My name is Samantha Wood and welcome to this piece of muddled world that is my thoughts. I’m currently completing a Literature degree from the University of California Sta. Cruz. Why Literature? Well, you have no idea how much I get asked with that question quite a lot. And as always, my answer remains the same: I love to read. This answer normally leaves the inquisitors more befuddled than ever. I don’t really expect them to understand, because only a fellow reader will. I’m a great fan of English literature (perhaps even more so than American – ooops, sorry!). I adore William Shakespeare and no I’m not kidding. My favorite of his works is probably Othello. I worship Jane Austen. Seriously, who doesn’t recognize this first line from “Pride and Prejudice”: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. No doubt, Austen is my hero.As for contemporary British lit, I like reading Wendy Cope. I understand that it’s such a great departure from the seriousness of Shakespeare’s plays to the lightness of Cope’s poetry.  But Cope’s works are a great read. Her light verses never fail to make me laugh, and loudly at that. I hope to become a professor after I graduate, that is after or maybe during my Masters. I don’t mind teaching in traditional schools like the one I’m in today or colleges online that I only hear of. In fact, technology and learning convened together appeals greatly to me. Who knows?