The Unexpected Road: how my job became my inspiration by Jessica

The Unexpected Road: how my job became my inspiration by Jessica - November 2022 Scholarship Essay

It’s an age-old adage: “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

At the ripe young age of fourteen, I began working my first under-the-table job at a local restaurant as a waitress. Since then, my life has been one lackluster job after the other, working to find a career that would be fitting for that adage and pull at my heartstrings (as well as fatten my wallet—since for a long time, I equated a bigger paycheck with happiness). I thought that I found that career twice in my extensive resumé: once as a photographer, which I loved, but the company was a little crooked, and once working with the Department of Social Services, until I understood what working there really meant for me.
In June of 2021, I put in an application to my local library. They were looking for a part-time worker in the children’s department to put books on the shelves after they were returned. Having left my full-time job in 2020 after Covid, and after hating being a delivery driver for local food delivery apps, I knew I had nothing to lose. I loved kids and I loved books. What could go wrong? The answer: nothing, apparently!
I got the job and began in July of 2021, and after six short months on the job, in February of 2022, one of our full-time staff had a life calling that took them in a different direction. Because of that, a coveted full-time slot opened in the children’s department of the library. Despite not having the years of experience they were looking for, I decided the worst they could tell me was no, in which case I would continue shelving books and be happy about it, so I put my application in with several others who were well-qualified for the position.
After a few discussions with my supervisor and an interview that I did not feel confident in, I got the news that I would be the first part-time person to be hired over a full-time incumbent for a position. I began working as a tween programmer at the library, which meant that I now had creative freedom for designing and implementing programs for children ages 8-12 that would be free and fun at the library. It also meant that I got to learn a lot about the books that kids want at those ages, the interests of them, and how they are developing from a child into a pre-teen and how to approach that socially with them. I fell in love with it. It wasn’t until another coworker and I were discussing our job moves that I realized there wasn’t much I could do above the position I was hired for without a degree in Library Science, and from there, I immediately applied for a school that was accredited by the ALA and was accepted. I decided to follow the passion that ignited from a job I never thought I would have.
An avid reader and self-proclaimed recluse in high school, I was made fun of a lot for my lack of engagement with much of the outside world. I played softball, but didn’t really fit in with the team, but I could sit for hours in the library, or at home, and read my books completely oblivious to the world. I obtained a degree in literature first, then a Master’s in creative writing, and after landing this dream job of working in the children’s department of the library, I’m pursuing my MLIS so that I can continue to do great things and to be a voice for those children who, like me, reside happily in book space.
Working in the public library has also stoked my fire for serving my community in general. There are many things that go on behind the scenes, many books that get called into question, that I feel must be advocated for so that all members of our community feel welcome, seen, and represented. I can only do so much of that without a degree; however, with my degree, I will be able to help select books that can reach underrepresented people as well as gun for a position that will give me voting power on what books stay or go in our community.