A Wish for Clarity
Every year on Dad's birthday, Mom would make an icebox cake. So in honor of what would have been my father's 64th birthday today, my mother made one that we ate this afternoon. I believe there are many variations of icebox cake, but the recipe that my father taught to my mother consists of layers of graham cracker, banana, and chocolate pudding, all repeated, and stacked within a baking dish. It is not cooked, but refrigerated (hence the name). It is simple but good.
One of my friends from high school who lives in Boston is applying to graduate programs in Library Science. She knew I was considering doing the same, and emailed and asked me where I was in the application process. I wrote her back a rambling email about how I'm still feeling indecisive about whether I want to be a librarian or not.
How does one really know what career they want? In college I quixotically wanted to be a poet; I never actually knew what job I desired, aside from teaching poetry at a university. Since then I have decided that I am not cut out for the competitive literary and scholarly world. Maybe I should not be focusing on a career at the moment, considering I have not even gone back to work in any capacity as of yet.
Still, a library career is appealing. I would be surrounded by books and learning all day, helping people find information. It seems like a job without too much stress, which is important because I'm not sure how much stress I will be able to handle on a job.
I wish I had some clarity. I guess I just need to take things one step at a time, and see where it takes me. Tomorrow I'll finish filling out the volunteer application. One step at a time...
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7 comments:
Taking one step at at a time is the only way to get anywhere. You seem to be starting off in the right direction, so keep walking.
I went down the route of literary academia, Mike. I'm in the 4th year of a phd and I can tell you that the academic environment can be pretty brutal. Presenting papers at conferences, for example, doesn't seem to get any easier no matter how many times I do it, and having your work picked apart by a particularly unkind critic can be devastating. I'm now at the point where I'm having to reconsider my career goals, so I guess you could say that I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up! I'm having fun trying to figure it out though. Lots of brainstorming, researching and planning. I do know, however, that the only way you truly know whether you're going to enjoy a job is to give it a try. That insider knowledge is so precious when making longer term decisions.
Sorry, I seem to have gone on a bit here! I'll close, but just wanted to say the cake sounds delicious! I hope you enjoyed it :-)
I really liked when I worked at the library as a customer service person. I wish now I had stuck with it but at the time after they dropped my hours then I quit. I think schooling for library science would be interesting
A relative of mine has her degree in Library Science and has been working in it for years and has enjoyed it.
You are right, it is hard to know what to do with a career. But you are right on about small steps, and getting some hands-on experience.
Good luck!
Eric, good point, got to keep walking, one step at a time.
Amy, academia does sound like a tough field to go into- I don’t think I could handle it. Good luck sorting everything out. I hope you find a career that is a good fit for you.
And thanks, the cake was good!
Mosiacmind, I think that would be nice working customer service at a library.
Lena, thanks, it's good to hear about your relative who is enjoying her work in library science.
Is there a possibility you could call your local library and ask to spend the day shadowing a librarian? Maybe say you're writing an article about it or some such thing. Maybe spending a day in their "shoes" will give you a better idea of whether this is the career for you.
Take care!
Kelly Jene, I think getting exposure to working librarians is a good idea. I'm hoping that once I start volunteering at the library, I'll be able to get a glimpse of what the job of a librarian is like, and maybe get to know some of the librarians and ask them questions about the profession.
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