How to be Perfectly Perfect and Do All the Things!

You can't.
You don't.
It really is just that simple.

Please stop beating yourself up for not meeting an impossibility.
Seek excellence---not perfection.

There is zero way to do and be all the things to all the people, all the time.

Be as kind to yourself as you are to others.
Give yourself time to breathe and be.
Take a break.
Hydrate.
Get together with friends.

Do what you need to do to refill your bucket, y'all.
Despite the old rock-n-roll adage that it is better to burn up than fade away----it isn't.
It just isn't.
Neither is a good option.
I choose option C---be kind to yourself and avoid becoming a crispy critter.
I hope you will choose option C, too.

The world will tell you how very much you NEED to be doing.
If you were really dedicated...
If you want to win those awards...
If you want to meet your standards...
If you want to make a difference.

May I humbly remind you that an empty vessel pours no water.
Everything has its season.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, please be kind to yourself.
We are all human and we all cycle through seasons of Overwhelm.

Autumn is a great time for letting nature teach us to slow down and snug up.
Hygge the crap out of your home and your library.
Be intentional in your self-care.
YOU matter.

All the love,
Sonja

Comments

#Always: Running a Harry Potter club

My school's original Harry Potter club ( called M.A.G.I.C. for Magical and Gifted Individuals Club ) predates my time at the high school. It was originally created by the students a few years before my time there, but had ceased to exist in anything but memories. I was approached to take on the role of Head of Slytherin House shortly after arriving and was immediately all-in, baby! MAGIC was back! If you are a Harry Potter fan, I want to encourage you to start a Harry Potter club on your campus . Honestly, it is one of the most rewarding things I do in my job. In part, because it brings kids from all walks of life together in our mutual love for Harry Potter; in part because it is JOYFUL and we all need more joy in our lives. My friend and fellow TALL Texan, class of 2016, Jennifer De Waelsche, presented on our HP clubs at the Texas Library Conference in April this year. Back at our TALL retreat, I mentioned our HP club, and as a fellow Potterhead,...

On Reflections & Planning

Some truths about me. I have a serious notebook addiction. I love awesome pens. I love to journal. So, I guess it stands to reason that when I do my reflections over the year, and when I do my planning for the upcoming year, I love to do it with old-school, hand-written, paper & pen, in awesome notebooks. This year, I picked up a medium-sized hot pink number at a local discount store for 2.99. Maybe it seems odd, but I really like to start each new BuJo-ish library-planning journal right after the end of the school year. All the things are still fresh in my mind. I've just completed end-of-year reports, and all that data is handy for pondering. I've just made my state library standards review, and my EOY infographic to share with stakeholders. So, I've learned to begin at the end. As it turns out, for me, at least, starting at the very beginning isn't necessarily a very good place to start because: 1. I want this year's data and other info cle...

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 ...

The Sassy Bibliophile

Search This Blog