Focusing on the Positive

I've been awake for 16 hours now. I had a terrible night's sleep, fueled by weird anxiety dreams and a mind that would not turn off.

When I got up this morning I watched an episode of Supernatural, a show on Netflix an 8th grader told me about. I am really enjoying it, because it focuses on urban legends and well-known horror tropes. This morning's episode focused on the Hook Handed Killer that preys on teenagers in cars, which coincidentally is the urban legend I speak about in the Scary Stories documentary.

I know that the first year of a job is the hardest. I am still getting used to a new school with new staff members and new students. I am adjusting to a fixed schedule with much longer days than my previous position. And all this comes with added responsibilities. Sometimes it's overwhelming.

I am using all my spare time in school to weed the collection. It's very exhausting and time consuming, but any librarian knows the sense of triumph and relief we feel when we dispose of unwanted books or technology that take up valuable space. So far I've withdrawn three book trucks, one media cart, and three big boxes full of books and VHS tapes.

So for now, I comfort myself with the knowledge that I am working really hard and I try to think about the good things:

I got hugs this morning as students walked down the halls to their classrooms.

My 8th grade class started doing their presentations on Visual Literacy, using the Whole Book Approach to facilitate discussions about picture books. One group did Where the Wild Things Are, and I had never noticed before how the moon changes shape throughout the story. It is full at the beginning and end, but when Max is in the land of the Wild Things, it is a crescent moon with pointed ends, mirroring the claws and teeth of the beasts.

One student decided to present by himself, and he chose The Very Hungry Caterpillar. He pointed out that the caterpillar eats his way through all the food, crossing over the gutter, and simultaneously passes into a new phase of life.

I do not often give full credit on assignments, but all the presenters today got 10/10 because I was genuinely impressed with their insights.

So tomorrow I'm off to the Rhode Island Children's Book Festival- hopefully it will be a good day for a road trip.