Two years ago I was newly engaged and teaching middle school, last year I was newly married, deep in librarian coursework, and reviewing all the books, and this year I'm comfortably and happily married, DONE with library school, and working in a public library. While so much seems to have changed, the undercurrent of my life remains: collaboration with tween/teen learners in school-adjacent spaces is my "work" and often my "play" as well.
All of the late nights, frustrations with technology and humans, tears in the shower and in my car, small successes AND minor setbacks tend to fade into the background when I put things into perspective this way, but I think it's important to acknowledge that it's the little things that make a life. Big changes happen one day at a time, and it does my work a disservice to gloss over the papers, missteps, book reviews, anxieties about my future, presentations and interview practice, privileges (my race, education, health, citizenship status, sexual orientation and preference, family support, and more all helped or at least did not hinder my work), and impostor syndrome feelings that got me to where I am now. I didn't just wake up one day and become a teen librarian...some might argue it took me over 10 years to get here, if we count from the beginning of my college career.
So that's what I'm feeling on this longest night of the year - gratitude for where I am, with acknowledgement of how of got here.
Extras: 2017's check-in, 2016's check-in, & 2014's check-in.
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