Skip to main content

Have Courage, Be Kind, & Choose Joy!


I was honored to be the keynote speaker at the Region VII ESC Library Conference last week. I can't even tell you what a beautiful day it was, y'all!

Michelle Cooper, a librarian I completely admire, is now at Region VII and put on a fantastic conference.  From technology sessions to the latest in YA lit, and an amazing array of vendors, too, she put together a truly amazing day of learning for every librarian there!

 Almost two years ago I wrote down a "50 before 50" list in my bullet journal. I had been feeling like I had drifted into a space of being a worker, a mother, and a wife----but forgetting to actually put myself on the priority list and wanting to also remember my hopes & dreams beyond my labels. Some of the items are small, some large--but all are things that are simply things I wanted to challenge myself to do.  Things I think are fun or special or rewarding. It's funny how just writing it down puts it in your brain as well as in your journal and you are more likely to accomplish things. Public speaking was on my list. I was equal parts thrilled and terrified to be asked----but I knew the answer had to be YES because this was one of my list items!

I loved the live-action Cinderella movie that was released in 2015. Her mother's words to her, "Have courage and be kind" have always resonated. I added "Choose Joy" because it is life motto for me, and so I had the basis of the message I felt called to share at the conference. I've included the Google Slides presentation for you here. Note that I don't put a lot of the details of my talk on the slides--typically only the high points and images, but I thought I'd include it for you in case you find it helpful.

I encourage you to have courage in trying new things, setting new goals, moving outside your comfort zone. Have courage in speaking with your admin team. Be courageous in advocating for your STUDENTS and how the library can positively impact them in so many ways. Have courage in having window and mirror books for ALL your readers. Be courageous as you get up and try again each day. Sometimes that is honestly the most courageous thing we can do.

Be kind. Kind and nice are not the same thing, y'all. Kind tells the truth, has hard conversations, notices others and practices mutual respect. You don't have to like someone to be kind to them. Show kindness to everyone----we aren't privy to the battles everyone is fighting around us. It is so easy to default to ego and snark back at those who snark at us. If you know me, you know I'm a work in progress----I have zero percent reached achieving this on the daily.  #workingonitthough  Extend grace & mercy. Let that stuff fly around like confetti at an NYC parade, y'all.

Choose joy. Life can be hard. Days can be difficult. If you are choosing to spend 40 plus hours a week of your one wild and precious life doing this work (or any work, or anything at all) I encourage you to choose to find the joy in it and celebrate it. If you aren't feeling particularly joyful, be intentional in adding joy to each and every day. Find your people. Have tea time. Allow yourself to be silly. Whatever brings you joy---do more of it.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sticky Wickets, or things they don't teach you in library school

I"m going into my 29th year as an educator this year---9 in the classroom, and headed into my 20th year as a school librarian. I've worked in elementary, middle, and now high school as a librarian. You might say I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly throughout the years. Through it all--the good times and the bad--I've always firmly believed I have the best gig in the universe.  I love what I do, and I have a true passion for it. I had a brilliant professor in library school named Betty Carter.  She used to talk about how meeting difficult characters or situations in a book before you met them in real life was so helpful to young people because it gave them the chance to think through it and figure out best ways to handle it ahead of time.  I hope that you will read this list in much the same vein.  Especially for all my new-to-the-library friends, this is not a list of mere complaints, but a list of possible scenarios for you to brainstorm about so that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

January Gloom

No matter how much I love my work---and believe me, I truly love my work--it can be hard to get motivated to go back into the big wide world after the winter break. Winter gloom is real--even living in Texas, in an area where it isn't often that it is super cold. Winter break gives me a chance to hobbit up in my home. I revert back to my natural sleep rhythms of late-night creativity and slow, cozy mornings, wrapped up in my fluffy robe with coffee in hand.  I get to sit in my favorite chair and take my time to fully wake up. I have time to make yummy food without being stressed, and I have time to read and write without rushing myself into anything. So, for me, much of what I struggle with in going back to work is the pace & timing of things. I don't love leaving my warm, well-lit home when it is still dark outside. I don't love not getting a leisurely start to my day. The alarm goes off and I hit the ground running. I'm sure many of you can relate. This ...
1 comment
Read more

Teaching: Why I Choose to STAY

Doug Robertson (@TheWeirdTeacher) posted recently on Twitter about his frustration with the quitting martyr teacher posts that always seem to go viral on Facebook about this time of year.  Shared by educators and non-educators alike.  I've seen them, of course. We've all seen them.  I've read them, and I hear their words.  They decide to burn it down when they leave, I suppose, filled with frustration and anger and sadness, too, perhaps. But Doug's Twitter thread really resonated with me, y'all.  And then this morning someone in the thread (@MoniseLSeward) suggested we use the hashtag #WhyIChooseToStay to share our stories. Yeah, I son't know that it was necessarily meant as an actual call to share, but I loved the idea, so here's mine. I just completed year 28 as an educator. I've been a kindergarten teacher, an elementary teacher of grades 2,3,4,5, an elementary school teacher-librarian, an intermediate school teacher-librarian, a middle scho...
Post a Comment
Read more