the video). This got me thinking about a PhD, but I couldn't find a professor to really get what I want to do (I wanted to continue my masters thesis idea, which was mental illness in contemporary television shows), so I took a year off, and I'm currently working. Still, I kind of miss university, and your video definitely made me nostalgic. Sorry for the insanely long comment, I just find it fascinating how different the educational system is here from what you're experiencing. Anywaaaay, I really enjoy the chatty videos, keep 'em coming. Love you! 🌟
Finally!! You are saying a lot of interesting stuff here, finally, I see a booktuber going to a bigger scale, you've got it, Ariel, you keep going that way!!!! It's important that people get to know what it's only available in the academical space of university, just because they don't have the economical sources.
I really like this type of video! (I like podcasts and stuff so this type of format is perfect for me) Also I agree with making learning more accessible and free! Not just for people with the privilege to go to uni. Thank you for being a person! Xxx
I'm starting an English MA in January and am really excited about. I graduated in May with a BA in Journalism so it'll be a bit of a change, but not too drastic. I love hearing you talk about this stuff. Looking forward to future videos.
Hi Ariel! I love this video so much. I graduated recently and I'm planning to take my masters in a year or so and ohmygod you just put into words the feelings I've always had when I was learning so much interesting stuff during my undergrad years!! When I was taking my minoring classes in philippine literature, I was always blown away by the interesting ideas and discussions that we had in class and I really wanted to share that to other people, but back then I could never really point out why I was frustrated with the stuff we discussed in class. This video helped me remember what it was that I liked so much about classes and learning, and it really helped me realize what I was frustrated about. :) I'm also planning to teach soon and your insights and feelings on your job gave me a better understanding of what it's like to teach and deal with students and the workload :) (I'm not a big fan of public speaking but I've always found it fulfilling to be able to share to others what I know and see them grow). Ahh good luck with your classes and workload~ :)
I got my MBA in 2015 and it was tough. I was working FT at the time. I was so drained at the time. My parents thought I was on drugs because I looked tired all the time. But, I'm glad I did it and that it's over. So I would say just push through- you won't regret it.
I absolutely love these kinds of videos, you always have something interesting and thought provoking to share and long videos are so wonderful because they allow you to speak so much more in depth!
I love this style of video! I'd love it if you kept doing them :) Also I applaud you for doing so much work & reading, I'm in my first year of my undergrad degree (english) and I thought I had a lot to do... nope
1) You’re literally the only person I would see a video this long of. And I loved it, of course. 2) Competitive reading? Hell yeah! 3) I have the same struggle than you and I’m amazed because sometimes I feel like the only one or the weirdo that thinks about that kind of stuff. In fact, I’ve been asking my professors about how the knowledge we get is shared or not with society and they didn’t even see the question coming...so I was like “wait, isn’t this like a common worry among students?”. So, yeah, I feel you ;)
keep doing these videos!! i love it because you're talking about things you really care about and you are just so easy to listen to! it feels like hanging out with a friend and catching up :)
Ariel I wish there had been a way for me to have watched this video exactly one year ago! In September last year I left my (boring, going-nowhere but well-paid) job of three years to start a Masters in English Lit (also one year duration). I had always wanted to do my MA in the UK and kept putting it off for financial reasons but last year I thought it was then or never - as you mentioned, the hard work and the privilege that is behind that opportunity was weighing on my mind and I finally enrolled. I didn't want to go into an MA straight after my BA because I was tired of uni and I wanted to work, but I felt that a Masters would be important. And I was very excited but I quickly became overwhelmed by guilt that I was not enjoying it as much as everyone else seemed to be enjoying it. Like you, I felt that I was the only person that was not even considering a PhD or further academia and everyone else was so much more competitive - and hearing you say that you're grateful for academia but you don't like the culture is exactly how I felt! My course was very interesting and I learned sooo much, but after having had a "real job" with "real impact" I couldn't help but wonder if it was really worth it. At the same time the workload was exhausting, I was full of anxiety about where my life was going next and I really felt that I was losing my mind. What you said in this video is honestly exactly how I felt three months into my course. I always tell people I am glad I did it but I am mostly glad I don't have to do it again. Last week I was offered my dream job after months of job applications and disappointment and I couldn't be happier - the job didn't come as a direct result of my Masters, but the Masters *is* part of the circumstances that led to it, and for that I am grateful to the whole experience. Best of luck with your studies!
I’ve just rediscovered your channel and, Ariel, I loveeee this content! I think it’s interesting, thought-provoking, original, and all around entertaining. Please keep making these chatty videos, I feel like I’m discussing a topic with a friend, and I’m learning so much. Thank you!
Hey! I also have a major in English and definitely wouldn't change this choice for anything, and I do not plan on staying in Academia as well. But I found your commentary intriguing - that the knowledge learned in college is just shared by and for its own public. I 100% agree with the idea that it should be shared with absolutely everyone, and that happens quite a lot in Rio, where I live. I studied in a public university, and it always provides events like speakings, workshops, mini courses, etc. to the general public, and they are held by the teachers and students (some have scholarships to work with a teacher, some are volunteers). It is not only about culture, there are also services provided, like free psychological treatments, blood donation, etc. There have been less of those, unfortunately, because of (many) economic problems in the country in general, but these events still exist, and some are even held in protest (eg. speakings free to the public to discuss political issues). As far as I know, private universities do these as well. Is it not like this in Canada, and other places? Anyway, my point is, it's not because you follow a career in Academia that you have to settle down to study and share your knowledge to the people there. In my mind, actually, if you study in courses like literature, history, even biology and chemistry, you ARE SUPPOSED TO share your knowledge! Of course, you have your channel, and someone may have a facebook page, or a website, other people may gather together to plan an event and spread awareness about something (be this event free or not), etc. etc.
