To give a short run down:
I was offered a new, full-time job in Salt Lake City. So I quit my beloved job at the Orem Public Library, started a new job, and moved to Salt Lake. All of this happened in approximately a three week period. Lightening speed.
I have a lot of emotions about this abrupt change in my life; excitement, enthusiasm, anxiety, stress, sadness, eagerness. It's all happened so fast but it's all fallen into place so easily. It feels like the right change for me but it's still a very hard transition.
Oddly enough, the thing I'm most sad about with all of this is having to quit my job at the library.
I LOVE the Orem Library. I always have.
I remember going there on a weekly basis with my best friend, Aimee, and her mom as a kid. Aimee would check out 20-30 books at a time... I would check out one (it's called pacing yourself, Aimee). We would head back to her house and read for hours in her room. Maybe not the typical behavior of 10 year-olds but it worked for us.
As I got older going to the library became a habit of life. Sometimes, as an angsty teenager, I would (ahem) ditch school and go hang out at the library with my friends. We were all about sticking it to the man for the sake of REAL knowledge, yo! It's how I became friends with Jack Kerouac and Ken Kesey.
I have lots of friends who go for drives up the canyon or to the temple when they're feeling upset. I have always gone to the library to calm down when I'm feeling anxious or when I need to work through some emotions. I like to go to the Storytelling Wing and look at the beautiful puppet stage there and think.
So, two years ago when I applied to work at my beloved library (for approximately the sixth time in my life) and they actually interviewed me for a job AND hired me I was overwhelmed with the honor. I could finally work at the Happiest Place in Orem. During my entire time working there I have never had a day when I dreaded coming to work.
To give a small example of how much I've loved working there: in my entire working career I have ALWAYS made sure that I had the day off for my birthday. It you don't know, my birthday is kind of a big deal. I always ensure that I do whatever I personally want to do on that day because it's a holiday all about me and I'm going to celebrate. For the past two years I've gone to work on my birthday because the place I wanted to be was at work.
Why has working at the library been so special for me? There are lots of reasons for that. The people who work there are among the friendliest, most accepting people I have had the privilege of working with. My eyes have been opened to all sorts of books and knowledge I would have never thought to pick up otherwise.
I think the biggest reason I have loved working at the library so much is because I can see that I am making a quantifiable difference in the lives of the people living in the city of Orem.
A library is a magical place. It is the most accepting place in the world. It is a place where thoughts and ideas and opinions can mix together without fear. This is possibly the cheesiest line possible (but it also holds a lot of truth): as long as there are libraries I don't think we have to fear for our future.
Thank you to the Orem Public Library for giving me the opportunity to be with you and get to know your secret inner workings (spoiler alert: librarians use Google just as often as the rest of us). You will always be the standard to which I compare all other libraries to. I wish I could have stayed with you longer but your budget won't allow for my current needs. It's ok though, I forgive you.
No matter where I go or what I do, going to the Orem Library will always feel like coming home.
