The library has become my second home these days….

It seems like I have fallen off the edge of the blogging universe, but I am just bogged down with school work. There are about 4 weeks left in the semester so that means it’s crunch time for me! I am still reading but not as much as I was last semester. Lots of exciting things have happened and I would really love to tell you about them in a separate post but, alas, I am too busy. So I will just give you brief, exciting clips of information here:

• Each year the ALA student chapter picks a representative from each library school to participate in the ALA Annual Conference. I applied and got accepted, so I will be in Chicago from June 27th until July 2nd! I’ll be working a couple of hours each day with the folks at YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) and the rest of my time I will be attending conference meetings and such. I am really excited! Is anyone else going? Shoot me an email and we can coordinate a meet-up!
• I got a part-time job at a local library working in their Youth Services department. I am VERY excited about this. For the past semester I have applied to jobs non-stop and haven’t come out with much luck. Getting the call about this job was a blessing because it’s the area I want to work in!
• Another local library is opening a teen center (FINALLY!) in the main branch and I have applied for an internship there. I am not sure how this is going to work out since I applied for the internship BEFORE I applied for the job. There might be some cutting that needs to happen there

As you guys can see my summer is going to be BUSY! Of course, I am still pretty active on all my social media outlets. Some more than others, but you can get social with me here. That’s all the time I have today. It’s time to hit the (text)books again…

How is everyone else doing?

Jayla

If you don’t know already, I am currently in graduate school. My course of study is in Library and Information Science and I am focusing on Young Adult Services. However, I am going to try my best to take courses in either Reference or Technical Services so I can have options open. But this post isn’t really about that. Well, it is, but it isn’t. Does that make sense? Let me clarify.

When I first began toying with the idea of going to graduate school I was a little overwhelmed. I have always been someone who is interested in almost everything. I guess you could say that I liked to learn. I did a little research and come to find out –Library and Information Science = the perfect fit! I was really excited this summer when I found out that I was going to library school. However, the excitement died down when people started questioning my decision. And the thing about it is that these aren’t people that matter! They were random friends, strangers, and distance relatives. Every time I would tell someone I was going to library school, they would always say one of three things: “You can get a degree in that?”; “Why would you want to do that? There is no money in it…”; and, my all time favorite “Well what about your theater degree? How are you going to incorporate that into your Masters degree?”

Before I go into those three things, I want to give you a little background about me. I am a shy person. Behind this blog and these words, there is a quiet little nerd who likes to read and, sometimes, write. The first time someone approached me with these questions, I felt ashamed of what I knew to be my calling. I didn’t want to have to defend myself to people. I never have. Then I got really annoyed. And now I am to the point where I don’t really care what other people have to say because, and this is a real kicker, IT’S MY LIFE!

Now to address the questions.

1)   “You can get a degree in that?” – Uh, yeah. You can get a degree in just about anything. What people don’t realize is a librarian is more than just a book retriever. We research and study research sources. Everyone can Google something, pull it off a page, and call it a resource. Librarians find the good stuff. The quality research that is going to get you what you really need. That isn’t something everyone can do.

2)   “Why would you want to do that? There is no money in it…” – Honey, if I were in it for the money – I wouldn’t be in it. Plain and simple. I understand life is hard without money, but money isn’t everything. If I wanted to be rich I would have gone with a business or law degree. Those options aren’t for me. Librarians tend to be service oriented in nature. They generally also tend to want to better society, whether through literary/outreach programs or advisory services. To me that is just as rewarding as monetary gain. Working in retail for the past two years has really shown me what people are really like. There are nice people and there are not so nice people. My retail job has shown me that I like to help people find what they are looking for. It makes me feel good.

3)   “Well what about your theater degree? How are you going to incorporate that into your Masters degree?” – I love theater. It’s great. Like all art, it’s a true reflection of society. Society fascinates me. But theater is also cut throat and a real networking type environment. To succeed you have to have passion and determination. Those are things I don’t have for theater. I love it, but I can’t see myself making a career out of it. Also, I don’t feel that my undergraduate degree really prepared me for the work environment in theater. I am getting more out of this Master’s degree than I did with my theater degree. And that’s the truth. The amount of ways I can incorporate my theater degree with my Library degree is infinite. There are no limitations. That’s one of the things I LOVE about this (library) degree. I can take any skill set that I learn and apply it anywhere.