I LOOOOOVE these kinds of videos!!! And I love listening to your voice and hear you talk about your life and your struggles because I feel the exact same way about uni-and it's good to know that you're not alone
This is great. I love the way you talk about your studies. I'm in my first year of university in Argentina, I want to become a Spanish teacher. Your videos really pop out in booktube, you don't just do book hauls or things like that. Keep with your hard work, congratulations!!!
Yes please, more videos like this! Don't get me wrong, I love your other stuff too, but videos like this help you put out content that is still valuable (because thoughts!) that you can create more often :) Also I just love chatty videos like this - I was folding my laundry and listening to you. Thank you for talking about this! I am currently in my first semester of two year masters and I am struggling a lot. I have 8 courses, the reading load is a bit lower than yours, but still it's 8 different topics I have to read about, research and think about each week. I was very very unhappy during my undergrad school because of the academia culture, but because I actually love learning I wrestled through it. University trampled me into depression and constant anxiety, under no circumstances do I want a PhD, but the program I am currently enrolled in is just too interesting to pass up - it's Historical Urban Studies. I am not sure what practical applications in my further life for it are going to be, but like I said - I just really love reading and learning and having discussions with people.
This video was great insight for me since I've gone between wanting and not wanting to teach. I'm a history major, so pretty much the only place to work is academia, and while it seemed interesting, getting to interact with different people all the time, it also terrified me. I'm now going into a different history related career, and I'm a lot happier with my decision. It also requires a masters degree, but its a much more hands on experience. School is tough, for me personally because right now I'm going from "history is fun we've done cool stuff over the years" to feeling like I'm carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders, coping with all of horrible shit humanity has done over time. It can be tough as hell and sometimes doesn't feel like it's worth. At this point, I feel like I know how to write a good research essay, why can't I just head straight into the masters, but have to spend another year in undergrad? Idk. Love the chatty video though
These chatty videos are so inspiring!😍 You have so much interesting things to share and you're so good at making it coherent and easy to follow. Every time I watch one of your chatty videos I feel lika I get a new, deeper perspective on life/literature/university. I look forward to more "educational" videos in the future!😙
YES please make more videos like this. I'm a senior year English major trying to figure out my life so I can't even tell you how much I appreciate this kind of content 😅
I didn't realize how much I would enjoy these videos. I knew I would like them but I forget how interesting your conversations get for some reason? These are interesting and very educational and I enjoy hearing you talk haha. I would definitely watch more of these!! 😁
I actually dropped out of college. It was the most toxic environment for me. I was in the hospital like twice a semester because I was just constantly sick, I was so afraid of approaching teachers because they were so up their own ass, the social justice environment felt almost controlling, its the reason I was diagnosed with severe generalized anxiety and I literally had a mental breakdown in my last semester. I felt completely suffocated and stuck and I got so depressed that I just kept skipping because I just couldn't be bothered. It's hard trying to make your parents understand that. No matter how many times I say it's never gonna happen, my dad is still pressuring me to go to uni. Right now I'm working to save up money to take a dog grooming course, and once I get good at it I'd like to take a do training course and eventually work in shelters and rescues. I wish we lived in a society where people didn't look down their nose at you if you tell them you dropped out. There are so many options out there, but all anyone sees is uni. So I admire people who continue their schooling, I could just never do it because it Fucking destroyed me.
This view of getting degree being the only way to succeed in life is sad and is taught to children at such a young age. When I was student teaching, I explained to a group of first graders that I was going to college so that I could be an elementary school teacher. One little girl said that she didn't want to go to any more school and, before I could say anything, another little girl says "Well, you have to go to college if you want to be smart."
School just isn't for some people. There's no shame in that.
Thank you so much for your comment
I know so many people who got below average grades who are among the most intelligent people I know and I feel dumb around them even with my straight A’s. College and school is not for everyone and most people probably don’t really enjoy the process, they just love learning in general not exactly the format.
Find something that actually gives you meaning. Sorry that you had to experience such a horrible time, I have friends with similar stories. Life’s just too short to not live it the way you want to.
Tara Taillon I've been through that..some teachers can seriously ruin your perspective of education while some can bring up the light. But hey life is so much more than education...what and where you find happiness is the ultimate meaning of life.
Tara Taillon I love your plan for dog grooming. That sounds like a LOVELY ambition and profession and I wish you the very best!!
I love to see you talking about books, but I also love when you talk about other stuff. Either way, I'll be here to watch. S2
Thank you!!! It's really nice to hear this :D
I noticed a video on your channel about Norway, but I don't understand Portuguese so, I'm wondering, do you live in Norway?
Chika Anene She lives in Canada. Sometimes, she visits London.
I really like these kinds of videos. Especially since all the topics you choose are always SO interesting and I just love listening to you talk about all the things you are passionate about! I'm going to university in a year so learning things about masters is really cool! I'm also struggling to know what I really want to work as, since I've always wanted to be a writer, but I don't know what to study. I'm thinking about journalism, but I don't know if I will find a good job as a journalist (at least where I live it's hard). If you could do videos about finding your path and your experience, it would be a m a z i n g.
divergentgurl 14 I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this! It definitely encourages me to do it again!
Most universities don't require that you state your major right away, and actually encourage that you state your major in your 3rd year! I just started university in September and am sort of just taking courses that I'm interested in to help me decide where I want to go. Don't worry right now about what exactly you want to study. Take multiple different kinds of english or arts/humanities courses and see what you enjoy!
I would love to watch your educational videos, that’d be great! I love how your channel is evolving with you and your life.
