More Roll Than Rock

I have seen so many inspirational and fabulous blog posts since 2015 began from some amazing youth service librarians across the country because of <a href=”http://storytimeunderground.org/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Storytime Underground</a>’s awesome <a href=”http://storytimeunderground.org/2014/12/29/resolve-to-rock-in-2015/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Resolve to Rock</a> challenge. Like Bryce at <a href=”http://brycedontplay.blogspot.com/2015/01/i-resolve-to-rock-in-2015-mottos-to.html” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Bryce Don’t Play</a>, I generally don’t make resolutions (especially since in the past all of my New Year’s resolutions failed). But, like her, this whole concept got me all thoughtful-like.

When I think of “rocking,” I think of awesome concerts where a large and wide variety of people get together for an amazing and unique cultural and creative experience. It takes a great group of musicians working together to be the nexus of why everyone’s there and who are working towards a collective experience that all enjoy. Yup. I totally get the connection with libraries and their communities.

That all said, this is what comes to my mind when I think of being part of a rock group:

I mean, two out of four members of Coldplay look like a sweaty mess who are ready to collapse. Those other two? Meh. Probably extroverts.

As I went into late last year on my blog, <a href=”http://hafuboti.wpcomstaging.com/2014/11/18/the-chronic-librarian/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>I’ve been diagnosed with the fibromyalgia</a>. And that’s become my focus ever since: how the heck to manage it. I mean, I hate the pain (which has been less and less – huzzah!), but the random sudden exhaustion is the worst. I go from my perky/happy self to this:

All this said – I think that I’ve come up with my own version of Resolve to Rock for those of us who have limited physical abilities (or who tend to overexert themselves). Behold! I resolve to Steadfastly Sparkle:

Bright, cheerful, and slightly insane? Yeppers. But let’s break down this epic image, shall we?

Anyone recognize that crystal?

Yup, it’s totally The Dark Crystal. I used it since crystals are sparkly and I love Jim Henson’s work and style. When I think of The Dark Crystal, I think of an epic new direction that Henson took his company – and how it blew my little mind. I could go on and on about this aspect, but it’s really the sparkle I want to focus on here:

Crystals and other sparkly things reflect light and can create beautiful glittering prisms. I can no longer “rock” like I like to do, but I think this upcoming year will be one of reflection – both internal and external. Externally, what I want it to be is reflecting others and their awesome light. Crystals on their own look like boring stones. It’s not until an outside source of light hits them that their true beauty is revealed. Therefore, I hope to really be more of a positive mentor and (seated) cheerleader for the library community.

Wonder Woman’s tiara? I’m all about the <a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks-_Mh1QhMc” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Power Pose</a>. Since childhood I have loved Linda Carter’s Wonder Woman, and to this day I still try and be a wonder-filled woman.

I think most of what being a Wonder Woman is  about is pretty self-explanatory. But, I try and remind myself that what I do on a daily basis affects the next generation of girls growing into their own Wonder Women, and I hope that I can inspire them as much as Linda Carter inspired me.

You may be most curious as to the crazy eyes/nose. Anyone? Bueller? They belong to Animal from the Muppets. Again this ties in my love for Henson’s work. But furthermore, I’ve been seeing myself more and more like Animal as I go down both my career and life path.

I hold myself and others to very high expectations. So if expectations aren’t being met, I get stressed (and sometimes angry).  This needs to change, and trust me, I’m working on it.

I also get very excited and passionate about certain projects. Internally (and okay, sometimes externally) I look like animal freaking out over his drums. I’ve been trying to cultivate my “Inner Floyd Pepper” – Animal’s friend and bandmate who focuses Animal with “Sit. Stay” command.

I mean, I loved those snowflakes I did for <a href=”http://hafuboti.wpcomstaging.com/2014/12/10/decemberley/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Decemberley</a>, but they about killed me. Seriously, I was so hardcore about getting those up in a few hours that I caused an exhaustion flare that I’m still trying to fully recover from. It was a very painful lesson that I hope that I’ve learned.

So, when you put all of these things together, and caption it with Steadfastly Sparkle, what I think it ultimately means is this:

I can no longer be as hardcore as I’ve been. But that doesn’t mean I can’t do awesome things – I just need to be more willing to support and be supported. If I take my time, and pace my rhythm, then I should be able to steadfastly perform for years to come.

And basically that shiny things are awesome.

(Yeah, I think I totally need that sign for my office)