Another “Aha” which is related to my first is that there is a potential network of folks whose thoughts I would be lucky to be able to draw on. I have always been a loner professionally - if I couldn’t do it myself, it wasn’t worth doing. And as a teacher, that’s often encouraged - we close our classroom doors and have our own fiefdoms and we do our own thing, maybe in concert with some of the other folks around us, but generally we’re both in charge and on our own. And through most of this program, I’ve maintained a similar orientation as a student - I’m on my path to librarianship, others are going their own way, and while we’re headed in similar directions at the moment, we’re eventually going off to our own version of running a library, which, as Jonathan noted, is probably going to mean we’re all in different versions of the librarian-ship - from leaky row boats up to mega-yachts, with undoubtedly some bamboo rafts and some pirate corvettes tossed in for good measure. 

But this class has been the first time that it’s all starting to feel real, like I am taking part not just in a class, but in a community of professionals who either know what they’re doing, or are figuring it out really quickly. This is the first time I feel like I’m not just going to be a guy taking over my middle school library and doing whatever I can do there for the next dozen years; instead, I’m joining the ranks of (and with) some really amazing first-class librarians who are going to help make schools better and who are going to make major differences in the lives of students. You all are really inspiring me to rethink my preconceived notions of what the rest of my career can be like, and making me see that trying to go it alone is not only just one option, but it’s the lesser of the options out there.  I’m a pretty old dog, but you’re all teaching me some new tricks, and I’m glad I’m going to get to work with you!