I don't what they'd be like or when they'd happen, but it's definitely something that's on my mind!
The idea of you making free educational videos excite me. I have always wanted to do further education courses espically in English, but never been able to afford it. So chatty educational videos sound great!
Ariel, you could talk about dirt and I'd watch it. The way you speak and present your ideas is such a pleasure to me. I feel smarter just listening to you, and inspired to DO THINGS that I love.
i'm in my senior year of university and i'm sad real real sad. I feel like I've learned things but have not grasped any of my subjects very well because i'm always moving from one class to another, one assignment to the next assignment to the next essay and readings. My brain is very disorganized and I just feel mad at myself for taking out loans for university and my dad keeps asking do I wanna get a Master's and i'm like no idk after 4 years idk what even really interests me. I don't even like my major. i need a mental break.
i'm only in my sophomore year but this is how i feel rn
I totally feel this, I'm in my second year and I just feel like i'm not taking anything in and my brain is super overwhelmed
i'm so glad i watched this video & i'd be so excited to hear more! i'm applying to grad school rn (hecka nervous) and it's so nice to hear someone talk about what it's actually like to be a student on this course :)
I really agree with you, I don’t like the idea that education is only for certain people, in addition to the cost of studying, some people don’t complete their education thinking that they are not smart enough, but learning is not a race and no one lose in it because it is a growth and growing is not always mean getting A in every subject.
I'm one semester away from finishing my undergrad and I understand your pain! Learning is such a great experience; however, the way university is structured, you can burn out really fast. We're all out here rooting for you!!
I LOVE this style of video. I feel like I got a lot out of it and I'm really happy you made it
I love this kind of video! Like you said perfect for doing other stuff to. I'm an architecture student so listen to a lot of stuff when drawing and have been working my through your podcast recently!
LemonSockGirl Amazing! I hope you liked the podcast episodes!!
I love hearing you talk, Ariel! Any video you do is great! You're so engaging and your passion really shows through everything you say and create! Do more of these please! It's great to get to know you more through these sit down, free flowing videos!
Loving this chatty video! Your idea to share the interesting topics that pop up in your university classes is wonderful. It gives me class discussion vibes which is my favorite part of an English course. Can't wait to see what types of videos are on the horizon!
Definitely enjoyed this video. Partly that's because I did a one-year humanities MA myself a number of years ago, also with no intention of going on to become an academic, so it was interesting to hear about your experience of that. But I also enjoyed it because it was great hearing your perspective as someone new to academia -- my partner, one of my sisters, and lots of other people I know are academics, so I hear lots of that older, experienced, and somewhat jaded perspective, and I really appreciated seeing it all through fresh eyes, as it were, and with fresh enthusiasm. :) (The one kind of downer note that I would add is that while your peers may all *think* that they are going to go on to do PhDs and become faculty, probably most of them aren't...it's actually really unfair that graduate schools are almost universally not honest about how hard it is, even once you've finished your PhD, to get a tenure-track faculty position, especially in the humanities and social sciences. So many people end up disillusioned and leaving the academy entirely or stuck doing incredibly underpaid precarious academic labour for years and years. I don't have any links off hand, but there is good critical writing out there that's a bit more honest than most grad programs are about how brutal the academic job market can be.)
I just finished my masters as well and I can understand how you feel (there were four people in my program), there is a feeling of exclusivity to graduate school. But I think that needs to be the be all, end all if that's not what you want. The education is what you make of it. If you are interested in a channel that does what you are talking about doing with your channel, check out The Art Assignment, Sarah Green (John Green's wife) does with art what you want to do with literature. She does great videos about art theory and specific artists (along with fun videos and answering questions about art) that are educational and fun. She gives concise information about what you would learn in art history classes. It might be a good framework for the type of channel that you want to create.
Ok. Dude. 1) I love this kind of video so pleeeease keep making them even after you're done being so busy. 2) I feel like I REALLY connected with you over the whole elitism and limitations within academia in English literature studies. I am literally thinking about that all the time as a senior undergrad. I agree with you 100% about how it just sucks that all this knowledge and stimulation has to stay confined to such a small little pool of people who happened to have the incentive and ability to attend University in the first place. Personally I don't want to teach either (though I am interested in doing my masters eventually and teaching then) but I do want to use the skills I've learned within community outreach, be it working with a library or non-profit. To me that is where the real value lies in appreciating literature, as much as I love academia too. What about the kids and teens who might love reading and writing if they just had someone to guide and encourage them? ... I'm really excited because I'm taking an upper-division seminar this winter quarter all about this topic. Also I think I might just start making videos to get more involved in the community in what way I can. Anyway, thanks for making this video and talking about this topic. I wish you all the best of luck with your masters and especially going forward into the great wide wonder!
I'm just shy of getting my BA, so no masters for me anytime soon (if ever), but I just gotta say that I'm LOVING university so much?? Like yes it can be very stressful at times, but I find that with each year it gets better and better for me. Like I'm finally feeling as if I know what I'm doing and am actually contributing rather than just listening? Gah, it's been great. Just had to say that, because it really does get better (I dropped out of uni during my first semester and took a gap year, so if someone out there is feeling troubled just know that there's no shame in retrying
Do not worry, Ariel! Any kind of video regarding studies and education, as well as casual chatting, are totally appreciated from my side! You're style of expressing thoughts and explaining things is so awesome and I can follow you so well. (:
I love chatty videos.. nothing like seeing a 20+ minute video from a favorite channel! So great to have on in the background when making meals or cleaning.
I didn’t know I needed this but thank you! I love watching you talk about other things than books.