All I am really trying to say is do what you love and don’t let no body stop you. People don’t matter. YOU matter. What YOU want matters. YOU know what is best for YOU. Do you get where I am going with this? Good.

Yes, this was a completely random post, but it’s been sitting heavy on my mind for a while. It’s also something I think that I needed to say, but couldn’t put into verbal form. Because, you know, us introverts have trouble communicating verbally.

What do you think? Do you feel like you have to defend your life decisions sometimes? 

Jayla

I promise that I haven’t forgotten about LADYBLUEJAY!

Graduate school has just taken over my life at the moment. They weren’t kidding when they said that the graduate school workload is different from the undergraduate workload. But I am loving every moment of it. I do miss the blogging community, however. I think that I am going to dedicate the weekend for my free time (aka blogging time). These past two weeks have been killer because I have worked straight through without any real down time. What better way to create some down time than blog!

I just wanted to share a bit with you about my experience with graduate school and all its glory:

-This past weekend I went on a tour with Cocky’s Reading Express, a University of South Carolina literacy outreach initiative, and read to over 900 students! That is a lot. It was so exciting to see so many little kids excited about reading. We handed out copies of Pete the Cat: I Love my White Shoes and the kids went ballistic. I didn’t get any pictures, but it is an experience I hope to take part in throughout my time in grad school.

-I am not sure if you know John McCutcheon, but he is a pretty talented singer, instrumentalist, and storyteller. He came to the campus for a storytelling workshop. Check him out. He plays a mean hammered dulcimer.

-I am taking a YA Materials class this semester. One of the books we are reading is The List by Siobhan Vivian! I am about 150 pages in and I can not put it down. It’s really good. I will be sure to post a review when I get the chance.

Those are some of the more exciting things that have happened in the three weeks that have happened since I started class. I am sure there are more to come!

I feel so lost without knowing what is going on in the book blogging world everyday. How is everyone? What’s new?

Jayla

It’s been one helluva week – and it’s only TUESDAY! Between stressing over getting into graduate school, work, and personal things – I am ready for some much needed down time. But it’s really hard to escape from your own mind. I have had lots of time to reflect on things.

After I graduated from college I didn’t know what the heck I was going to do. Well I thought I knew, but those plans were squashed fairly quickly. Most of my summer was spent confused and distressed because I kept thinking ‘What now?’ and ‘Where do I go from here?’. While other people were going off to school and seemingly achieving their dreams I sat at home – working. I felt like a loser. But, slowly I gained perspective. I learned a lot about myself, other people, and I gained some awesome skills in the process! I like to think of the time I have taken off as a time of personal reflection.

I, like many others, have been going to school for 18 years of my life. 18 YEARS! That seems so miniscule, but it’s a long time for this 22 year old. Taking a break was much needed even though it wasn’t expected. And, can I tell you a secret? I am glad I took a year off. I have this feeling that if I had the plans I had made hadn’t fallen through then I would be even more miserable than I was this summer. I wouldn’t be blogging and I definitely wouldn’t be going back to school to do what I truly love. Sure, things didn’t work out, but I am not complaining anymore. Ok – I take that back. I might complain a teeny bit about my job, but that’s another story.

I mentioned earlier that I applied to graduate school. Well I got accepted into BOTH the programs I applied to. Needless to say, I am pretty excited, but I am also scared. The excitement stems from my firm belief that through I have found my place in this world. That place is with books, blogging, and information intake. I can not tell you the amount of things I have learned via this blog and other blogs. So it’s only fitting that I applied to a Master’s program for Library and Information Science. Yep, I am going to be a librarian.

The scary past is that my future is changing.  Things are going in different directions and while it’s very welcome, it is also overwhelming. Now my thoughts are filled with ‘What if I don’t make it through grad school?’ ‘How am I gonna make this work with my long distance relationship?’ and ‘How they heck am I gonna pay for this?’. Adding graduate school to my accomplishments has made things way more complicated.

My point is that if you are struggling to ‘find yourself’ and you are in the prime of your life – take a break. Sit back for a year (or however long you feel you need) and reflect on what you. On what you love to do. On what makes you happy. Accept the unexpected. Roll with the punches no matter how hard they hurt. Because in the end, you’re happiness is all that matters.

Reflected on anything recently? Let me know in the comment box below and we will discuss!

Jayla