Graduation – Now What?

I graduated earlier this month from SIRLS and I think it’s finally hitting me that after 18 and a half years of nearly non-stop schoolwork I am finally done. At least for now. I actually had a dream last night that I went back to get my PhD which made me realize that it was indeed time to take a break.

What does this mean? More time for other endeavors.

Actively seeking a professional position is number one, and the possibilities for this & not really knowing what’s ahead is actually exciting to me. Spending Christmas in Phoenix with my family I realized that there’s a good chance I won’t be driving in from Tucson again next year.

Finally becoming a paying member of ACRL, I have now volunteered to be on a number of ACRL committees, so we’ll see how that goes. Instruction, advocacy, conference planning, info literacy – there were many that appealed to me but it’s hard to say what I’m really qualified for. I’ll just have to wait and see. Either way I am excited of the prospect of collaborating with other librarians around the country.

In day to day life, no longer will my lunch hours consist of sitting at my desk doing homework assignments and readings. While I thought I would spend my time sitting outside with a Palahniuk novel enjoying the peacefulness, now I find myself still sitting at my computer, this time browsing my favorite blogs (such as tame the web & information wants to be free) and discussion boards (such as LearningTimes) for library trends & the latest library gossip. What I nerd I am sometimes. I think it’s just a transition period. But continuing education becomes much easier when there’s time to actually spend doing it, and enjoying it.

I have mixed feelings of anticipation and anxiety. The next couple of months could definitely be interesting. An adventure into the unknown.