Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Facts About Me

1. I’ve wanted to be a librarian since I was about 7.  There was really no other choice for me to pursue after I finished high school.  This is what I’ve always wanted and I’m so lucky to do what I love.
2. My idea of “going outside to play” was picking up the book I was reading, walking outside and finding a shady spot to continue reading.
3. We lived close enough to the library in my hometown that I could walk there with friends – which I loved, but when we got home, all I wanted to do was read, instead of play.
4. I started volunteering in libraries when I turned 14 years old, which means I’ve been working in my chosen career for more than half my life at this point… and again, I have idea what else I would do with my life.
5. I began graduate school believing I wanted to work within the government as a reference librarian and in my final semester of graduate school, I realized that what I really wanted to do was become a Children’s Librarian – about as opposite from my planned career path as I could get.
6. My favorite genre to read would probably be middle grade realistic fiction. Especially as I’m finding more and more amazing books with a diverse cast of characters, setting or issues.
7. As with most bookworms I know, I carry a book with me pretty much everywhere I go, you never know when you’ll have a few minutes to read a couple of pages.
8. My parents are both professors at a university, but I never wanted to be a teacher.  They worked so hard, creating lesson plans, teaching classes, grading papers – it wasn’t at all what I wanted.  But, I create lesson plans for every program I do – whether it’s storytime, a program for elementary school kids or a book discussion for middle schoolers.  And I’m always learning and teaching. I’m amazed at what I’ve learned in order to teach kids – STEM is very real and full of concepts I have to re-learn or re-familiarize myself with.
9. Being a children’s librarian mean that my days are always different – I may be working with little ones or middle schoolers, I may be working on adding new books to the collection or weeding out old ones, helping with reference questions at the desk or planning the next awesome program we’re going to offer – I love that each day is new and different and keeps me thinking and going.
10. My rockstars are children’s book authors and illustrators and I will totally fangirl in front of them.  You could walk me down any street in L.A and I wouldn’t be able to tell you any famous actor and musician we passed, but I *love* getting the chance to meet authors and illustrators who have a different in my life and the lives of the kids I serve.

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish