MAJOR LIFE UPDATE!

BIG CHANGES HAPPENING

Hey everyone! I haven't done a life update since the end of April, because not a whole lot has happened that is update-worthy, up until now. With a stable job and going through school, my life has been pretty consistent. Some exciting things that have happened since April are that I got to attend two friends' weddings, turned 22, finished my third semester of grad school, and started a YouTube channel! Those things aren't the real purpose of this post though. I'll talk more about that stuff in my year in review blog post. The big thing that is happening is that I am moving to Northwest Arkansas! 

With next semester being the last real semester in my graduate program and the summer being when I have to do my Practicum internship, I felt like I needed to reduce my hours to part-time work, start getting experience in the type of library that I want to work in, and begin networking for an internship. Being the type of person that I am, I was incredibly nervous about stepping back from a full-time position and moving to a new city without a job lined up, but I ultimately realized that 1) I'll be able to focus on my last leg of school, 2) there are some amazing libraries in NWA that I can volunteer at and hopefully do my internship in, and 3) I'll be close to family again! The decision just made sense. A few months ago, my dream job became available at the Fayetteville Public Library and because I have not finished my degree yet, I was not technically qualified for the job, but I applied anyway. I never heard anything back. By the grace of God, several months after I did that, a position at the Fayetteville Public Library became available that I am qualified for. I heard back from the library within a couple days, interviewed, and was hired for the position!!! I am thrilled to be moving from an academic library setting to a public library setting, which is the type of library I want to work in long-term. 

I have been so stressed over the last two months or so trying to figure out if leaving my job at Ouachita was a smart move, trying to find a new job, and trying to work out the logistics of moving to a new part of the state, all in the midst of finals for school and the holidays. Yesterday was my last day of work at OBU and now I've got to finish packing up my apartment and prepare for the most hectic two weeks of my life. Here is a schedule of what my next two weeks looks like lol:

December 24th: Go to Russellville for Christmas Eve (take a load of stuff from apartment)

December 25th: 1. Christmas at my Mom's house

2. Christmas with my Stepmom's Family

3. Christmas #1 in NWA

December 27th: Big Move-Out Day (moving all my stuff out of my apartment)

December 28th: Christmas #2 in NWA

December 30th: Go back to Arkadelphia to turn in my apartment keys and do walk-through then potentially go spend the night with AA and stay through New Year's?

Sometime between Jan.1-3: Officially move to NWA (not taking a bunch of my stuff because I'm staying with my Nana)

January 4th: Dog-sit for parents' friends

January 6th: Start new job 

So needless to say, it's going to be an incredibly busy holiday season for me and I will be traveling back and forth between Russellville, Arkadelphia, and Fayetteville quite a bit. I am extremely excited for this new stage of my life. I am grateful for the things I learned about academic libraries while I worked at OBU and to have had a whole slew of great coworkers who were always willing to help me with questions about library school and things like that.Now it's time for me to step out of the Bubble and into a setting that will undoubtedly lead me to great opportunities for my future. 

If you live in NWA, come see me at the Fayetteville Public Library in the new year! I'll be working at the front desk so it would be hard to miss me! ~Em 

November Wrap-Up!

November Wrap-Up!

Alright y'all I finally slowed down on my reading. As usual, the number of books I read per month tends to drop in the last two months of the year because of final exams and general end-of-the-year stress. This month I read 10 books. 5 of them were for school and 5 were just for funsies. All but one were full-length novels, so that also factors into why I didn't read as much this month. Without further ado, here are my thoughts on the books I read this month. ~Em

This is one of the books I read for my Multicultural Literature class for our Inclusive unit. George is about a young girl who was assigned male at birth. Melissa tries to tell her friends and family that she does not identify as a boy, but they are having a hard time understanding. Melissa wants to play Charlotte in her school's production of Charlotte's Web, but because everyone at school thinks that she is a boy, the teacher will not give her the role. The book is a great story of self-discovery and being comfortable with who you are. It is difficult to find books with positive representation of people who are transgender so I was happy to have the chance to read this one.  Rating: 4/5