I ADORE HOW FLUENT YOU COULD MAKE IT IN JUST ONE TAKE hell yeah i like this type of videos
Whatever you put out we will watch and love. We’ll always be here, don’t worry or put yourself under stress! You inspire me so much. I a, having to take a break from my channel due to health struggles at the moment, but seeing the quality of your content just makes me want to get back in front of the camera! I love books and talk about my palliative illness. Take all the time in the world Hun, take a break - you work hard and really deserve one xx
I really like this video. I can't imagine the stresses on you but I really love your viewpoint of sharing your information with everyone! Like a few of the people here in the comments, I dropped out of college after about 5 years there. (changed my major about a year or two in) My mental health and physical health was deteriorating. I was getting sick, not eating well, sleeping long hours and staying up stupidly late, and my anxiety was in overdrive mode. If I was going to be late for a class my anxiety would make me just turn around and go back to my room to avoid having to walk in and have everyone stare at me. If there was a project coming up that required group work I would skip that class to avoid having to partner up/talk to others. My grades started slipping and I finally just broke down and told my parents I could not continue. They were fairly cool about it and I haven't even thought about going back since then.
I love these long chatty video’s! Like lucy’s sunday social. Keep making these pleeeeeaaasssseeeee!
When I was doing my last year of undergrad (computer-sciency stuff, not English, ahah), I was approached a couple times by professors asking me if I'd be interested in continuing to do a masters in research. I've always been a great student (finished second in my program), and I've always liked school, but I knew it wasn't for me. Every time they asked, it was always an instant "no" from me. I'm getting my bachelor, and then finding a job, thank you very much!
And now, almost 6 years later, I don't regret it a single bit.
I completely agree. I study Comparative Literature at a Danish university - currently working on my bachelor project about graphic novels that I have to turn in on December 20 - and I love my education, but I hate how isolated it feels sometimes. I have tons of really smart classmates who know their stuff, but in many ways they don't know how to "teach" it without using the complicated terms.
My problem is that in addition to Comparative Literature at university, I took a two-year business academy education in web design, communication and marketing which has screwed up my entire view on academia for one simple reason: from the first day there I was told that if I can't explain something to someone who is not in my field, if I can't simplify it for people who do not know all the academic terms, then I haven't truly learned it, I am just a parrot. And this was a philosophy we worked with for those entire two years so yeah, that stuck with me. Then I started to go to university and oh boy, is that kind of philosophy frowned upon here because in most cases if you do not constantly use the academic terms, you are considered a bad student, which is just profoundly untrue. I prefer to write in the most precise and simple way as possible and I will use academic terms if they are needed, if they are redundant I won't. It all coincides with that ivory tower stuff you were talking about: it is a way to keep academic knowledge for the elites instead of sharing it with the ones who could be interested in it and I hate that kind of arrogance. And I even go to university in a country where you don't pay tuition at most higher education institutions AND you get a monthly stipend from the government as a form of salary for taking an education, because despite university being "free" it still feels like this closed institution, this exclusive club. KNOWLEDGE SHOULD BE SHARED GODDAMMIT, NOT KEPT LOCKED UP!
... sorry, got a little carried away, I'm just tired of the complete and utter snobbery of academia. To a lot of my educators, comics and graphic novels are not considered literature and last year a woman in the class above mine almost had one of her exams fail, not because it was bad, but because the external examiner did not consider it literary BECAUSE SHE HAD WRITTEN ABOUT MANGA! UGH! I'm glad that my counsellor for my bachelor project was completely fine and even excited with my project which is about depictions of trauma in the graphic novels FUN HOME, MAUS and PERSEPOLIS along with a discussion about graphic novels as an expressive form.
Dear Ariel,
Your idea about sharing what you learn and know as an English literature is amazing. It's something I keep looking for. I've studied Business and IT myself, but as reading is a passion of mine I was always intrigued by the Liberal Arts programs. Never enough to consider studying it in university and that somehow leaves a bitter aftertaste. I have a lot of friends who got their degrees in Liberal Arts and it always astounded and upset me how with each year/degree they get more and more disdainful towards any reader without the degree. Any thought or idea shared is always scoffed at with the air of "I've spent N years studying this subject, what could you possible have to say that it interesting or new". And for some reason they never wanted to or agreed to share the knowledge. I quite aware that when I read a certain book I might miss or not know of a certain historic reference or pick up a theme or tone of a book. It is hard for me - and why wouldn't it be? I never studied these principles or developed certain skills. Anyway, what you are saying is like balm to my heart! I'd love to watch more of your "rambling" videos on any literature and life related topics.
I love your ethics about learning and sharing knowledge - thank you for sharing yours with us!
I am loving this video ! I feel like we get to know you better with all your rambles and coughs and just generally the whole essence of you being you without editing or planning is really nice. I enjoyed it a lot and i hope you keep making these !
i love this so much it feels like listening to a friend talk about something really compelling
I really appreciate those long chatty videos! I find them so interesting, not because I have much to do with literature or making youtube videos etc, but because I see someone taking their future in their own hands and creating their own path. I am just finishing my architecture degree and also doing freelance illustration on the side. The education you are getting is just the base and gives you the perspective of what you can do in the future and the main skills you need to start actually doing stuff. Afterwards it's mostly learning by doing. I have thought many times if going to university was the right decision for me, but right now I am really happy that I did it, because it gave me so many ideas about what I want to do and what I don't want to do and met me with so many like minded people and I think that's the main point of it. I am also grateful that most universities in Europe are so cheap and flexible that most of the people don't hesitate changing their studies or taking a year off. There is no right or wrong way of doing things and that's the best part because at the end you become this person with a unique experience and unique set of skills to give to the world. I wish you good luck, Ariel, you are doing great!
