Advice to Someone pursuing an Odd Career

The world can be a cruel place for a person with different passions than most. As one who would rather sit and devour a good book rather than rough house from the young age of 6, I found that the most important thing is to embrace who you are. I didn't do this until my junior year at college, when I found a class that led me to my calling. I was always the book nerd, who would throw pride and prejudice across the room when Elizabeth Bennett finally chose Darcy and then apologize to my poor book for the pain I put it through. This class I found was called History of the Book at Michigan State University. This class, although it had the most boring name ever conceived, was the most mind blowing course I have ever taken. Taught by one of my favorite professors, it consisted of weekly discussions of how the written word moved to the printed word. Through the Special Collections Library, we were able to look and work with the items we learned about. The entire class was based on the hands on action with the antique works. This class was my dream. I got to learn about the political influence that the government had on paper making and binding of the books. About halfway through the semester, I decided my talent and passion could not go to waste. I decided to become a librarian and I am continuing to work to that goal today. This embracing of my personality and signing up for a class that was not very popular changed the course of my life. I would ask that if any of you were on the fence about embracing a passion or taking a risk on a hobby, PLEASE do it. Do it for those people who won't have the opportunity. It makes life full when you can work to do something that is important to you.

MSU Library at Graduation