Path

Photo by Stacy Langley (2006)

Due to the number of views my previous post, Crummy, has received in the few hours it has been published, I feel the need to offer some clarification.

This is not my, "why I became a librarian" story. Nor the, "why I applied to graduate school" story. I chose to pursue the study of Library and Information Science in 2008 and applied for admission into the program in 2009. I began my academic tenure in Spring of 2010. This is a true story about a path and a choice...

Last spring/summer and fall semesters served as my "test." Could I handle working beyond full-time, which entailed non-traditional hours plus carrying on-call responsibilities...not to mention the emotionally-draining line of work the field entails?

And, the second test, which was really two additional questions. Did I want to keep burning the candle at both ends? Did I want to continue to work in a field in which I was subjected to seeing good people, including children, get hurt? Domestic violence: physical and emotional abuse, suicide, homicide, stalking, rape, incest, child abuse and neglect, animal abuse, substance abuse...the list goes on and on. Just imagine hearing and seeing detailed accounts of these atrocities for five years. It goes beyond any episode of Law and Order: SVU. 

Law Day 2009: Liberty Bell Award
Photo by Stacy Langley

The question of whether or not I could handle it was answered by my grades for both semesters: 4.0. That left the second question to be answered: do I want to continue? My family and friends expressed their wishes and opinions. And you obviously know my answer...

I helped people. I made a difference. I learned a great deal and met some amazing people along the way. My efforts were recognized in 2009 when I was notified that I would be receiving the Liberty Bell Award from the Huron County Bar Association. I am thankful for the experience, but I am even more thankful knowing that particular path is not meant for me.

I leave you with this quote, originally posted back in December: "So you set out to travel to Rome... and end up in Istanbul. You set off for Japan... and you end up on a train across Siberia. The journey, not the destination, becomes a source of wonder."
--Loreena McKennitt