Figuring Out Life

I apologize that this is not a book tag or a review, but rather just me talking about my life. I have less than 2 1/2 months left in my Peace Corps service. I committed to 27 months in a foreign country and had no idea what I was getting into, so it’s crazy to think that it’s almost done. It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long. But now it’s almost harder because I have to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life. And that’s tough, because I don’t really know.

I know you’ve heard it before, but the most important thing is to do what you love. That is something I’m having a lot of trouble reconciling with the real world. So many people have told me that I should be a lawyer. I love the law, one of my minors was even in law but I don’t want to be a lawyer. The thought terrifies me. Every lawyer that I know that used to love to read now tells me that they hate it. They have to read so much for their job that they don’t read for fun anymore. I’m not sure if you guys have noticed, but I love to read. To think that at some point in my life I might not like reading anymore is an actual nightmare. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have books in my life.

So as I sat in the library that I helped build and filled with stories here in Guyana; looked at all of the books that would hopefully inspire the students to read and discover a love for literature; and thought about the future – I think I know what I want to do.

I want to be a Librarian. I started researching online schools and some even allow you to specialize in young adult collections.

When I was in high school I spend a lot of time at my local library. (Let’s be honest, since my elementary school took my second grade class on a field trip to get library cards I’ve spent a lot of time at my library.) The young adult librarian was absolutely fantastic. He always had great book recommendations and created really fun after school activities that teens could attend. It was then that I thought I want to be a YA librarian.

Unfortunately, some realistic parental advice pushed me away from the idea. All I heard was that schooling would be absurdly expensive and the pay so low that I would never be able to pay it back.

I haven’t honestly thought about that career option in a few years, but I think that’s what would make me happy. I love books and I love sharing my feelings and recommendations with other people. I just wish graduate school wasn’t so expensive. I don’t want to be in debt for the rest of my life just to do what I love. But if I’m doing what makes me happy every day wouldn’t that be worth it?

And on a related note, I am trying to get out of my comfort zone a little bit more. I am planning to start a BookTube channel when I return home. I think about it so often while I’m here and wish that I had the ability to do it. I’ve wanted to start it since just before I left for the Peace Corps. I’ve been brainstorming tags that I could create and daydreaming about setting up a bookshelf background.

I have no plans to stop writing reviews here but rather supplement them with the videos. I hope this wasn’t too offputting because it’s not the usual post but I really just felt like I needed to say something.

Have any of you felt like this or found a job relating to books, or even something else that you love and makes you super happy every day? I would love to hear from you guys. Thanks.