I was recently interviewed by an online magazine, Bold Journey. I answered a series of questions in writing. I had some choice in the questions. This type of interview, by the way, suits my "public speaking" anxious-self perfectly. I can sing and read aloud comfortably to an audience of hundreds but talking one-on-one in an official way, makes my ears get hot!
Anyway, the questions provide great writing prompts. Questions like: Where do you get your work ethic? or Where do you get your resilience? ....How did you find your purpose? I chose the latter.
How did I find my purpose?
I have kept a gratitude journal on and off for years. I haven't written in it for years, so when I pulled it out for the Bold Journey article, I saw that I had expressed gratitude for the decades of meaningful work and personal fulfilment that has characterized my life.
This entry made repeated appearances: I am grateful that I found my purpose.
Sometimes I added: I am extra grateful that I found my purpose early in my life.
It led me to want to write this post:
Five reasons why becoming a children's librarian was the work I was born to do:
Quiet
I enjoy quiet gathering spaces. I need them. Public libraries are much less quiet now, but 40 years ago they were places of respite, peace, study and reflection, open to all. Library users had an unspoken agreement that upon entering it was somewhat of a sacred space: voices would become soft and conversations kept to a minimum in this communal space.
Defending the freedom to read
Everyone is welcome.
Words are all around
Early literacy and the role of the children's librarian