Ariel, you are so inspiring. Out of all the content creators I follow, I'm most excited to follow your career and see what grand ideas you come up with! I just finished my undergrad in digital humanities and now I'm just waffling around, trying to figure out what to do next. I share your views of academia and your desire to create awesome projects! I love this style of rambling videos. You're awesome. Thanks for being so genuine :)
Hi Ariel! I really liked this chat. Well done you for balancing your Masters and keeping up with your youtube! I also completed a one year Masters (history) in England (I'm Canadian), and I agree it was very fast-tracked! I am still on the fence about whether to continue into academia-- it always sounds appealing when I'm not currently in school lol. I definitely see your points about allowing others to gain the information you are lucky enough to be learning. Wishing you luck with finishing your semester!
I’m a university drop out and feel constantly disappointed in myself and regret it a lot. You are so right that school is not the only way to a happy life. It made me miserable and was affecting my health (it didn’t help that I didn’t choose a subject I loved, I tried to choose something I thought would lead to employment *snort*).
It actually warms my heart to hear someone as academically accomplished and intelligent as you saying that you want to share your knowledge with a wider audience. Imagine if knowledge, ideas and discussions were freely available to people who can’t afford/access/aren’t built for higher education. To break down that wall will help people build upon their passions and gain confidence in their intelligence. Keep doing what you’re doing! Xx
Hi Ariel :) I just found your channel in the past couple of days, and I already feel so connected to you and the community you've built. I'm currently a senior in English undergrad, but I'm actually taking a 5th year to delay "real life." It's incredibly refreshing to hear you be excited about your career instead of terrified, which is how I feel constantly. It seems like STEM grads have a monopoly on the job market and contentment sometimes. I'm so glad I found you. I feel more inspired than I have in years, and I can't wait to see where your channel goes!
I love this type of video! I always feel like you get to know the person a bit more with the rambly videos! I love when people who talk about a certain topic, like booktube, talk about topics or throw in videos that don’t necessarily have anything to do with their channel!
I'd like to express all my admiration for your work and authenticity! Thank you a lot for such kindness and for sharing your love for books and Education! Here in Brazil I've been connecting with people like you to find some solutions. You're a inspiration to us! ❤️
I find these kinds of videos very interesting, especially when the person is passionate about the subject. I just like finding out stuff I might've never heard of or known about. Please make more of this !
I LOVED this video. Because of many reasons, I will never go to college, but I've always been interested in learning and how it is for people who do get to go. It was so nice to have this while I did Thanksgiving cleanup; you have such a vibrant and personable voice and are a joy to listen to 💜 Thank you for sharing with us.
This is why i love your channel Ariel! You’re so unique from other Booktubers in that your videos aren’t just surface level discussions on literature. You dive deep and provide thought provoking content for your viewership! I’ve been wanting to get my masters in English literature as well and this video has been super informative!
As someone who is terrified about making decisions about my own future education, I LOVE hearing about your journey. I would also love to hear about juggling life along with reading, because its something I have been struggling with as well, so I hope you make more of these. Good luck with it all!
I love these kinds of videos and appreciate this as someone who is a student of English, creative writing, and education (I’m going to be a middle or high school English teacher). I spend a lot of time thinking about issues you address, as I also have wanted to make educational videos for a long time but have been swamped with schoolwork and other projects. Also, I’m amazed at how many masters and PhD students teach classes right off the bat because I’m going through so much experience and theory and psychology for 4 years to be a teacher! Granted, more creative lesson ideas and new might work better at the younger and the compulsory school level when you have your own classroom. I’ve been concerned about grading essays too, because grades can be so subjective, so I’m hoping to shift the culture of my classroom to more focus on improvement and learning rather than numbers.
I understand your position in regards to the whole academia bureaucracy and the whole "publish or perish" culture and (at least in my country) the poor access to public universities and very little pocket the government has for those institutions. Your point on the access to knowledge being restricted to university, when videos that can reach people without the financial means to study "officially" can be revolutionary, is also something that I agree with and bothers me a lot - especially now with the loss of net neutrality. We're a generation that has seen some of the best humanity can give, and we're entering a new dark political climate and things are getting scary. We need access to knowledge for all, we need to break this system and we need equity and a sense of community. I studied Biology and it was only after I was reaching the end of my journey as an undergraduate that I realised what being a biologist would mean. Depending on scholarships and working under so much pressure and being basically at the mercy of my tenure peers is definitely not for me. Those tenure, older colleagues are part of the ones who are interested in keeping the university circles to elites, because they'll have less competition; and rich people who have the pocket to finance scientific investigation lead the way "new findings" follow; and the portion of people aware of how social and political even STEM sciences are is way too small. Those with power want us ignorant, and I'm frustrated because I don't have a solution for this, for this whole world where you're played with and read as "dumb" just because you didn't have money to have a further level of education. Sorry for the rant Ariel, but this video really touched my heart and unleashed all these disjointed thoughts.
Where is this documentary?! Totally want to SEE it! Por favor
I love these kind of videos!!!!!! I am currently an undergrad English Major and I do plan to attain a masters and a PhD in English as well. I think it is incredible that you want to share all the knowledge you learn in your classes at university, and I highly support and recommend that you do. Like you were saying about feminist critics, I would LOVE to watch another 25 minute video about it. I personally do not plan on becoming an English professor at the moment, but the reason I want to continue with my schooling is because of how much I love school. Personally, I am the most happiest when I am sitting in a class learning things everyday that I never knew. So, YEEESSSSSSSSS, I would totally love more videos like this!
I’m a Canadian who did my undergrad at Ottawa and went abroad to Holland to do a one year masters and it’s so interesting to hear about the different environment and expectations between the two types of programs despite the fact they are the same kind of thing.
