Today at the Museum Brent (my advocate at the museum and one of my favorite people in this world), looked at me after a fairly tumultuous and infuriating meeting with Vern, and said frankly: "Shelley - your heart is too tender for this line of work. Maybe you should be an elementary school librarian."
I laughed and smiled at his insight, and realized it's true. I've always thought it was true - that I'm just not meant for a 40 hour a week, career oriented life - but I thought if I admitted it out loud it would seem like I am just a lazy bum. I don't belong in any kind of professional environment because I'm no good at it, and never will be. A cozy bookshop? Yes, please. Insanely paced museum job where I have waaaay too much responsibility? No way, Jose. Thank goodness I get to work with my mom and Margy from time to time at the Museum, or may just lose my mind.
And can I just say that this kind of bring-me-close-to-tears workplace is not helping my body to be in a baby-making mode? I'm not even sure if it's worth going to the doctors every week - I'm way too stressed with my job, thesis, and graduate program...it's messing up my already messed up body rhythms.
I need to pick up yoga...............or bag the whole thing and become a librarian.
Same here...I don't want a job that really stresses me out. And not that librarianship is stress free, but at least you have oodles of books to keep you company.
ReplyDeleteWoo! Woo! Become a librarian! After those talks we had in the slide library about librarianhood, I did decide I want to get an MLS. I'm heading to Philly in December with the hopes of getting doing Drexel's online program.
ReplyDeleteI think your blog is great too. I hope Trevor keeps posting his art too. I loved the typography assignment he did.
--Josh Alley
I often said I wanted to be a librarian when I was little and I'll have to admit that the idea of sitting behind a desk and stamping books all day still sounds enticing. Plus you get to do all of that organizing... seriously so fun. And I'm pretty sure being "too tender" is a good thing. There are enough hard as nails kinds of people. But few tender ones.
ReplyDeleteShelley, by what I know of you, I know you're a hard worker, and you're really smart and talented. But I just can't picture you in that type of environment.. I can't picture you working in a stress-filled job and being happy with it. You may be good at it, but when it comes down to it, the Lord wants us to be happy, not trying to continually prove what we can and can't do. Now, to get to happiness that means work sometimes-what am I saying you know all this! But I'd definitely pray about it and do what you feel is the right thing to do. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd yoga does wonders!! :D
Love you always!
Your cousin,
Laura
I remember feeling the same way about my job... except it was the job I did not love in any way shape or form. But I always suspected (and rarely dared voice), that I and many other women like me, were not wired for full-time, competitive, high-stress workplaces. There's something too soft about us, and it's SUPPOSED to be soft and stay soft, but jobs like that very nearly smother it.
ReplyDeleteDoes that make any sense?
I could never find a politically correct way of voicing that though.