I can't believe this is my reality!
After years of working in corporate followed by an extended personal leave to care for family, I was ready to get back to pursuing things for me. One year ago I attended the open house at Dominican University, beginning to seriously explore pursuing my goal of becoming a librarian. Hearing Emma speak about the experience cemented Dominican as my #1 choice of school. I came home and told my husband, "what if I apply to Dominican, get accepted, and get to go to Italy?!" How powerful were those two little words: what if.
Now it's time for the planning! Research shows that dopamine peaks when planning the trip vs. actually being on the trip. How true that is for me!
Whoever was in charge of putting together the schedule for this fair deserves a raise. There's an overwhelming amount of intriguing discussions happening and booths to visit. How does one choose?! My first draft for things to do includes:
-Welcome event
-Illustrators exhibition
-Norway's Guest of Honor exhibit
-Award Winners for Fiction, Toddlers
-Beyond the Shadow
-Storytelling Across Media
-Gateway to Belonging
-Every Child Deserves a Story
-Universal Power of Fairy Tales
-Early Childhood Reading Experiences
-Practices and Policies for Reading Promotion
-Big Feelings, Brave Books
-Visit the Armenian publishers' booth
There were two pieces of advice from my instructor, Jen: leave time to wander at the fair and find all the hidden gelato! I plan to include both of those pieces of advice heavily in my time at the fair.
All of this feels exciting. If I had to choose just one thing I am most looking forward to, I would say it's making connections with other people that are passionate about preserving children's stories. I predict I will find this via the discussions listed above but also through being open to chatting with anyone I meet at the fair. We are all here for the same reason, to share our love of children's stories and make them more accessible worldwide.
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