I love this kind of video because listening to them in the background as you work, shop, or do chores is helpful? to me.
As a non english native speaker this topics are great, because I can learn about new things and also improve my vocabulary. So go with it Ariel!!
Finally I can open the video...Super excited...
I loved this chatty style of video! I’m currently a first year English undergraduate, and I know very few people who went to university, so it is great to hear and learn from your experiences. Thanks Ariel! xx
Yes Girl, we do want more of this kind of videos.
God, I'm so in awe of your how articulate you are.
It's interesting how different education looks around the world. I'm also finishing my master's this year, and in my country (Poland) this focus on becoming a uni professor starts on PhD. But we have a bigger dissertation to write (I think; it has too be more than 144 000 words and include scientific research). I'm not saying it's better or worse, but since we want people to be able to go and study around the world, the same standards should be put in place.
Sometimes I wish I could go to US/Canadian uni, because of the reading thing students do. My studies are (to simplify) librarianship and information management. We did courses about theater and drama and reading... And you can do 5 years of studying without reading one book. Only one professor made us read articles and then talk about it. I wish I could do more, because it could make me be better and analyzing books and texts just for myself. Now that I'm in 5th year, all we do in practical, editing photos and scanning things and being able to manage digital objects. It's cool, but I wish for more reading.
Anyway, I hope you'll go through this. Can't wait for more videos, especially education-based.
I was actually just talking about this with my other English major friends about the language barrier that knowledge has and the words that we know that separate us from the people who don't know. It's all very troubling to me as well. Sidenote: I taught my first two lessons over Animal Farm and you were in the back of my mind the whole time. I loved this video!!!
i love the idea of casual/informal educational videos. i think its great that you want to make ~specialised~ knowledge that's reserved (usually) for those who can afford to go to uni more accessible for the general public! learning should be made fun, simple and within reach for people that way
i really liked this video. i'm an architecture student, so hearing what someone needs to do for your degree/masters is always fascinating. also, i don't live in canada, so the differences between the educational systems are interesting to learn about. this video was kinda refreshing, since it was different from all the other book-centric videos that almost all booktubers make. i of course like all of those types of videos as well, but this is something different and cool. i hope you make more of these :)
LOVE THE CHATTING VIDEO! I’ve been waiting for you to do this all year!! Just talk about anything. Your voice and ideas are so positive, hilarious and informative. I can’t wait to buy whatever you publish!
It's so refreshing to hear someone say that while they love the learning and discussing ideas aspect of university, they despise how elitist and intimidating the system is, because I feel exactly the same way. I find these rambly videos really interesting and thought-provoking so I'll definitely be watching if you decide to do more videos like this.
i love these types of videos!! they're so much fun to just put on whenever i'm doing something that doesn't involve much thought, because of the way that it sounds like a podcast. i think the idea to do more educational ones would be great! as someone who is not yet in university (or even high school, to be completely honest), i find myself doing a lot of research over concepts that i've already grasped. being able to listen to someone that has learned whatever subject it is would be an absolutely fantastic idea. thank you so much ariel!
I love these kinds of videos!!!! So entertaining. I can’t wait to watch more!
I would love to learn about literature but I would never do university degree on it. Just the thought of subjective grading and esays gives me shivers. Until I had a history class in uni, I didin't even know that I was studying science. So the best thing about learning from youtube is that it doesn't give you a grade on what you cramed overnight and you get to just learn from interesting people who you really like.
Please make more videos like this! I love watching longer videos while getting ready in the morning
How weird that only so many people do a master's degree at your University! In Belgium it's standard and I would almost say expected to do one. (PhD is another story of course)
Nina Same in Germany, it was so strange for me to find out that doing a master’s isn’t as common in other places. To be fair though, we don’t have tuition fees here so I guess that that also plays a big role in why so many people do a master’s
FredeReads Yeah, and in America the tuition for for grad school is usually more expensive than it is to get a standard graduates in university. The lowest tuition to get a master's I've seen in my area is $25k a semester, and that's cheap. So it's just not worth it when most companies will hire a graduate degree.
Alexei Richards my masters cost $40,000 (for two years)....my bachelors was $40,000 (four years)! Not to mention all the interest. It's fine lol everything's fine.
Lindsay Puckett Wow that’s honestly insane. Here you only pay for administrative stuff so depending on where you are a two-year master’s could be as low as 400€ and wouldn’t really get more expensive than 2000€ in total so that probably really is the reason why we’ve got such a different mentality when it comes to postgraduate degrees.
It's super expensive, a lot of people wait or get jobs that will pay for it. I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do. as I've seen, the typical price is $20k a year.
I absolutely loved this style of video! I'm currently in the first year of my undergrad degree so it was fascinating to hear you talk about how your masters is even more of a step up - it sounds like a loooooot of work! It will be fab to have more sit-down chatty videos like these and also to hear how your course is going :)
I really liked this type of video! You always think about things so deeply and I really appreciate that. I'm in my third year of my undergrad, so it's really nice to get some insight about Masters programs and what it's like to already have a degree under your belt!
I love this kind of video! I hope you keep doing them when you have time. Your comment about learning more in one semester of Masters than you did in an entire Undergrad really resonated with me. I felt the exact same way when I did my Masters, although I did mine in a completely different subject (music performance!) The learning curve is so steep. I hope you have a restful winter break!
