Summer Dreamin’ to Bust the Mid-Term Monotony

Posted March 10, 2023 by Rebecca Devereaux

I have reached the monotonous section of the semester. School is chugging away, meaning there are papers to write, books to read, lib guides to build, and I am looking for the time needed to cook something more nutritious than top ramen or a quesadilla. If anybody told you the life of a graduate student is glamourous, they were seriously delusional. The graduate students I know tend to drink more coffee than is good for them, they struggle with anxiety, and all of them can’t wait to be doing the work that this degree will allow them to do.

In library school many of the assignments serve as models. While it is necessary for a professor to have a standardized assignment to give out, it can personally be frustrating knowing that my work, as of yet, will not make a direct impact on a library or archive. The work I do is stuck in theoretical land. I am looking forward to truly doing the work, directly shaping collections and helping patrons.

To expedite the process of doing the real work of an archivist sooner I decided to take a few summer courses! Summer courses at Simmons are split into two terms, Summer I and Summer II. The first course I signed up for is part of the archival requirements, but for Summer II I registered for an elective, Music Librarianship. It is my first elective, and I am looking forward to it! I really love music and want to be able to apply that passion practically. I am optimistic that the skills I learn in this class could be easily transferred to an archival setting. Yes, this is still work “in theory,” but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to get into the field of work you are passionate about.

Cheers to you all! I think I am going to pour myself another cup of coffee. 🙂