But look at Social Studies. It sounds like sixth grade geography. And yet, Social Studies concentrators have the roughest sophomore tutorial around. Folk and Myth doesn't even have the Faculty numbers, budget and status within the College to be a department; technically it's a Committee on Undergraduate Degrees. If Folk and Myth wasn't ridiculed half as much by the Harvard community, don't you think there'd be more first-years choosing it as a concentration?

My frustration with the second-tier treatment of Folk and Myth as a concentration reflects greater trouble in the mind of the average Harvard College student. But ultimately, for most of Harvard, "I enjoy what I study" does not outweigh "it's useful for the future."

In Folk and Myth, life is good. Six-person seminars where we don't try to kill each other. First-name basis with all the professors. Department happy hours. An honors-only concentration. And the best part about it is that I enjoy what I do. Success comes a lot easier when you enjoy what you're doing.

So for you first-years in agony out there--especially those of you deciding this week about advanced standing--don't bypass Folk and Myth as a concentration simply because it sounds flaky. First of all, it makes for a great conversation topic in interviews. As a department, it's also small and intimate, and as a study, it's actually fun. And as for a future career? It's doesn't matter what you concentrate in, so long as you enjoy it.

Winnie M. Li '00 is a Folklore and Mythology concentrator in Eliot House.