I loved this video!! It's nice to hear about a person's actual life instead of just their hobby. I FEEL LIKE WE'RE FRIENDS AW
I'm also currently a literature MA student! Although I'm in my second year out of a two-year program, I know you must feel very overwhelmed in a one-year program. Even now, juggling teaching as well on assistantship, I do feel a bit overstimulated for also working on my thesis, and I share the bewilderment of my small class sizes. But largely, I'm so glad I'm in my program. I feel very liberated to feel I'm contributing in some form to all of the ideas I've had about books, and just talking about books in general. But I share your feelings with academia, for me its a matter of not feeling too motivated to land publications, but instead spill my enthusiasm to my classmates and professors. No matter what you do with your degree, I wish you luck!
Also p.s. I also binge watch Mercy's videos like this haha and look forward to doing the same with yours!
I LOVED this video!! I know you like making concise and short videos, and I enjoy every single one of them, but you talking for almost half an hour? Perfect. Thank you so much for uploading this, I can't wait to watch whatever you will come up with next :)
KEEP DOING YOUR THING. I'm a MA student as well (in Denmark) and I relate so much to this. But not a lot of people talk about it. People are in such awe of academia....
I love videos like this. They are so natural and fun to watch. I can't wait to hear more about your experience with the masters program.
Currently applying to English graduate programs (straight to PhD from my BA because we can do that in the US), so hearing you talk about your experience in your masters program is super interesting to me. I loved this video, so please make more!
I just love listening to you talk. You make me think and explore which is delightful.
Steve Donoghue was chatting about one of your videos and said that you're the queen of BookTube, Ariel. 😊I think that's quite true, because the topics you choose to talk about are always so insightful and balanced. I love this video for that reason. All the best with the rest of your masters!
Omg Ariel!! You are so dedicated, so smart, and so likeable! I am so glad you are reaching for the stars! And the fact you want to share this info with us is so kind and caring!! I love your Channel and you overall.
I’m a junior at university and I’ve been looking at master programs lately because I do love learning and I feel it should be the next step after I get my bachelors. This type of video is so so helpful because I don’t actually know what to expect if I do decide to peruse a masters and if it really is what I want to do or not. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom!😄
I love these types of videos! I just reorganised my bookshelf while listening to you chat away. I love the idea of education videos that inform on topics that are interesting even if you aren’t necessarily interested in that topic, eg I love sci show for all the little informative tidbits and learning without feeling obligated to, it’s more fun than anything else!
Hey, Ariel, I've really enjoyed watching this video. It made me reminisce about college, even though I've had a slightly different experience. I'm from Romania, and I did a 2-year masters in American Cultural Studies. What's interesting to me is that here, we have more classes (even though it's a masters), but less things to read. So I had about 5 classes each semester, but we only had to read like say 10 pages for each class every week, which was bearable. I was also working a full time job at the time, and it was quite hard to manage it all, especially during the exam season. Still, I absolutely loved the classes (we studied things like Graphic Novels, Imagology, Adaptation, Jewish-American Identity, and so on), and I also loved the academic setting (unlike what you were saying in the video). This got me thinking about a PhD, but I couldn't find a professor to really get what I want to do (I wanted to continue my masters thesis idea, which was mental illness in contemporary television shows), so I took a year off, and I'm currently working. Still, I kind of miss university, and your video definitely made me nostalgic. Sorry for the insanely long comment, I just find it fascinating how different the educational system is here from what you're experiencing. Anywaaaay, I really enjoy the chatty videos, keep 'em coming. Love you! 🌟
Finally!! You are saying a lot of interesting stuff here, finally, I see a booktuber going to a bigger scale, you've got it, Ariel, you keep going that way!!!! It's important that people get to know what it's only available in the academical space of university, just because they don't have the economical sources.
I really like this type of video! (I like podcasts and stuff so this type of format is perfect for me) Also I agree with making learning more accessible and free! Not just for people with the privilege to go to uni. Thank you for being a person! Xxx
I'm starting an English MA in January and am really excited about. I graduated in May with a BA in Journalism so it'll be a bit of a change, but not too drastic. I love hearing you talk about this stuff. Looking forward to future videos.
Hi Ariel! I love this video so much. I graduated recently and I'm planning to take my masters in a year or so and ohmygod you just put into words the feelings I've always had when I was learning so much interesting stuff during my undergrad years!! When I was taking my minoring classes in philippine literature, I was always blown away by the interesting ideas and discussions that we had in class and I really wanted to share that to other people, but back then I could never really point out why I was frustrated with the stuff we discussed in class. This video helped me remember what it was that I liked so much about classes and learning, and it really helped me realize what I was frustrated about. :) I'm also planning to teach soon and your insights and feelings on your job gave me a better understanding of what it's like to teach and deal with students and the workload :) (I'm not a big fan of public speaking but I've always found it fulfilling to be able to share to others what I know and see them grow). Ahh good luck with your classes and workload~ :)
Honestly, I will love any type of video you make. ❤️ I just love to hear your thoughts and opinions on everything.
I got my MBA in 2015 and it was tough. I was working FT at the time. I was so drained at the time. My parents thought I was on drugs because I looked tired all the time. But, I'm glad I did it and that it's over. So I would say just push through- you won't regret it.
I absolutely love these kinds of videos, you always have something interesting and thought provoking to share and long videos are so wonderful because they allow you to speak so much more in depth!
I love this style of video! I'd love it if you kept doing them :) Also I applaud you for doing so much work & reading, I'm in my first year of my undergrad degree (english) and I thought I had a lot to do... nope
1) You’re literally the only person I would see a video this long of. And I loved it, of course.
2) Competitive reading? Hell yeah!
3) I have the same struggle than you and I’m amazed because sometimes I feel like the only one or the weirdo that thinks about that kind of stuff. In fact, I’ve been asking my professors about how the knowledge we get is shared or not with society and they didn’t even see the question coming...so I was like “wait, isn’t this like a common worry among students?”. So, yeah, I feel you ;)
keep doing these videos!! i love it because you're talking about things you really care about and you are just so easy to listen to! it feels like hanging out with a friend and catching up :)
Girl your wise beyond your years, proud to see women with a strong and intelectual head on their shoulders I feel so proud of you!