Jimmy is Lakota but he gets made fun of because he looks white. When school gets out for the summer, Jimmy and his grandpa go on a road trip to visit different locations that were important in Crazy Horse's life, to help Jimmy learn more about his culture and be proud of who he is. I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style of this book. It had a lot of directional exposition that I felt was unnecessary. However, the story is a really good one for learning about culture and accepting yourself. No Rating: Read for MLCYA

This is another book I read for MLCYA, but for my Asian/Pacific Islander unit. Darius gets bullied for being overweight and Persian American. When his family finds out that his mom's father has a brain tumor that he isn't going to recover from, they decide to go visit him and the rest of their family in Iran. This is Darius and his younger sister's first time to visit Iran, and while there, Darius makes a friend and learns more about his culture and about being comfortable with both his American identity and his Persian identity. I loved this book! It is a great coming-of-age story and shares beautiful descriptions of Iran that are not typically shown in media. Darius also suffers from depression and anxiety and the main theme of the book is learning that it is okay not to be okay sometimes. Rating: 5/5

Ged has a great amount of power. One day he releases a dark entity that wreaks havoc. Ged has to right his wrong and try to get rid of this dark entity. This story isn't super memorable to me, however, it has one of the best audiobooks I have ever listened to. The narrator did an amazing job at telling the story in a captivating way. I will definitely be continuing on with the series. Rating: 3/5

Salt to the Sea is the tale of how four different peoples' lives intersect during World War II, when they all end up on the ship, the Wilhelm Gustloff. My favorite thing about Ruta Sepetys' books is how she is able to tell lesser known stories from highly known historical events. I read her book Between Shades of Gray earlier this year and it also tells a story from World War II but about Lithuanian people and their experience during the war. The author is also able to write very compelling characters who are easy to connect to. My one major complaint and the reason I didn't love this book is the ending is pretty unbelievable. I also found the ending of the other book of hers I read to be unbelievable. I think the author wants to make sure the characters have a happy ending, but it is hard to suspend my disbelief in these situations.  Rating: 3/5

This is the second book in the Arkwell Academy series. It follows Dusty, who is a Nightmare, as she goes through school and has to deal with rising tensions among the various magickind. This was a good book, but not great. I enjoyed being back with these characters and seeing what they got up to next. I really like the dynamics between the main character and her love interest, Eli. These books are very tropey but overall still enjoyable. Rating: 3/5

Moss goes to a school where there are not many funds awarded because test rates have been low. He and the other kids at this school are constantly racially profiled. After a student was assaulted by the security officer at their school, Moss and his friends band together to try to make a change. More and more things keep going wrong as the police force continues to act out aggressively toward the students and even the community as a whole. Moss also deals with severe anxiety and has to try to cope with his panic attacks while trying to make a stand and stop the violence in his city. Y'all this book was HARD to read. The things that these kids went through were awful. I cannot say that this book was enjoyable to read at all, but it was powerful and so poignant for the state our country is in right now. Rating: 4/5

This book is about a young boy who gets up early and goes fishing with his father to provide food for their family. His father is an immigrant from Vietnam and the book shares the hardships of immigration and trying to make it in America. The illustrations are beautiful and it has an overall hopeful message. No Rating: Read for MLCYA

 Y'all I loved this book! It is about Victor and Eli who learn that near-death experiences can cause a person to come back to life as an EO or ExtraOrdinary. This gives that person special abilities. After the two of a major falling out and Victor ends up in prison for 10 years, he is determined to get revenge and kill Eli. While Eli has had a change of heart about EOs and wants to kill Victor as well. I loved the writing style of this book and the jumps between when Victor and Eli were in college learning about EOs and the present where Victor and Eli are determined to kill each other. The characters are VERY morally grey and that is one of my favorite type of characters to read about. I will definitely be reading the sequel soon. Rating: 5/5

Amal dreams of being a teacher, but she is the eldest daughter in her family and when her mother gets postpartum depression after her new baby is born, Amal has to stay home and care for her siblings. One day while at the market, Amal "disrespects" the corrupt landlord's son after he hits her with his car and she is forced into indentured servitude to pay back her debt. Amal will stop at nothing to return to her family though and pursue her dream of becoming a teacher. This was a very interesting story about how the wealthy can have a great deal of power over people. Unfortunately, indentured servitude still occurs to this day and this look at is was unique. No Rating: Read for MLCYA