One of my favorite authors is Patricia Cornwell and because I “liked” her book page on Facebook, I occasionally get little blips on mine. Today, this quote from her page popped up: “What might knock you down can teach you to climb.”
You know when you’ve been through some rough waters and all of a sudden you see that sunset on the horizon or you’ve had a really bad day and discover that YES, there are still chocolate chip cookies in the cupboard? Well, that is what this quote was like for me today. Just the right encouragement at just the right time!
“Change is inevitable, growth is intentional.” ~ Glenda Cloud
I am working on a presentation about change or transition that I will present to my colleagues at a state conference next Thursday. We all experience change and there is nothing we can do about most of it except deal with it and move on. Our lives change as we age. Our knees pop when we go up the stairs, we can’t walk as far or as fast as we used to, we forget things. Our relationships change. We experience the death of loved ones, marriages, the birth of new babies. Families and friendships form and reform as people move from place to place, drift apart and drift together. Jobs change. Life’s priorities shift. But how do we cope with all of this? Are we run over by life and change or do we embrace it and experience personal growth?
While change can be scary, it can also be exciting. In fact there are some people out there who thrive on change and cannot sit still for even a minute before trying to find a new adventure. I am not one of those people. I do not, however, fear change. Change gives us an opportunity for a fresh start. A chance to wipe the slate clean and begin again. A chance to learn something new about ourselves and question some of the “truths” we grasp at when confronted with something difficult.
I am in my eighteenth year as a school library media specialist (librarian without the bun and way cooler toys for those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about). Now, if you want change, this is the job for you. I was a librarian; then when computers started cropping up everywhere, I became a computer technician. We moved from McIntosh computers with the 5-1/4″ floppy drives to networked PCs with, gasp, the INTERNET! I had to start learning to not only fix but also use all these things, manage networks, and then teach both adults and children how they worked. That’s when I graduated to “Library Media Specialist.”
My job is never the same, not even from one hour to the next, and I love every minute of it. I tell people I didn’t have ADHD until I started this job! I have to move from task to task and still be able to accomplish something at the end of the day. If I have 8 minutes between classes, then that is 8 minutes to do paperwork, shelve a few books, read an article or two on new trends, pull resources for teachers, or shoot e-mails to colleagues. I eat lunch over my keyboard and rarely have time for potty breaks. It is fast-paced fun!
This year, of course, I became a media specialist in a new location. This is the fourth job change I have made in my career but I have to say this has been by far the easiest because I have, of course, learned new things with each change. I have also challenged myself this year by presenting at a local school district conference on a new piece of technology and by creating the presentation about transitions that I am preparing for next week. This is new for me, in my profession, and will of course lead to more growth. I also feel I’ve learned a thing or two about changing schools, jobs, moving, and so forth that just might benefit someone else. I want to share my experiences and hopefully make someone else’s journey a little less rocky.
I’m getting better at making changes. Weeks after beginning my new job, a colleague walked into my library media center and said, “You look like you’ve been doing this forever.” I told her I had, but she went on to say that my transition to this new place with these new faces appeared seamless. That made me smile because no matter how fast my little feet might be treading water under the surface, I really do want to appear to be unruffled on top. My teachers, parents, students and administrators have too many other things on their minds to worry about me, here, in the job I love. I am one of those people who can say my job is fulfilling and brings me joy.
Keep your spirit “difficult or impossible to restrain.” Keep it irrepressible!
Irrepressible Spirit 