I love these videos! I’m stuck in front of a computer all day at work, these chats keep me sane!
Ariel I wish there had been a way for me to have watched this video exactly one year ago! In September last year I left my (boring, going-nowhere but well-paid) job of three years to start a Masters in English Lit (also one year duration). I had always wanted to do my MA in the UK and kept putting it off for financial reasons but last year I thought it was then or never - as you mentioned, the hard work and the privilege that is behind that opportunity was weighing on my mind and I finally enrolled. I didn't want to go into an MA straight after my BA because I was tired of uni and I wanted to work, but I felt that a Masters would be important. And I was very excited but I quickly became overwhelmed by guilt that I was not enjoying it as much as everyone else seemed to be enjoying it. Like you, I felt that I was the only person that was not even considering a PhD or further academia and everyone else was so much more competitive - and hearing you say that you're grateful for academia but you don't like the culture is exactly how I felt! My course was very interesting and I learned sooo much, but after having had a "real job" with "real impact" I couldn't help but wonder if it was really worth it. At the same time the workload was exhausting, I was full of anxiety about where my life was going next and I really felt that I was losing my mind. What you said in this video is honestly exactly how I felt three months into my course. I always tell people I am glad I did it but I am mostly glad I don't have to do it again. Last week I was offered my dream job after months of job applications and disappointment and I couldn't be happier - the job didn't come as a direct result of my Masters, but the Masters *is* part of the circumstances that led to it, and for that I am grateful to the whole experience. Best of luck with your studies!
I’ve just rediscovered your channel and, Ariel, I loveeee this content! I think it’s interesting, thought-provoking, original, and all around entertaining. Please keep making these chatty videos, I feel like I’m discussing a topic with a friend, and I’m learning so much. Thank you!
Hey! I also have a major in English and definitely wouldn't change this choice for anything, and I do not plan on staying in Academia as well. But I found your commentary intriguing - that the knowledge learned in college is just shared by and for its own public.
I 100% agree with the idea that it should be shared with absolutely everyone, and that happens quite a lot in Rio, where I live. I studied in a public university, and it always provides events like speakings, workshops, mini courses, etc. to the general public, and they are held by the teachers and students (some have scholarships to work with a teacher, some are volunteers). It is not only about culture, there are also services provided, like free psychological treatments, blood donation, etc. There have been less of those, unfortunately, because of (many) economic problems in the country in general, but these events still exist, and some are even held in protest (eg. speakings free to the public to discuss political issues). As far as I know, private universities do these as well. Is it not like this in Canada, and other places?
Anyway, my point is, it's not because you follow a career in Academia that you have to settle down to study and share your knowledge to the people there. In my mind, actually, if you study in courses like literature, history, even biology and chemistry, you ARE SUPPOSED TO share your knowledge! Of course, you have your channel, and someone may have a facebook page, or a website, other people may gather together to plan an event and spread awareness about something (be this event free or not), etc. etc.
I LOOOOOVE these kinds of videos!!! And I love listening to your voice and hear you talk about your life and your struggles because I feel the exact same way about uni-and it's good to know that you're not alone
This is great. I love the way you talk about your studies. I'm in my first year of university in Argentina, I want to become a Spanish teacher. Your videos really pop out in booktube, you don't just do book hauls or things like that. Keep with your hard work, congratulations!!!
Yes please, more videos like this! Don't get me wrong, I love your other stuff too, but videos like this help you put out content that is still valuable (because thoughts!) that you can create more often :) Also I just love chatty videos like this - I was folding my laundry and listening to you.
Thank you for talking about this! I am currently in my first semester of two year masters and I am struggling a lot. I have 8 courses, the reading load is a bit lower than yours, but still it's 8 different topics I have to read about, research and think about each week. I was very very unhappy during my undergrad school because of the academia culture, but because I actually love learning I wrestled through it. University trampled me into depression and constant anxiety, under no circumstances do I want a PhD, but the program I am currently enrolled in is just too interesting to pass up - it's Historical Urban Studies. I am not sure what practical applications in my further life for it are going to be, but like I said - I just really love reading and learning and having discussions with people.
This video was great insight for me since I've gone between wanting and not wanting to teach. I'm a history major, so pretty much the only place to work is academia, and while it seemed interesting, getting to interact with different people all the time, it also terrified me. I'm now going into a different history related career, and I'm a lot happier with my decision. It also requires a masters degree, but its a much more hands on experience. School is tough, for me personally because right now I'm going from "history is fun we've done cool stuff over the years" to feeling like I'm carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders, coping with all of horrible shit humanity has done over time. It can be tough as hell and sometimes doesn't feel like it's worth. At this point, I feel like I know how to write a good research essay, why can't I just head straight into the masters, but have to spend another year in undergrad? Idk. Love the chatty video though
i LOVE these kind of videos i really didn't know anything about masters
These chatty videos are so inspiring!😍 You have so much interesting things to share and you're so good at making it coherent and easy to follow. Every time I watch one of your chatty videos I feel lika I get a new, deeper perspective on life/literature/university. I look forward to more "educational" videos in the future!😙
YES please make more videos like this. I'm a senior year English major trying to figure out my life so I can't even tell you how much I appreciate this kind of content 😅
I didn't realize how much I would enjoy these videos. I knew I would like them but I forget how interesting your conversations get for some reason? These are interesting and very educational and I enjoy hearing you talk haha. I would definitely watch more of these!! 😁