As the year winds down, and I reflect on what the 2012-2013 school year brought me, I know that it was an exceptionally difficult year for me professionally, but that in turn led to a lot of growth. I am not going to get into the details of why it was so difficult because I would rather focus on what I can do to continue to grow as a librarian. There are always so many ways to grow and to learn professionally, and this June has most definitely been a time of reflection for me.
Given that nothing is changing in terms of staffing, or how things are working, or how much control over I have over things, I need to change how I manage things. In September, things were so bad that my doctor placed me on stress leave for three weeks. I know that letting things that I can't control affect me that strongly is not good for me in any way, shape, or form, and it is not good for those around me. If I am stressing myself out to that extreme, then my husband suffers and our relationship suffers. If I am that stressed, then I am not an effective teacher and my students suffer. If I am t hat stressed out then I suffer, and I am not helping myself at all.
This mean that I have to learn to control what I can control and let go of things that I can't control. One thing that I can control is how I continue to grow as a librarian, even when I am given fewer library periods in which to work and no say in how the library is actually run. I can control how I interact with other librarians, and how I continue to move forward in become a better school librarian.
I am going to take the summer to decide how to continue to grow as a librarian, what aspects to focus on, and how to help the students as best I can - even in my limited capacity.
Have a wonderful summer, everyone.
